Gisborne Thistle striker Jimmy Somerton is chased by Gisborne United's Matt Hills in an Eastern Premiership derby last year. United won 5-3. Photo / Paul Rickard
Jimmy Somerton, Gisborne Thistle’s top scorer for the past three seasons, will play for Gisborne United this year.
Somerton and United player-coach Josh Adams confirmed the move this week.
Both said the main driver for the decision was that Somerton socialised with the United players and wanted to play alongside his mates.
But the likelihood of promotion from the Eastern Premiership to Central League 2 was also a factor.
United finished third in the premiership last season, while Thistle - with the league’s top goalscorer in their ranks – finished seven points back in sixth place.
Somerton, who has just turned 21, topped the premiership scoring charts with an official tally of 30. The nine he scored in two games against Gisborne Boys’ High School were scrubbed after the school’s early withdrawal from the competition.
In October, Central Football named him men’s player of the year for the Tairāwhiti Gisborne district.
When Thistle contested the Central Federation League, Somerton was twice the competition’s top scorer, scoring 18 goals in 2024 and 21 in 2023.
Somerton’s move to United sets up intriguing scenarios. He could feature in a forward line that also includes Josh Adams, a Pacific Premiership golden boot winner in his own right, speedy strikers Campbell Hall and – just back from four years in the United Kingdom – Josh Harris, and the youthful exuberance of Jacob Adams.
The midfield is still strong, with Dane Thompson, Corey Adams and Matt Hills all back, but the defence will have to be shuffled as big centreback Ryan Anderson is moving to Auckland.
United have the players to cover the gaps – central defenders Kieran Higham and Jonathan Purcell, and utility players Kieran Venema, Malcolm Marfell and Sam Royston would keep out most attacks in this competition. And midfielder Thompson has shown he could be a top-notch defender if required.
The head-scratcher comes with the position of goalkeeper. Andy McIntosh, one of the stars of last season, has shifted to Queenstown, and Josh Adams is wondering if he might have to play in goal himself. He is a capable ’keeper.
At 26, Adams wants to give up the coaching job and concentrate on playing.
Somerton said he enjoyed his time with Thistle, but he was looking forward to having more players in close support.
“I think we have a good chance of winning the league and the Federation Cup,” he said.
Asked if he’d thought about trying to break into overseas football, Somerton said he would probably go overseas once he’d finished his apprenticeship as a refrigeration and air-conditioning technician, in two years. Australia was the most likely destination.
Thistle face the possibility of losing another key player. Twenty-year-old skipper and midfielder Cory Thomson is keen to further his football and job prospects by moving to Wellington.
He is seeking work in creative graphic design or sport, and hopes to join a club where he could play at a higher level than is available in Gisborne.
“Wellington has so many opportunities,” Thomson said.
Thomson said the shift was not certain yet. If he couldn’t find work or a club in Wellington, he could postpone his departure, in which case he would stay with Thistle.
In September, Thomson was named Thistle’s young player of the year. Stalwart utility player Nick Land was named player of the year and players’ player.
In the meantime, Thomson is doing pre-season training with Thistle. The Jags had their first two sessions on Tuesday and Thursday this week, and by the time they gather again on Tuesday, the club committee will have met to chart the way forward.
Club chairman Mark Pearce said Tam Cramer would continue as coach, but the club had to consider how to bolster playing strength in view of Somerton’s departure and the possible loss of Thomson.
Goalkeeping coach Mark Baple had been in touch with a young English goalkeeper who was interested in playing for Thistle, and he had a friend who was keen to sign as an outfield player.
But any decision to bring in overseas players is likely to hinge on whether Thistle are in a competition that makes such a move worthwhile, and Pearce said the meeting on Monday would “very likely” discuss whether the club would play in the Eastern Premiership again this year.
The club was well structured for youth development, with encouraging results for under-13 and u15 teams, and promising play from an u19 side whose average age was 15 or 16, Pearce said.
It might take a few years for that talent to come through into the senior level, but the potential was there.