Blacktown City FC’s rising young star Dakota Askew is really missing his National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s football fix.

The 22-year-old had a great start to the season under the watchful eye of legendary coach Mark Crittenden but his rise to the top got cut short in March when COVID-19 hit.

Restrictions and with no official NPL NSW Men’s date set as of yet, Askew headed back to Gold Coast where he has spent enjoying downtime with his family and friends but keeping fit and in shape waiting patiently for that call-up to return back to Lily Homes Stadium.

“COVID-19 has affected me dramatically in terms of lifestyle – Since the suspension of football, I decided to return home (Gold Coast).

“I’ve been up here for the last few months now enjoying time with my family and friends.

“It sucks being away from my teammates and not being able to play but I’ve still been training during this difficult period as if the season is set to continue.

“I’ve made it a point to keep in the best shape possible doing cardio and keeping up with my touches on the ball hoping to return to the game I love.”

Askew who has played for the likes of Poole Town FC, Europa Point FC, Brisbane Strikers and Brisbane Olympic is a footballer through and through meaning this has been the youngster’s main source of income.

Without football, Askew has been helping his father out keeping him busy on that front amongst hitting up the waves at the ‘GC’.

“When I moved back home temporarily, I have been doing a little bit of part-time work with my dad as a means to keep me occupied.

“In terms of picking up any extra hobbies apart from going to the beach a lot due to the better weather up at the Gold Coast, I have used this time productively to work on weaknesses in my game and hope to utilise everything I’ve fine-tuned to the best of my ability when we come back.”

Finding his passion and love for the game as a four-year-old, Askew has kept his spirits high ever since restrictions have eased allowing teams to train once more.

“It did put a smile on my face, I think its important to appreciate your regular routine as I’ve figured during lockdown things got boring very quickly.

“Until we here of an official date for the recommencement of the NPL, I will continue with my training up here but looking forward to getting back onto that pitch.

“I’ve really missed game day, for me there’s nothing like the feeling of a bit of pressure to perform and compete with your teammates to win a match.

“We started off on fire winning three games from three and we hope to continue our winning streak when we hopefully return.”

Askew certainly gained a fair bit of attention ever since the 2020 NPL NSW Men’s season kicked off and will no doubt be one to watch out for as one of Crittenden’s gems moving forward.

Coming to the club for the 2018 season, Askew is certainly a player to watch out for with the midfielder hoping to win some silverware with the senior squad.

Blacktown City striker Leroy Jennings has used the COVID-19 break that’s halted football as an opportunity to up-skill himself in a number of interesting new hobbies he’s picked up.

“Yeah you could say that I’ve been doing a lot of boxing for fun and shooting a ton of hoops at a court down the road because I have been watching The Last Dance on Netflix every week.

“I’ve also been learning to play the piano and learning to speak Italian properly which I’ve been meaning to do for a while.”

“No doubt the pandemic has certainly been a real wake up call for me in the sense of just appreciating those simple things we take for granted like being able to play football, having a get together with your family and just hanging out with your mates.

“Spending a lot of quality time with my family which has been a blessing and the biggest positive out of all this would have to be the best thing to come out of this too. It’s obviously been tough to stay home for such a long time but having my family to make the most of it, has made it enjoyable.

“Even though I miss my football and my weekly routine, it’s been nice to slow life down a little bit and pick up on new hobbies.”

Not bad for the 22-year-old who is well cultured, born in Sydney and is half Italian and half Fijian/Tongan just to mix it up a bit.

Known to many as a ‘specimen’ by his fellow peers at Lily Homes Stadium, the former Fijian youth international has stayed true to keeping fit and sharp for the hopeful commencement of the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s season.

“It’s been real tough not being able to train or work but I’ve just tried to be creative with my time and training.

“I’ve been going for runs and using the equipment that I’ve got at home in my garage as much as possible.

“The hardest part is not knowing when the season and football will resume again so I’ve just made my workouts different and enjoyable so I don’t burn out and can stay motivated.”

Blacktown City were flying high prior to the abrupt break having recorded three wins from three games, the high-flyer is certainly missing the banter in the dressing sheds as well as needing to catch up to club captain Matt Lewis on the top goal scorers charts.

“I definitely miss competing and playing games with my team.

“We have such a great team chemistry at our club from the staff to the players and I just miss going out, putting my kit on and playing together for 3 points wherever we are.

“We did start off the season on a great note, I am just hoping we can continue on with it when the league recommences.

“To get to playing our game once more we need to keep positive, patient and keep abiding by the governments restrictions together as a community so we all can get back to normal life and our NPL Football as soon as possible.”

Lily Homes Stadium is home to one of the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s finest defenders in Blacktown City’s Grant Lynch – a home he and everyone in the NPL cannot play at the moment due to this tough period of uncertainty.

“Your correct, it has been a time of uncertainty for everyone.

“I have been very fortunate my job is in healthcare so I am still able to work but outside of that I have been following all the recommended guidelines to limit the spread and like most people in this league doing as much individual training as I can.”

Known as one of the cult heroes at Blacktown City with an ever-expanding fan club, Lynch has been busily training keeping himself fit and healthy.

“Most of my time before this all happened was spent working or playing football and that hasn’t really changed only now the football has been replaced with running.

“My training has been mostly running and sprinting mixed in with some skipping and body weight exercises and then following the prescribed running that Blacktown City have given us.”

Work wise, Lynch has not been affected too much by COVID-19 and has continued to work at a private hospital for now.

“Yes I have continued working (for now) at a private hospital but am looking to help in the public sector in the next few weeks.”

The sportsmanship, camaraderie and playing the world game with his mates at a competitive level have been some of the aspects Lynch has missed.

“It sounds cliché but the thing I definitely miss most is the team.

“I’m lucky that I play with friends at a high level and the atmosphere in the change room is something that you cannot re-create or replace.

The Futsalroo international pleased the importance of obeying government orders during this down time with the hope of getting back to everyday life sooner rather than later.

“I think the most important thing right now is to understand that all the measures put in place are designed to help as many Australians as possible and to never take your health or your families health for granted.”

It’s been a whirlwind week for Blacktown City’s number one custodian Tristan Prendergast following the recent temporary suspension of all football across the nation due to COVID-19.

With no football scheduled till the 14th of April, Prendergast was met with some huge news that he was to be involved in Friday’s Sydney derby following the news that second choice keeper Vedran Janjetovic was ruled out through injury.

Prendergast will be play as the second choice keeper to Wanderers number one Daniel Lopar at Bankwest Stadium.

What makes this switch more intriguing is that  Prendergast was once a Sky Blue.

The in-form keeper has been on song with his club in the National Premier Leagues NSW Men’s competition as City have gone three from three victories prior to the suspension of the league.

Good luck to Tristan this evening.