Joshua Rawlins

Joshua Rawlins
Personal information
Full name Joshua James Rawlins[1]
Date of birth (2004-04-23) 23 April 2004 (age 20)
Place of birth Perth, Australia
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Right back
Team information
Current team
 Melbourne Victory
Number 22
Youth career
Dianella SC
Perth Glory
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2019–2021 Perth Glory NPL 26 (1)
2020–2022 Perth Glory 34 (0)
2022–2024 Jong Utrecht 24 (0)
2024 → Perth Glory (loan) 12 (1)
2024– Melbourne Victory 3 (0)
International career‡
2019 Australia U15 5 (0)
2019 Australia U17 6 (0)
2022–2023 Australia U20 7 (0)
2022– Australia U23 8 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 June 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 24 December 2024

Joshua James Rawlins (born 23 April 2004) is an Australian professional footballer who plays as a right back for Melbourne Victory.

Early life

Born in Perth, Rawlins played for Dianella Soccer Club during his childhood, before joining Perth Glory's development sector in 2015.[2][3][4]

He attended Our Lady's Assumption Primary School in Dianella, and then continued his study path at Chisholm Catholic College in Bedford.[4]

Club career

Perth Glory

After coming through the youth ranks of Perth Glory and playing both in the A-League Youth and the National Premier Leagues with their youth sides, Rawlins made his professional debut on 18 November 2020, starting the match against Shanghai Shenhua in the group stage of the 2020 AFC Champions League, which Perth eventually lost 1-2. In the occasion, he became the youngest player to ever feature in an ACL game, at 16 years, six months and 26 days.[5][6] He would go on playing three more matches in the continental tournament, two of which as a starter, as his side finished last in their group and failed to progress to the next round.[6]

On 20 January 2021, Rawlins made his debut in the A-League, starting the match against Adelaide United as his team eventually gained a 5-3 win: at 16 years and 272 days, he became the youngest ever player to feature in the starting XI for a league match.[6][7] Under the manager Richard Garcia, he went on to collect eleven more appearances during the campaign (seven of which as a starter), as Perth finished the regular season at the bottom of the league table.[6]

Finally, on 24 November 2021, the full-back debuted in the FFA Cup, coming in as a substitute for Tyler Vecchio at the 66th minute of the play-off match against Melbourne Victory, with the visitors eventually winning the match at penalty shoot-outs.[8] During the 2021-2022 season, Rawlins established himself more as a regular starter in the team, collecting a total amount of 23 appearances between the league and the national cup, although Perth Glory finished last in the A-League and got left out of the final play-offs for the second year in a row.[citation needed]

Utrecht

On 4 May 2022, it was officially announced that Rawlins would join Utrecht on 1 July for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-year contract with the Dutch club and becoming their fifth ever Australian player in the process, after Tommy Oar, Adam Sarota, Michael Zullo and Daniel Arzani.[2][3]

On 11 June 2024, Utrecht announced that Rawlins had terminated his contract with the club by mutual consent.[9]

Loan to Perth Glory

On 29 January 2024, Perth announced the re-signing of Rawlins on loan.[10] In May 2024, the club confirmed that Rawlins had returned back to his parent club.[11]

Melbourne Victory

On 28 June 2024, it was officially announced that Rawlins had signed for Melbourne Victory.[12][13]

International career

Rawlins was born in Australia.[14] He has represented Australia at several youth international levels.

He was the captain of the national selection at the 2019 AFF U-15 Championship, where his side failed to progress to the knock-out stage.[15]

In the same year, he was also included in the squad that took part in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Brazil:[16] being the youngest player of the bunch, Rawlins played all of the three matches in the group stage of the competition, as the Joeys managed to progress to the knock-out phase as one of the best third-placed teams, before eventually getting eliminated by France in the round of 16.

