17-year-old attacker Kristian Brymora is the latest player to join Newcastle Jets’ first team squad after the Emerging Jets graduate finalised a one-season contract with his hometown Hyundai A-League club on Wednesday.
Brymora, a Warners Bay Panthers junior, is currently completing his Year 12 Studies at St. Paul’s Booragul however will balance books with boots and balls for the remainder of 2016 as he commences life as a professional player.
Brymora performed impressively for the Club throughout its Foxtel National Youth League 2015/16 Season, and made further progress under the tutelage of former Caltex Socceroos striker Clayton Zane during Jets Youth’s 2016 PlayStation 4 National Premier League (NNSW) campaign.
Brymora – who will celebrate his 18th birthday next month – made his senior debut for the Club in the Westfield FFA Cup in August. He then joined the Jets on its 2016 Tour of China where he played in all three of the Club’s international friendly matches, managing to score in the 2-1 win over the reigning Hong Kong Premier League Champions Eastern SC at the Bao’an Stadium in Shenzhen.
Since the China tour Brymora has played in two further friendlies for the Jets – most notably against Melbourne City last Sunday in Ballarat where he came off the bench to net the final goal in Newcastle’s 4-0 victory.
Brymora said that he’s proud to have penned a professional deal at Newcastle Jets, a Club he has supported since the Hyundai A-League kicked off in 2005.
“It’s a surreal moment,” Brymora, who joined the Emerging Jets system in 2013, said. “Ever since I was a little boy I have wanted to be a professional footballer, so to become one at my hometown Club and now be in the position to be a role model for other young players is terrific.”
“There is no better feeling to know that I have come through the system at the Club to now be a first team squad member.”
“It does feel like things have happened quickly. I have been learning quickly and have developed quickly, and while my career has started to take off I know I still have a very long way to go to be where I want to be.”
“I couldn’t have done this [earned an Hyundai A-League contract] without the people around me – the Club’s coaching staff, my teammates, and most importantly my family,” he said.
Newcastle Jets interim Head Coach Zane has coached Brymora over the past 12 months, and confirmed that the young marksman’s rise from youth team player to first team rookie has indeed been rapid.
“Kristian has come through the Emerging Jets system which is a big bonus for the Club,” Zane said. “To be honest, last year he snuck into our Foxtel National Youth League team. At the time we felt he wasn’t quite ready, but we saw potential in him. Since then he has taken everyone by surprise with his development – he has a fantastic work ethic, shows great commitment, and is always one of the players sticking around to do extras after sessions.”
“For young players the real challenge is not actually getting spotted, but making the most of the opportunity when you get it. Kristian is one player who has lifted his level at each stage of his development, and he does not look out of place in the first team environment. Because he holds his own and fits in so well, that has enabled him to stay in the first team environment and continue his progress,” Zane concluded.
Brymora is one of the Club’s designated under 20 players for the Hyundai A-League 2016/17 Season and joins other local products including Nigel Boogaard, Jason Hoffman, Andrew Hoole, Ben Kennedy, Ben Kantarovski, and Nick Cowburn in representing their hometown Club in the competition.
