In this week’s edition of Jets Insider, Josh Brillante answered questions submitted by the Club’s Members and Supporters.
In this week-s edition of Jets Insider, Hunter Ports Newcastle Jets rising star Josh Brillante answered questions submitted by the Club-s Members and Supporters.
Brillante discussed making his debut for the Socceroos, the FIFA U-20 World Cup, his surname and his impressive facial hair.
Chris Mills asks via email: The last year or so has been pretty crazy for you. What has been the highlight?
Josh Brillante (JB): It has been a bit of a roller-coaster! Going from a defunct Gold Coast United team to Newcastle was an exciting move for me.
I didn-t expect to play that much during the season, but obviously I ended up playing the majority of the games, which was a bonus and a highlight in itself.
I think that set the platform for me to have a good tournament at the Under 20 World Cup, which was an unbelievable experience as well, especially scoring a goal in our game against El Salvador.
Then to make my debut for the Socceroos after that was the icing on the cake. Obviously every footballer strives to represent their country, so getting my first cap was a very proud moment.
@Tommyjet262 asks via Twitter: Josh out of your under 20 teammates, who will make it the furthest in their career?
JB: We had a lot of very talented players in our team, but I was very impressed with Daniel De Silva.
For how young he still is and the way he performed at the Under 20 World Cup, I think he is definitely one to watch for the future. With the talent he-s got, he has the potential to go a long way with his football career.
@JZdraveski asks via Twitter: Josh, are you looking to go overseas or stay a Jet once off contract?
JB: I think every young player has the ambition to move overseas one day and test themselves at a higher level in bigger leagues.
Any opportunity to go overseas and develop by playing in a bigger and better league would be awesome and something I-d definitely look at, but it-s important to do it when the time is right.
I think if you do move overseas, going to the right country and the right Club is really important as well.
At the moment though, I-m really enjoying it here at the Jets and I-m looking forward to having a big season in the A-League.
Riley Walsh asks via email: As a player, how does it make you feel when you hear rumors that big Clubs like Everton, Schalke and Lazio are interested in you?
JB: Obviously hearing those rumours is exciting because they-re all massive Clubs in Europe, but it-s one thing hearing those rumours and something completely different to actually making the move over there.
Like I said before, at the moment my main focus is on having a good season with the Jets and everything else will take care of itself.
Owen Clarke asks via email: There is a lot of good competition at the Jets for those holding midfielder roles at the moment. Is it your goal this season to make one of those positions your own?
JB: As a younger player coming through I want to cement my spot in the starting XI and have a strong season.
It helps me being a bit more versatile and being able to play right back as well. In saying that, I-ve been a bit of a utility player for the last couple of years and I really want to look at trying to lock down a spot in the midfield.
It-s healthy to have good competition within the squad because it means we-re always on our toes fighting for positions and striving to do our best, which will lift individuals and lift the team as a whole.
@GoalAustralia ask via email: How long did it take to grow the beard? Do you maintain it himself or get the barber to do it?
JB: I think it-s been about seven months since I last shaved it properly. I trim the moustache a little bit myself and that-s pretty much the only maintenance that I-ve done on it since then.
Although lately I-ve been thinking that it-s getting to the point where I-ll need to go to a barber to get it tidied up properly.
@Brycesrant asks via Twitter: How often a week do you shampoo and condition that beard?
JB: I-ll shampoo and condition the beard at least once a week to keep it nice and clean and fluffy looking.
@_Grimario asks via Twitter: Josh, how will you be celebrating @WorldBeardDay? The NSW Disc Golf Open is on that weekend and looking for beards to attend.
JB: I had no idea there was a World Beard Day! Now that I know about it, I-m going to have celebrate in some sort of way for sure, I definitely can-t miss that!
@MrGlass23 asks via Twitter: What’s the best/worst pun you’ve heard regarding your last name?
JB: I can-t really think of too many that have stood out. Most of them use the obvious play on words with ‘brilliant Brillante- or something like that. I guess it makes for a good headline.
@ZadsLads asks via Twitter: If Josh could drop the ‘e’ from his surname, would he?
JB: (Laughs) I wouldn-t, because it still wouldn-t spell ‘brilliant- anyway. You-d still need to add an ‘I- after the double ‘L-.
@Bankonfootball asks via Twitter: Josh, on average, how much food do you find in your beard at the end of each day?
JB: (Laughs) It depends on what I eat. Eating cereal with milk is a tough one because the beard tends to get in the way.
Bread crumbs and rice are the other things that get stuck in there a fair bit. Every now and then you-ll have someone tell you that you-ve got a bit of food in there and you-ll have to pull it out.
Thank you for all your Jets Insider questions! Make sure you follow @NewcastleJetsFC on Twitter to find out who will be answering questions from Members and supporters next week!
