Young Aussie out of Sydney shadow
From benchwarmer to breakout performer, Cameron Devlin hasn’t looked back since trading A-League champions Sydney for Wellington Phoenix.
The 21-year-old central midfielder was stuck down the pecking order during the Sky Blues’ championship-winning campaign, but has flourished with regular game time at the resurgent Phoenix.
Earning Team of the Week honours seven times from the 10 games he has started, Devlin has emerged as one of the A-League’s hottest homegrown talents and could yet force his way into Australia’s Olympic Games squad.
Not bad for a player who took the pitch for just 46 minutes across the entire 2018-19 season.
‘‘The goal is to make the top six and do as best as we possibly can in the finals series and from a personal point of view just keep my spot, keep doing well each week and enjoy playing my football. I feel like you play your best when you enjoy it and I am right now,’’ he said. ‘‘I am loving it every time we step on to the training pitch, every time I step out on to Westpac [Stadium] or at an away game. I’m so happy, it’s my favourite place to be on the pitch and obviously the Olympics is a massive goal for me.’’
Lured across the Tasman by former Sydney assistant Ufuk Talay, Devlin had to bide his time at the Phoenix. He watched the first four games from the bench, each one of those ending in defeat. But he was slowly integrated into the team, making four appearances as a substitute before starting when Alex Rufer hurt his knee in December.
As a starter, Devlin’s impact was immediate. Not only did the Phoenix go undefeated in December, but the diminutive midfielder was voted by the fans as the A-League Player of the Month.
Impressing with his accurate passing and tenacious defending, he has usurped vice-captain Rufer to become a regular starter.
But while the speed of Devlin’s ascension has surprised, the player himself said he always backed his ability. When Rufer was struck down with an injury, he was ready to take his chance.
‘‘I felt confident that when my opportunity did come that I would take it,’’ he said. ‘‘If you’re not confident in yourself then maybe you’re not going to grab an opportunity with both hands.
‘‘It comes from yourself but also the people around you that have been there and done that, who see you every day and see how hard you’re working and training, to give you that confidence so that you know that ‘I can do this’.
‘‘I feel like I’ve done that to the best of my ability and hopefully I have made an impact on the team.’’
Helping unlock Devlin’s potential is Talay, who was a top midfielder in his own right during a 20-year playing career.
The pair worked together at Sydney last season and Devlin was one of the first players he reached out to when he accepted the Phoenix job.
‘‘He’s a professional person and a professional coach, and obviously for me being a midfielder – a defensive midfielder and an attacking midfielder – which he was in his day, and quite a successful player, I felt he could teach me so much.
‘‘He’s such a good mentor for me still being such a young player and I feel like that’s paid off. He had faith in me and gave me an opportunity to come here and as soon as I heard of that I jumped at the opportunity and I don’t regret it.
‘‘He’s been so good to me and he continues to be so good to me and help me and if I’m having a good game but I make a mistake he will smash me for that mistake, and I need that. As a young player that’s what you’ve got to learn from, you need someone to be on your back about absolutely everything to be the best player you absolutely can be.’’
Although it was a big move up sticks and shift to New Zealand, having lived at home with his parents while at Sydney, Devlin said he settled in swiftly.