Older, wiser Rogerson out to restart his career
The last time Logan Rogerson played in the national men’s football league, Auckland City were the opposition.
Now they’re his team, as he tries to get his football career back on track.
The 21-year-old forward’s last appearance in the ISPS Handa Premiership was in March, 2017, for the Wellington Phoenix reserves – his penultimate act in New Zealand’s only professional club.
After going to the Hong Kong Soccer Sevens with the Phoenix in May that year, he came off contract, having made 11 A-League appearances in three seasons, five of which came in the final few months, and scoring a pair of goals.
When it became clear there was no future for him in Wellington, Rogerson headed to Germany and signed for Carl Zeiss Jena, who play in the third tier but barely got on the park and had his season cut short by a knee injury.
International duty with the OlyWhites, the national under-23 side, brought him back to New Zealand in June, which was when Auckland City’s new coach Jose Figueira made his move.
The new national league season starts today, and Rogerson heads into it on the back of a strong few months with the OlyWhites, whom he captained to success first at the Pacific Games in Samoa, then at the OFC Olympic qualifying tournament in Fiji.
As he sets his sights on the Tokyo
At a glance
2019-20 ISPS Handa Premiership, round one:
■ Today, 3pm: Waitakere United v Wellington Phoenix reserves; Seddon Fields, Auckland
■ Today, 4pm: Southern United v Tasman United; Logan Park, Dunedin
■ Today, 4.30pm: Hawke’s Bay United v Auckland City; Bluewater Stadium, Napier
■ Tomorrow, 2pm: Team Wellington v Hamilton Wanderers; David Farrington Park, Wellington
■ Tomorrow, 4pm: Eastern Suburbs v Canterbury United; Madills Farm, Auckland
Olympics next July, Rogerson knows a strong national league campaign will help him secure a place in coach Des Buckingham’s 18-man squad, and he’s also hoping to show he’s a changed man.
‘‘Going over to Europe, it probably matured me a little bit,’’ he said this week. ‘‘I was 19 when I went over and now I’m 21 and I just learned that football’s not fair sometimes.
‘‘I thought that was only the case in Wellington, that football wasn’t fair, but I went to Germany and learned it was the same there as well – that sometimes it works out, but sometimes it doesn’t.’’
Rogerson had a rapid rise in 2015, the year he turned 17, starting it at Hamilton Wanderers and playing for the national under-17 team, then making the OlyWhites under Anthony Hudson, before signing with the Phoenix and,
after going to the under-17 World Cup, making his All Whites debut.
‘‘It happened pretty quick – probably too quick, if I look back at it now.
‘‘I was 17 and I think there was a period after that when I didn’t make the All Whites and when I wasn’t playing for the Phoenix. I didn’t quite come to grips with what was happening, because I was used to everything happening so fast and expecting to make all these teams, so when things started not to happen, it was hard for me.’’
Rogerson still wants to make it as a professional footballer – and to add to his three All Whites caps – and he feels he has learnt plenty from his experiences at the Phoenix and in Germany.
‘‘Being professional at 17, I got chucked in at the deep end, and there
wasn’t really anyone to guide me. I look back now and there’s a few things where I think I could have done better, or I should have asked for help, instead of trying to do it all on my own.’’
Rogerson has been joined at Auckland City by fellow OlyWhites forward Myer Bevan, who is in a similar situation, looking to restart his own professional career.
The league’s 10 teams have appointed seven new coaches over the winter, with Hamilton Wanderers boss Ricki Herbert, Phoenix academy head Paul Temple and Southern United’s Paul O’Reilly the three remaining from last season.
Defending champions Eastern Suburbs lost their coach, Danny Hay, to the All Whites, as well as 10 of the 11 players who started in their grand final
win over Team Wellington, but have appointed former Football Ferns coach Tony Readings to lead their title defence – and their OFC Champions League quest.
Auckland City are the other team bound for the Champions League, after winning the minor premiership last year, while Team Wellington should remain a title contender, having replaced Figueira with his assistant, Scott Hales.
After a winter where there has been plenty of change around the league, Southern United’s continuity – and the recruitment of former All White Joel Stevens – could help them mount a push for the playoffs, potentially at the expense of Canterbury United, who have lost most of their key attackers.