Western Suburbs v Rovers
Wellington
As skinny teenagers go, Australian sensation Ashton Agar is the hottest thing since sliced bread after the No11 batsman's record last-wicket stand agonisingly fell two runs shy of a maiden century on debut in the first Ashes cricket test against England yesterday.
While it'll never be plausible to accept Bayley Chadderton will set Twitter alight in Agar fashion, it's fair to say the Napier Boys' High School has the potential to make decent inroads in the beautiful game if his debut last Sunday in Central League soccer is anything to go by.
The 17-year-old lanky defender will be in the starting XI today as Napier City Rovers kick off against Western Suburbs in Wellington at 2.30pm.
In just his second game for the Grant Hastings-coached Rovers, Chadderton will find himself alongside captain Bill Robertson at centreback, marshalling the Beefeaters.
The year 13 student's early break comes after the suspension of Scott Henderson a fortnight ago in the Blues' penalty shootout loss to Palmerston North Marist in a Chatham Cup game and injury to English import Aaron Jones in the win over Petone in a league clash at Bluewater Stadium, Napier, last Sunday.
"Jonesy has damaged the AC joint on his knee so he won't be starting but Henderson will be back," Hastings said.
In today's match on Endeavour Park, the visitors will be out to avenge their 4-3 defeat to the hosts in Napier in the first round after the Rovers were reduced to nine men on April 28.
Jones was among the two players sent off but they showed a steely resolve to score two quick goals within 10 minutes to leave Western Suburbs sweating.
Rival coach Lloyd O'Keefe lauded the Blues for their courageous display against his side who boast several national under-20 representatives, including the Edge brothers and Ryan Thomas.
Hawke's Bay-born Wellington Phoenix talent Tom Biss had fuelled further drama when he skied a penalty kick rather than simply placing it past goalkeeper Matt Gould after Robertson also collected a yellow card for remonstrating with the ref.
Hastings didn't want to label today's encounter a grudge match as such but one in which his troops need to show incremental improvement against an outfit who enjoy passing the ball around.
Constructive soccer, however, will be testing if the past week's downpour is anything to go by.
"It'll be a case of rolling up your sleeves and getting on with the game kind of day, I suppose," Hastings said of his defending league champions who are not as sharp this winter because nine players have left.
Wellington Olympic and Miramar Rangers are the clear leaders in Central League but Western Suburbs are in the top four.
Chadderton will be among other youngsters in Jett Hogg and Harry Fauntley.
He started kicking a ball around when he was 5 years old, graduating to the engine room as he went through Reigner School and Taradale Intermediate.
The Napier Boys' First XI captain played division one league when he was in year 11, playing centre-mid.
"At school now I play rightback or centreback but I can play in defence just about anywhere."
His father, Gary Chadderton, a sales representative at a hardware company in Napier, didn't play soccer but he was the junior club co-ordinator for the Greendale Club which several years ago merged with Rovers.
The prefect and head of sports at Napier Boys', Bayley Chadderton did pick up tennis from his mother, Janice, a social competitive player.
He represented his school at the national secondary schools' championship this year.
"I finished sixth - the best result the school has ever had - so that wasn't very bad at all."
Nevertheless, he has decided to put his promising tennis career on the backburner to pursue his dream in soccer.
The demands of school work mean he has to be selective with what he commits to.
While he can hold his own in the school ranks, when entering the adult league he discovered he needed to man up a little.
"I'm not as physical as as the adults so it can be hard to match but it'll come with time as I get older. It's a mental thing that's going on in there."
Beefing up is in his repertoire but it'll have to wait because of studies.
"I've no time to go to the gym right now but football is my priority," he says, adding it made sense to chase the bigger round ball rather than a furry smaller one because logic suggests it has a better future and fulfils his need to engage in sport in a team environment.
"I'm quite academic, too, so I'm getting my merits and Es (excellences) but more merits, actually."
Chadderton hopes to attend Victoria University in Wellington next year.
"I want to do degrees in commerce and geography," he reveals, adding a career in the taxation discipline will be ideal.
He lauds school coach Rob Gunn and Hawke's Bay United academy coach Dion Adams for honing his skills.
"Rob's coached me for five years now," he says, fondly recalling how Gunn in his first training taught him how to "stand a player" in defence.