Manly United welcomes Matt Sim back to Cromer Park for 2022
Manly United is excited to welcome back former player Matt Sim to Cromer Park for the 2022 season.
Sim played six seasons with Manly United from 2008 to 2013, scoring 19 goals in 70 first grade appearances and he will add significant quality to the Manly United squad, which will remain very stable following its strong 2021 season.
The exciting winger returns to Manly after playing 33 matches for the Central Coast Mariners and Western Sydney Wanderers in the A-League, a short stint in Cape Town (South Africa) and most recently five seasons at Sydney United in the NSW NPL competition, where he has built a reputation as one of the best attacking players in the league.
“We are buzzing to have Matt Sim rejoin the club,” said Manly United Coach Adam Griffiths. “He is one of the best attacking players in the league and adds some great quality in the front third. His style of play suits the way we want to play the game and his quality is obvious for everyone to see.
“Not only will Matt improve our football team, but he will also help our young players become better players. We have a strong culture at our club and Matt’s ability, personality and winning mentality is a perfect fit for what we are creating.”
The 33-year-old was thrilled about his Cromer Park return: “I am excited about returning to Manly,” Sim said. “I am returning to a club where I spent six quality years and I know they are the type of club that plays good football and has a solid core group of players and some talented youngsters.
“I really enjoyed my time at Sydney United but Manly offers me the opportunity to combine my desire to continue playing with the next steps in my coaching career. I’m looking forward to getting stuck into training and come to Manly looking to help them win silverware.”
Sim isn’t the only player returning to Cromer Park as Griffiths shapes his squad for the 2022 season with Manly United junior Tommy Fay rejoining the club after spending time with the Sydney FC youth teams and NPL squad.
Fay is a Wakehurst junior and not only adds quality to the squad but illustrates Manly United’s stated desire to offer opportunity for local players.
“Tommy Fay is a great addition to the squad,” Griffiths said. “He offers us quality but also some versatility to be able to excel in a few different positions on the pitch. He’s a Manly junior and we welcome him back with the intent to help him improve as a player and play at the highest level possible.”
Manly United has also secured the bulk of the squad that surprised many outside Cromer Park in 2021 with the following players locked in for 2022: Sam Benton, Jimmy Oates, Kieren Paull, Jesse Piriz, Seiya Kambayashi, Alen Aganovic, Lucas Rainbird, Dom Ferguson, Jordan Devries, Tommy Fay, Luca Kmet, James Georgaklis, Finn Ashton, Matt Sim, Ben Koop and Dejan Pandurevic.
Manly United is still finalizing the last few places as well as expanding on the number of young local players that will be promoted to the first grade squad for 2022 as the club looks to build on its strong 2021 campaign where they sat in 3rd place when the competition was abandoned.
