NPL Men’s NSW Stars snapped up by A-League clubs

Following on from their fantastic performances in the 2024 National Premier Leagues Men’s NSW season has come the news that APIA Leichhardt FC’s Ben Gibson and Rockdale Ilinden’s Dean Pelekanos will be strutting their stuff in this year’s Isuzu UTE A-League season.

Gibson had a massive season with Waratah Cup Champions APIA Leichhardt where he scored 18 goals for Franco Parisi’s side.

His energetic performances caught the attention of Jets coach Robbie Stanton who moved swiftly in recruiting the ace attacker.

“Ben is a player who we have been looking at for quite some time now and I’m glad I can bring him to the Jets,” said Stanton.

“I’m excited to see what he can achieve here, and he is someone who I think will fit into our structure and add to our attacking depth. He is a player who can get in behind opposition defences as a nine but also play from out wide.”

Pelekanos was formerly part of the Wanderers Academy and was the captain that led the first team to their historic promotion to the National Premier League competition.

In 2023, Pelekanos made the move from the Red & Black to St George City FA where he played for a year before making the move to Rockdale Ilinden.

At Rockdale, Pelekanos won the Premiership bringing silverware to Rockdale for the first time in over 40 years and more recently, featured in the NPL NSW Grand Final over the weekend.

Pelekanos is set to represent his local club for the first time in his senior career and said it was a dream come true.

“Spending my youth here was amazing, before I signed for the youth team, I was a season ticket holder, went to every game, a huge fan, and being able to spend my youth at the club was a great feeling. This club means everything to me, I was born and raised in Western Sydney, I am just as big a fan now at 23 than I was when I was a child,” said Pelekanos.

“My personal goals are to perform at the highest level on a consistent basis, and make sure to be connected to the fans and community as much as possible, for team goals we obviously want to be in the finals and win trophies, this club is massive and should be competing for trophies every year.

It’s what the fans deserve and are wanting, so being competitive and winning as much as possible is what me and all the boys should be wanting, not just for us, but for the whole of Western Sydney”.