February 2024: Aged 23, becomes the 7th Australian 🇦🇺 player to play for the Villa and the 8th with Australian citizenship after Tony Dorigo 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (1984), Mark Bosnich 🇦🇺 (1992), Shane Lowry 🇦🇺 (2008), Chris Herd 🇦🇺 (2008), Brett Holman 🇦🇺 (2012), Jordan Lyden 🇦🇺 (2015) and Mile Jedinak 🇦🇺 (2016).
February 2024: Aged 23, becomes the second Australian goalkeeper to sign for Villa after Mark Bosnich.
February 2024: Aged 23, becomes the first player to be signed by Villa from Adelaide United 🇦🇺.
September 2024: Aged 24, becomes the 1,001st player to play for Villa in first-team League or Cup football since the club’s first entry into the FA Cup in 1879.
September 2024: Aged 24, becomes the 107th ‘keeper to keep goal for Villa in first-team League or Cup football since the club’s first entry into the FA Cup in 1879.

"It's going to be something special [to work with Martinez],

"Having someone with that experience; he's had to wait for his opportunity to be a No. 1, but he's taken it with both hands.

"He's playing at a high level for both club and country. So to see how he works from day to day and the output on the park and off the park. It's going to be amazing to see. "It's the Premier League and these are world class players. The things that they do from day to day are going to be amazing to see and I'm eager to listen and learn.

"From all conversations, it's been very positive [about his role at Villa]. I believe this step in my career is going to be a positive one. And all the conversations that I've had have been extremely positive about me and my role and the way that they see me progressing. For my career, that's why I decided to go.

"Playing games is extremely important but this is also an opportunity to take my career and develop myself as a goalkeeper and take that to the next level."

4 February 2024


"The conversations I had initially, with some of the footballing staff and coaches, were really positive.

"The level of detail they went into about my game, I could tell how much they'd analysed me as a goalkeeper. Not only that but as a person as well, the detail they went into in that regard and the areas of my game that I can improve on. It felt like I could come in straight away and take my game to another level.

"The Premier League is the pinnacle of world football and that excites me, the opportunity to work with world class players and the number one goalkeeper in the world, it's someone who is fantastic to learn off. Javi [Garcia] the goalkeeping coach is very well regarded, nobody has said a negative word about him. There are lots of positives and I feel like at my age, it's the right time to make this jump and I'm ready for the challenge.

"The facilities here are world class. I haven't seen a facility quite like it. There's no excuse here as a professional to not reach your highest level. Everyone has been really welcoming, the players and the staff. It's been really positive and everyone is willing to help you - whether that's on the field, in the gym, in the physio room, with kit, all the way through to helping with accommodation and cars. Everyone has been fantastic.

"I like to be as calm as possible, but I like to be aggressive at the same time, in defending the space behind the back four, aggressive in one v ones and in the air,

"I'm definitely not perfect, I've never played a perfect game. I'm still developing and learning, and accepting that I'll make mistakes and try to improve on them. I'm 100% committed to football and I'll give my all to get better each and every day. Hopefully that shows in my performances.

"One real positive about the joining the club was that challenge - it's a big step up from Australian football, but it's something I'm looking forward to. There might be a time of adjustment, especially in a new country, different weather, people, cultures, but at the age I'm at I feel it's the right challenge for me. I'm going to give myself every opportunity to succeed."

13 February 2024


“He’s completely dedicated to winning and results.

“I guess some people have been maybe judgmental of some of the ways he goes about things, but away from that, he’s very relaxed, a big character in the changing room and loves to have a joke. But as soon as you cross that white line, it’s about getting a result, whatever way possible.

“He’s just a regular person at the end of the day, and you can kind of see a goalkeeper that for a long time was starved of an opportunity, spent a lot of time as the No 2 behind some great goalkeepers, and in the last couple of seasons since he’s been getting that consistent game time is now really just thriving, and loving playing football every week.

“For my development at this stage of my career, I think it was the correct step to go and really challenge myself. It has been a challenge, and it is challenging. But I think the development that’s going to happen to my game, on and off the field, is something that ... now I’m there, I’m seeing it first-hand, but at the time, it was something that I couldn’t turn down.

“It’s opened my eyes to world football and the way that it operates. The amount of detail that they go into in terms of analysis and the opposition, as well as our own performances, after the games – it’s extremely detailed.

"Even myself, I have such a clear picture already of our style of play and the options on the field and the way that Unai wants the players to behave and perform. I’ve been able to pick that up so, so quickly, just because of how detailed they are, and how clear the messaging is in the system.”


24 March 2024

“Instead of having one game at the end of the week to aim on like I did at Adelaide, every training session (at Villa) is like a game for me because it’s an opportunity to perform at a high level and to try to get better.

“There’s probably not a bigger jump you can make in the football world than from Australia to the (English) Premier League.

“I never really expected the jump to be that big. I guess I was always aiming for the heights of the top leagues in Europe but to make that jump, the level is definitely a lot different.

“There’s been an adaptation period, and they’ve made that quite clear to me that it’s going to take me some time to settle in.

“There’s a lot of factors that have gone into that. It definitely hasn’t been easy adapting to the level and finding my routine but as my time has progressed, probably the last six to eight weeks of the season, I felt much more settled and it felt like I was able to really be myself and express myself on the field.

“With the adjustments that they’ve made to me as a goalkeeper, I was starting to feel that improvement and it’s all started to click.”


2 June 2024