Australian Winger Scouted by Braintree Town
Australian winger Jonathan Ward is on trial with semi-pro club Braintree Town after he was scouted at our trials earlier this year.
Ward, 20, attended four of our trials in West London, Manchester and Birmingham and caught the attention of Anton Smith, who scouts for the Conference Premier side.
We caught up with Ward this month after his return to the UK.
“After the trial I went back home to Australia and shortly after Anton, the scout from the trial, reached out to me and asked if I could come down but obviously I’d just got home,” he said.
“I stayed there for about six week but we kept in touch and arranged for me to come over in early August so now I’m finally into the training.
“When I arrived for my session there were about 25 players there and he was making decisions on who to keep and who to cut for the season.”
He continued: “That was my first session after coming back from an injury so I wouldn’t say I was bad but I definitely wasn’t myself so I think he wants me to get some minutes under my belt before making a decision.
“The goal for me is just to get someone where there’s a bit of stability. If I’m getting minutes and I feel like I’m improving then I’ll be there for the long run.”
Ward, who has played semi-pro in Australia for Western Pride and Queensland Lions, explained his reasons behind swapping Australia for England.
“I know that a lot of the best Australian footballers actually go to England at around 14 or 15 and develop much better before coming back to Australia to play in the National team, so that’s kind of why I wanted to get out of Australia.
“For me England is the best place to be for football, I did four UK Football Trials and I really enjoyed them, the staff were what actually made it for me and the experience was really good.”
We wish Jonathan the best for the season and will bring you updates as we get them.