A FORMER Orara Valley Dingoes junior has made it to the highest level of Australian football.

Ryan Scott has played five A-League games as Western United’s goalkeeper after making his debut for the Melbourne club as an injury replacement last March.

Scott has played five games including four starts as United’s goalkeeper this A-League season.

The 25-year-old caught the eye of United after five stellar seasons playing for the Bentleigh Greens in the National Premier Leagues Victoria competition.

He won three championships with the Greens and was man of the match in two of the grand finals.
He also led his side to the semi-finals of the FFA Cup in 2018.

The talented goalie also worked as a bricklayer whilst trying to make it onto the biggest stage of Australian football.

Scott’s family moved to the Orara Valley from his home city of Gembrook near Melbourne to Karangi as a 5-year-old.

The next 6 years would see the emerging talent play his formative years with the Orara Valley Dingoes while attending Karangi Primary School.

While he made it to the big time with his sublime goalkeeping skills, it took some early persuasion from his father Alan to find his true calling on the field.

“I convinced him to play goalkeeper because he got a bit slow as he got older in the juniors,” said Alan.

“He was a wicketkeeper in cricket so he was always vocal and had the reflexes.

“It was very similar to (former Socceroos goalkeeper) Mark Schwarzer, as his father put him in goal at 15 and he went from there.”

 

By Aiden BURGESS