Craig Goodwin has been announced as the first nominee for the 2012/13 NAB Young Footballer of the Year Award.
Hunter Ports Newcastle Jets player Craig Goodwin has been announced as the first nominee for the 2012/13 NAB Young Footballer of the Year Award.
Goodwin was voted as the most outstanding U21 player for the month of October following standout performances in four matches.
Goodwin was a standout for the Jets in the opening four rounds of the season, which saw the Club, win three of their first four matches.
Playing on the left side of the midfield, Goodwin proved to be a constant attacking threat for the Jets and terrorised opposition defences.
His standout performance came in front of 35,000 spectators at Allianz Stadium when the Jets faced Sydney FC in Round 2.
The 20-year-old stole some of the limelight from marquee stars Emile Heskey and Alessandro Del Piero with an eye-catching performance that saw him score the Jets- third goal in their 3-2 win.
“I wasn-t really expecting to be nominated to be honest,” Goodwin said.
“I-ve been reasonably happy with the way I-ve started the season and I-ve had a couple of good performances.
“I-ve just got to keep that high standard going now and continue to perform well.”
Goodwin said receiving the NAB Young Footballer of the Year nomination somewhat justified his decision to move to the Jets.
“One of the main reasons why I moved to Newcastle was to get more game time and I-ve managed to get it this season and maintain my spot in the side,” he said.
“Hopefully that can keep going over the course of the season.”
Craig Goodwin is the first nominee for the annual award and will be joined by five other nominees to be in the running for the grand prize.
The overall winner will receive a $10,000 personal investment portfolio, a NAB Private Client Manager to assist with a range of banking and financial services, and the NAB Young Footballer of the Year Award.
To aid the development of future football stars NAB have generously donated a $3,000 equipment pack that will go to Craig-s chosen junior football institution, Munno Para City Soccer Club in his hometown of Adelaide.