In May 2022, Rawlins was called-up to the under-23 national team to take part in the AFC U-23 Asian Cup in Uzbekistan, once again being the youngest member in the squad.[17] He subsequently made his debut for the Olyroos on June 4, starting their second group stage fixture against Iraq: in the occasion, he assisted Alou Kuol's opening goal, as the match eventually ended in a 1-1 draw.[18][19] After losing to eventual champions Saudi Arabia in the semi-finals,[20] Australia also lost the third place match against Japan and finished fourth overall in the continental tournament.[21]

Style of play

Whilst being mainly a right back, Rawlins can play in any position across the backline, as well as a defensive midfielder. He's been described as an athletic, quick and intelligent footballer, who has his biggest strengths in his passing and dribbling skills, while also doing good in the defensive phase of his game.[2][6]

In 2021, the British newspaper The Guardian included him in their annual list of the most promising talents in world football, alongside his fellow countryman Mohamed Toure.[6]

Career statistics

As of 30 June 2024[22]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Perth Glory 2019–20 A-League 0 0 0 0 4[23] 0 — 4 0
2020–21 A-League 12 0 1 0 — — 13 0
2021–22 A-League 22 0 1 0 — — 23 0
Total 34 0 2 0 4 0 0 0 40 0
Utrecht 2022-23 Eredivisie 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
Jong Utrecht 2022-23 Eerste Divisie 24 0 0 0 — — 24 0
Perth Glory 2023-24 A-League Men 12 1 0 0 — — 12 1
Melbourne Victory 2024-25 A-League Men 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
Career total 70 1 2 0 4 0 0 0 76 1

See also

References

  1. ^ "FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019: List of Players: Australia" (PDF). FIFA. 31 October 2019. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b c "Australische aanwinst: Joshua Rawlins". FC Utrecht (in Dutch). 4 May 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Rawlins Set To Complete Move To Dutch Top Flight". Perth Glory. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  4. ^ a b "AFC Champions League | AFC".
  5. ^ "Shanghai Shenhua's Choi hails '100 percent' effort in AFC Champions League win". The AFC. 19 November 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e f Christenson, Marcus; Kemp, Emma (7 October 2021). "Next Generation 2021: 60 of the best young talents in world football". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  7. ^ Taylor, Nick (20 January 2021). "A-League 2021: Perth Glory dominant in season-opening 5-3 win over Adelaide United". The West Australian. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  8. ^ "FFA Cup Report: Glory 1 (3) - 1 (4) Victory". Melbourne Victory. 24 November 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  9. ^ "Joshua Rawlins keert niet meer terug bij FC Utrecht". FC Utrecht (in Dutch). 11 June 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2024.
  10. ^ Morgan, Gareth (29 January 2024). "Rising star Rawlins returns to Glory on loan". Perth Glory. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
  11. ^ Morgan, Gareth (28 May 2024). "ALM player departures confirmed". Perth Glory. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  12. ^ sachapisani (28 June 2024). "Victory recruit Aussie young gun from Eredivisie club: 'Incredibly bright future'". A-Leagues. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  13. ^ tlusk (28 June 2024). "Melbourne Victory signs Josh Rawlins". Melbourne Victory. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
  14. ^ "Risau Corbin Ong bersara? Prospek FC Utrecht dikhabarkan ada pertalian darah dengan Malaysia, calon pengganti terbaik". Majoriti.com.my (in Malay). 28 May 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2023.
  15. ^ "AFF Championship Match Summary Cambodia U15 v Australia U15" (PDF). AFF. 28 July 2019. Retrieved 24 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Trevor Morgan names Australia's Brazil-bound boys". Socceroos. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  17. ^ "CONFIRMED: Squad named for Australia's U23 Asian Cup quest". Football Australia. 18 May 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  18. ^ "Group B: Iraq, Australia play to a thrilling draw". The AFC. 4 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  19. ^ Ward, Roy (4 June 2022). "'Don't ask me how I've done it': Young Socceroo Alou Kuol scores scorpion goal". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  20. ^ "Saudi Arabia turn on the style against Australia to book final ticket". The AFC. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  21. ^ "Japan power past Australia to take third spot". The AFC. 18 June 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  22. ^ Joshua Rawlins at Soccerway
  23. ^ In the AFC Champions League.