Australia Cup 2024: Top Players
Following the conclusion of the Australia Cup 2024, we look at the standout performers who lit up an exhilarating tournament.
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Goals + assists
It was Nishan Velupillay who led the way with goals this tournament, netting an average of one a game across his five matches in the Australia Cup.
Valére Germain, who scored some crucial goals in Macarthur FC’s Championship run as the only scorer in two 1-0 victories, followed closely behind with four, while Marin Jakoliš, Nikos Vergos and NPL Queensland breakout star Marquez Walters all scored three.
For assists, Perth Glory’s Taras Gomulka and Hume City’s Aamir Abdallah led the way, with both adding one more assist to their tally after netting four each in their Round of 32 games.
Macarthur FC hero Jakoliš stood alone in third place with three assists, bringing his total goal involvements to an impressive six in five games, with their semi-final against South Melbourne the only match where he didn’t register a goal or assist.
However, Jakoliš’s goals and assists tally were beaten by both Velupillay and Abdallah, who both had seven in total, with Abdallah astonishingly registering two goals in addition to his five assists in just three matches.
Meanwhile, Germain, Vergos and Gomulka all finished with five-goal contributions in an Australia Cup chock-full of individual quality.
Attack, attack, attack
And the attacking excitement extended beyond goals and assists, as players lit up the tournament with an array of exciting individual and collective moves.
Velupillay finished with the most successful dribbles of any player in the Australia Cup with 14, closely followed by Sabit James Ngor (12) and Zinédine Machach (11).
Former Heidelberg player Ngor, now at the Central Coast Mariners, finished with the most successful dribbles per match - averaging 6 per game in his two matches played, while Maksim Ilic of FC Melbourne Srbija was second with an average of 3, closely followed by Velupillay with 2.8.
Olympic Kingsway’s Joseph Knowles led the way for shots with 17, averaging 8.5 a match across his two games with Velupillay’s 16 and Abdallah’s 15 making up the top three.
Meanwhile, Australia Cup winner Jakoliš ranked highest for key passes with 13, with Velupillay and Adelaide United’s Zach Clough both finishing with 11.
Clough was third for key passes per game with an impressive 2.75, which was only beaten by Gomulka and Lions FC’s James Enticknap, who both averaged three each match they played.
Passing
Adelaide’s Spanish maestro Isaías was Australia Cup’s pass master for 2024, ranking highest for accurate passes (409) and accurate passes per match (102.25) playing as a centre-back throughout the tournament.
He was joined by defensive partner Panagiotis Kikianis (91) as the top two for accurate passes per game, with Heidelberg United’s Benjamin Collins in third with 70 per game.
Overall, Iasías was joined by Melbourne Victory’s Roderick Mirdanda (321) and Macarthur FC’s Tomislav Uskok (298) to make up the top three.
Moving further up the field, Melbourne Victory’s Machach ranked highest for accurate final third passes with 85, followed by Championship duo Jakoliš (74) and Luke Brattan (72).
A per match basis, meanwhile, saw an entirely new top three, with Olympic FC’s Daniel Leck averaging 22 per game, Enticknap on 21.5 and Clough on 18.
Meanwhile, South Melbourne’s Marco Jankovic ranked top for accurate long balls with 48, with Moreton City Excelsior’s Declan Smith in second (38) and Isaías in third (33).
Defensive excellence
Strong defensive efforts were key to the Australia Cup, with Macarthur FC centreback duo Matthew Jurman and Tomislav Uskok unsurprisingly headlining this set of stats.
Jurman (48) and Uskok (37) ranked top two for clearances and for aerial duels won (20 each), as they were the backbone of a resolute Australia Cup winning side.
For tackles, Macarthur’s Luke Brattan was also present in the top three, level with Kasey Bos on 19, while Adelaide’s Ethan Alagich was top with 24.
Alagich also won the most ground duels (32) and total duels (40) of any player in the competition, with Melbourne Victory’s Kasey Bos (39) and Oakleigh Cannons’ Stefan Valentini (31) making up the top three for total duels won.
Two players finished with the joint-most interceptions in the 2024 Australia Cup, with Oakleigh Cannons’ Brodie Boyce joined by Jason Geria on 11, and Cameron McGilp just behind on 10.
And it was Adelaide United’s James Delianov who made the most saves in the tournament, with his 26 just surpassing Mark Viduka medal winner Filip Kurto, who finished with 23 after making a sensational six saves in the Grand Final.
Olympic FC’s Matthew Lugo’s 15 placed him third for saves made, but his average of 7.5 per game was top in the Cup, followed by Delianov (6.5) and NWS Spirit’s Christopher Marques (5).
*All per game stats only include players who have made more than one appearance in the Australia Cup finals
