The A-League season is long gone, but it served up plenty of opportunities to photograph our top stars in action. Games at Central Coast Stadium, Campbelltown and Commbank, with varying light and crazy weather, gave us some fabulous action and gave me a chance to fill the photo banks with library shots of players warming up, as well as many action photos from some fabulous contests. Here’s my pick from the season.
No 5 : Sarah O’Donoghue. The players were warming up in the corner next to the away section at Central Coast Stadium, and the light was absolutely perfect. This was one of many glorious portraits of the Perth Glory squad that day. The resolution here doesn’t do it justice; the original photo, not even a RAW file, is stunning.
No 4 : Zac Sapsford. This is a celebration of Alex Gersbach’s second-half inswinging corner for Western Sydney Wanderers that beat Western United’s Matt Sutton at the far post. Pure joy. Love the emotion on the face of this talented young player.
No 3 : Ryan Scott. Absolute smash-and-grab at Campbelltown Stadium. Newcastle Jets had lost at home on the opening day of the season and Macarthur FC had put six past Perth Glory. A goal behind early on had the Jets facing a second successive defeat before Eli Adams popped up with two counter-attacks, the second one set up by goalkeeper Scott’s quick thinking. He definitely enjoyed this one. Not the crispest photo, but it captured the moment well.
No 2 : Onyinyechi Zogg and Annalise Rasmusson. This was a thriller at Central Coast Stadium, a Friday night special that saw Perth grab a last-minute equaliser to rescue the game. This one shows the power and athleticism of these two players, as well as the desire to get to the ball first.
No 1: Bruno Fornaroli. The opening night of the season and the Melbourne Victory striker couldn’t believe that he didn’t get the foul. I must admit to agreeing with him at the time too, but he went on to miss a penalty and his team finished with ten players as the curtain raiser ended goalless at Central Coast Stadium.
For reference, these photos are taken on a recent Canon R7 camera with a vintage Canon EF 70-200 lens. Even that stretched the budget, but I know I need better equipment for the games under lights. One day…