PHONES have been running hot as A-League clubs are free to approach uncontracted players from rival clubs.

Over 100 players are coming out of contract on 30 April 2013 and as well as breaking them down club by club, I’ve picked my top 10.

I’ve leaned towards younger players, while I’ve also tried to make it realistic ie. Emile Heskey won’t be leaving Newcastle Jets for another A-League club.

Internationals such as Liam Miller (Perth) and Josip Tadic (Heart) were stiff to miss out on the list, as was Adelaide United winger Iain Ramsay who is currently out of favour with John Kosmina.

THE TOP 10

1 Tom Rogic

Central Coast Mariners

Age: 19

Undoubtedly the hottest property in the A-League right now and technically the most gifted player Australia’s produced in a long while. Overseas beckons but Australian clubs are also circling.



2 Marco Rojas

Melbourne Victory

Age: 21

The real Marco Rojas has stood up this season and he’s an extraordinary talent - shame he’s Kiwi hey Holger. Like Rogic, Rojas will be eyeing an overseas career but in the meantime Victory must focus on re-signing him.



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3 Terry Antonis

Sydney FC

Age: 18

Big wraps on the boy Antonis, who was almost soccer’s version of Shane Watson. He’s delivered in patches and with pressure on Sydney FC and Jason Culina returning, it remains to be seen how much he plays. Could be a top catch for a rival club.

4 Mitch Nichols

Brisbane Roar

Age: 23

Mitch was outstanding under Ange Postecoglou but ill-discipline has crept in this season and he’s even found himself on the bench. The fact that Holger Osieck overlooked him for this Socceroos squad sums up where he’s at. Several overseas clubs are interested but should that fall through, he could be a top recruit for a Victory or Heart.

5 Matt Ryan

Central Coast

Age: 20

Hull City is reportedly set to sign him in January although the Mariners deny it. Either way the Mariners’ trend of allowing its top young players’ contracts to run down is concerning.





media_camera Talent: Central Coast goalkeeper Matt Ryan had a blinder against the Roar. Picture: Gary Graham

6 Jeronimo Neumann

Adelaide United

Age: 26

Jeronimo is on loan and thus far he’s shown that he’s a class act. Adelaide has Marcelo Carrusca and Dario Vidosic who are similar players, so for clubs who need that x-factor type attacker he may be worth chasing.

7 Richard Garcia

Melbourne Heart

Age: 31

Garcia has proven his class since returning and if his form continues he will be a strong contender for the Johnny Warren Medal. He’s versatile, but his goalscoring ability from the wing or attacking midfield is a fantastic asset.

8 Mate Dugandzic

Melbourne Heart

Age: 23

Absent for the next two months with a broken foot, but Dugandzic is a classy player whose pace and crossing ability often causes opposition problems.

9 James Virgili

Newcastle Jets

Age: 20

A breakthrough season for Virgili and A-League clubs will most certainly be knocking. The Jets have considerable depth so it will be interesting to see how much football he plays this season.

10 Eric Paartalu

Brisbane Roar

Age: 26

While Brisbane has started off poorly this season, Paartalu remains a consistent performer. Considering he rejected an overseas offer to stay with Ange Postecoglou, he may be considering his future with Brisbane Roar.







CLUB BY CLUB



Adelaide United (11)

Fabian Barbiero

Zenon Caravella

Bruce Djite

Fabio Ferreira

Iain Fyfe

Evan Kostopoulos

Jeronimo Neumann#

Cassio

Iain Ramsay

Sergio van Dijk*

Cameron Watson



Brisbane Roar (9)

Luke Brattan

Jack Hingert

Matt Jurman

James Meyer

Mitch Nichols

Erik Paartalu

Yuji Takahashi#

Rocco Visconte



Central Coast (16)

Oliver Bozanic

Anthony Caceres

Brent Griffiths

Troy Hearfield

John Hutchinson

Adam Kwasnik

Daniel McBreen

Brad McDonald

Michael McGlinchey

James Oates

Justin Pasfield

Adriano Pellegrino

Tom Rogic

Matt Ryan

Mile Sterjovski*

Patrick Zwaanswijk



Melbourne Heart (11)

Clint Bolton

Fred

Mate Dugandzic

Richard Garcia

Jonatan Germano

Steven Gray

Vince Grella

Jason Hoffman

Nick Kalmar

Josip Tadic

Matt Thompson



Melbourne Victory (11)

Leigh Broxham

Billy Celeski*

Isaka Cernak

Julius Davies

Spase Dilevski

Diogo Ferriera

Petar Franjic

Sam Gallagher

Marco Rojas

Lawrence Thomas

Tando Velaphi



Newcastle Jets (10)

Michael Bridges

Tiago Calvano

Sam Gallaway

Emile Heskey

Marko Jesic

Bernardo Ribeiro

Dominik Ritter

James Virgili

Jobe Wheelhouse

Ruben Zadkovich



Perth Glory (11)

Evan Berger

Travis Dodd*

Dean Heffernan

Jesse Makarounas

Steven McGarry

Liam Miller

Ryo Nagai#

Bas van den Brink

Nick Ward

Neil Young

Lewis Italiano

Sydney FC (14)

Terry Antonis

Joel Chianese

Jason Culina

Rhyan Grant

Adam Griffiths

Kruno Lovrek

Trent McClenahan

Terry McFlynn

Ivan Necevski

Dimitri Petratos

Paul Reid

Seb Ryall

Nathan Sherlock

Yairo Yau#



Wellington Phoenix (9)

Leo Bertos

Jimmy Downey

Tony Lochhead

Mark Paston

Mirjan Pavlovic

Dani Sanchez

Alex Smith

Benjamin Totori#

Ricardo Clarke



Western Sydney Wanderers (16)

Michael Beauchamp

Shannon Cole

Ante Covic

Adam D’Appuzzo

Tarek Elrich

Joey Gibbs

Labinot Haliti

Youssouf Hersi

Dino Kresinger

Iacopo La Rocca

Tahj Minniecon

Shinji Ono

Jerome Polenz

Mateo Poljak

Jason Trifiro

Jerrad Tyson



* Renewal automatically triggered if they meet specified contract clause

# On loan

LUCKY YOU’RE WITH AAMI, BECKS

Melbourne Heart has struck a deal with AAMI Park to move its training headquarters there from Latrobe Uni Bundoora should Beckham decide to come.

As I wrote in the Sunday Herald Sun, it would also add four staff to cope with the extra demands.

Former Heart team manager and now roving global reporter Ben Coonan would look after Becks’ itinerary alone.

Coonan has experience looking after Bozza – he was media manager at Central Coast Mariners during Bozza’s brief stint in 2008.

Bets are on as to who is higher maintenance, and there is strong money for the always immaculately groomed Boz.

GOAL OF THE WEEK

Ruben Zadkovich’s cracker was a contender but Melbourne Heart’s well worked third was my favourite.

Josip Tadic showed great presence to hold the ball up and release Matt Thompson, whose first touch was perfect to set up Richard Garcia.

Originally published as Top 10 uncontracted players