Leroy Jennings back to his best
Off the back of cementing their place in the Waratah Cup Final, we spoke to Sydney United 58’s Fijian international Leroy Jennings on his strong season so far, the league campaign and their upcoming match against the Western Sydney Wanderers.
After a difficult start to the season, United 58 have gone on a strong run of form, currently on a four-match winning streak in the league and making the Waratah Cup Final in the mid-week.
“It’s no secret our start to the season wasn’t the one we were hoping for, but gradually we were showing signs of progress,” said Jennings on 2025 so far.
“It always takes time to gel and find your rhythm when you have a lot of team members playing together for the first time.
“The results weren’t there at first, but we all knew there were glimpses of what was to come.
“There is no doubt that Ante came in and shared his coaching philosophy and team values from day one, encouraging us to stick to the plan, and you can see that the results speak for themselves now.”
Jennings has been a crucial part of United 58’s recent form, making a highly impressive return to the side after spending 2024 rehabbing from an ACL injury.
“On a personal level, I’m super happy to be back playing after spending last season rehabbing my ACL,” he said.
“I put a lot of hours and hard work into getting back onto the field, so hopefully that shows in my performance.
“After going through that journey, I’m not taking any game for granted and have rejuvenated my love for playing the game and working hard with the boys.
“I’ve always performed best when I’m enjoying myself.”
As he has all campaign, Jennings will look to terrorise the opposition defence once more this weekend, when taking on the Western Sydney Wanderers in a high-stakes match at Wanderers Football Park.
Currently in sixth place, United 58 are three points off both Blacktown City and APIA Leichhardt, who are in fifth and fourth, respectively.
With Blacktown and APIA facing off this weekend, a win could see them move into fifth by the end of Round 19.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to collect another 3 points and keep climbing the ladder,” Jennings said when asked about the upcoming match.
“We know Wanderers are always sharp and full of talented players, so they are always a challenging team, especially with us playing the Waratah Cup semi-final mid-week.
“Recent results across the board have proved that nothing is a given in this comp, so we will need another massive performance.”
Meanwhile, after making their second Waratah Cup final in three years on Wednesday night with a 2-0 victory over SD Raiders, they will be looking for a similar result to 2023 when they take on League One heavyweights the Northern Tigers.
With United 58 making a strong case for finals, and already in the Hahn Australia Cup Round of 32, there is plenty to look forward to for Jennings and his side.
“Naturally, we want to finish as high as possible and end this season as Champions, which is definitely possible,” he said when asked about his goals for 2025.
“We have both Waratah and Australia Cups still in our sights, as well.”
Watch Jennings and United 58 travel to take on the Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday afternoon at Wanderers Football Park, with the 3pm kickoff – as always – streamed live and free on Football NSW’s YouTube Channel.
