Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers stars set for 200-game milestone

Wanderers midfielder Mitch Nichols charges onto the ball at Spotless Stadium.

Tuesday, 31 January 2017 –

Opta @OptaJason

By Round 17, the Hyundai A-League boasted 16 players to have played 200 or more games. And this round, two more stars are set to join the “200 club”.

Sydney FC defender Alex Wilkinson and Western Sydney Wanderers creator Mitch Nichols are both poised to play their 200th  Hyundai A-League game in Round 18.

However, Sydney FC goalkeeper Danny Vukovic continues to lead at the top of this exclusive club, with his 267 A-League appearances more than any other player in the history of the competition.

Wilkinson is set to become the 17th player to do so when his side travels to Suncorp Stadium to face Brisbane Roar on Friday night.

 

Wilkinson has proven to be one of the most effective defenders of the season.

He has helped to steer the undefeated Sky Blues backline at the same time putting himself back in contention for a place in the Caltex Socceroos.

He’s one of only six Sydney FC players to have featured in every one of their 17 games so far this campaign, and his passing accuracy of 81.7% is the third best of any Sky Blues player to have made at least 500 passes for the season so far.

Add to that his flawless tackle technique which has seen him win nine of nine tackle attempts and almost two interceptions per game this season, and it’s easy to see why his quality has seen him poised to join the 200 club.

Nichols is set to face Phoenix in New Zealand a day later in his 200th A-League game after stints with four different clubs.

The Gold Coast-born creator has continued his stellar form for the red and black this season, after a 10-goal season in 2015/16, more than he has scored in any other season in his A-League career.

While he hasn’t found the back of the net as often as he did last year, with just one goal to his name this campaign, he’s remained the creative outlet for Tony Popovic, while his workrate has been superb.

Nichols’ 37 chances created so far this season are the second most of any player behind only Newcastle Jets’ Andrew Hoole who has created 43 chances.

The attacking midfielder has also registered five assists this season, a figure which only five players are currently beating across the entire competition.

In fact, Nichols’ five assists are two more than any other Western Sydney Wanderers player.

Both Wilkinson and Nichols have had celebrated domestic careers and on the cusp of their respective 200th Hyundai A-League game, we congratulate the pair on joining the “200 club”.

 

Football Federation Australia