Image: Dion Fountas
“Blame Malcolm Turnbull,” joked Sean McIlroy as he prepared to farewell teammates at the Grange Reserve on Monday evening. The Kingston City forward – who could easily pass off as Conor McGregor’s double – is one of the losers of the Federal Government’s decision to abolish 457 immigration work visas last month and will depart Melbourne on Thursday having spent the past six and a half years in the country.
Having initially spent a week in Gosford trialling with the Central Coast Mariners, McIlroy moved to Victoria at the beginning of 2011 by agreeing to join the Bentleigh Greens.
At Kingston Heath, he joined a growing British contingent of players which included the likes of Wayne Wallace, James McGarry, Aron Wilford and Tom Matthews, and began life at the club well by scoring on his league debut against the Springvale White Eagles.
“Toby Paterson, a fellow Scotsman got in touch with me as he was the assistant coach there to Andy O’Dell and they bought me to what was then more or less a British-Cypriot club. They were a good bunch of boys and I saw some of them on Sunday.”
Having scored five goals from 15 appearances for the Greens, the Scottish striker joined Heidelberg mid-campaign and scored a further three goals from 11 games during his short spell at Olympic Village, which almost saw him end up with league honours.
“George Katsakis took me there and I ended up playing in the finals. We were close to winning the league actually and would have done so if we had won our last game against Springvale but lost 3-1. The top three teams lost and Green Gully went onto to win it from fourth but that was overall an enjoyable stint.”
McIlroy’s next move saw him join Dandenong Thunder ahead of the 2012 VPL season – a campaign which saw the Dandenong-South based club dominate on all fronts as they secured a historic treble which included winning the VPL Championship and Premiership as well as the Dockerty Cup.
While the likes of Luke Sherbon and Nate Foster took much of the plaudits for their attacking contributions over the campaign, McIlroy played his part in the success and lists the Grand Final triumph over Oakleigh at AAMI Park as one of his career highlights.
“That was everyone’s most successful year in terms of trophies won and I still keep in touch with most of those boys. That was a season I will never forget and obviously the chance to play at AAMI Park was massive and I think that is something which is missed nowadays.
“The final is played at Lakeside Stadium these days and that has been South’s home ground in each of the last two Grand Finals. Even though I gave away a penalty in that Grand Final, I was happy I got to play 90 minutes at AAMI Park and that is one game I will never forget with the post-game celebrations being memorable, even though I had to have an operation shortly afterwards.”
Another year at George Andrews Reserve saw the Scot’s contributions on the pitch restricted by injury as he ended his time with the club at the end of 2013 after scoring 7 goals in 32 games.
With the implementation of the NPL in 2014, McIlroy was reunited with Paterson and his assistant and former Bentleigh teammate Steve Laurie at second-tier St Albans Saints, who themselves has ambitious aims going into the 2014 NPL2 season. Paterson used his contracts in Scotland to recruit former SPL defender Ryan McGuffie to the club as well as a host of other stars including goalkeeper Stuart Webster, fellow Scot Ross Harvey and Sunshine defender Barry Devlin to name a few.
Dinamo missed out on promotion but enjoyed a memorable cup run which saw them reach the Dockerty Cup semi-finals, allowing the Saints to qualify for the national Round of 32 in the inaugural edition of the FFA Cup. A 1-0 away win over Parramatta set up a momentous match-up against the Perth Glory at Knights Stadium in the Round of 16, a fixture which the club lost 4-1 but nonetheless one which McIlroy looks back on fondly.
“At St Albans, that game against Perth Glory sticks out as it was a big historical game for the club. They always treated me well down there and that is one of the games along with that AAMI Park game which are etched in memory. Playing against professional players in front of over 3,500 at Somers Street – that is why you play football.
“In terms of my performances over the course of the year, it probably wasn’t my best season but I enjoyed good friendships with the boys especially the likes of Ross Harvey, Barry Devlin, Toby and the rest of the boys who were a good bunch.”
Paterson’s departure from the Saints hot-seat saw McIlroy follow his compatriot out the exit door having netted seven goals in 26 matches for the club. His next port of call saw him return to Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs after joining Kingston City. 2015 saw the Scot enter his element, scoring 18 times in 26 league games to propel Nick Tolios’ men into a promotion race which ended in the final stages of the campaign after several significant setbacks that included three consecutive home defeats.
But McIlroy is very appreciative of that year at The Grange, which he described as his most prolific season in Australia.
“I played myself into form and felt relaxed and confident and always felt I was going to score. That is why I decided to return here this year as I loved my first spell here and was hoping to replicate it. Everything was just working for me and it is a time I will always remember and look back on as I was playing how I wanted to be playing. We had a good team and pushed for promotion although fell away at the end but nonetheless it was a very pleasing experience.”
It was then that his visa issues began to surface and, with that in mind, a reluctant McIlroy moved across the West Gate and down the Princess Freeway to Stead Park, joining fourth-tier Geelong. An eye-opening experience, McIlroy was joined at the club by a who’s who of Victorian top-flight talent which included former A-League players like Isyan Erdogan and Nick Kalmar, in addition to a number of his former St Albans teammates and coaches.
“Looking back on it I remember hearing of all these good players dropping down to play for Geelong and this occurred at a time when I was having problems with my visa. There was talk of regional support being offered to people in my situation, although I didn’t want to leave Kingston as I loved my time at the club. However it did help that Geelong were coached by Steve and Toby and that the likes of Webster, Harvey and Brodie Paterson had joined the club who I had played with before.
“It was a bit of a reality check when I went from the nice stadiums to the suburban grounds and getting changed in confined spaces, little cubicles or even out in the public. That made me appreciate playing on the good grounds and the level that I can play, hence why I came back to Kingston. But ultimately we went there to do a job, win the league and earn promotion and I became top goalscorer there.”
A return to Kingston followed, but his second stint with City was curtailed by a lengthy suspension for receiving a red card in the dying minutes of the season-opener against Oakleigh.
Nonetheless, two goals in five league appearances as well as an additional strike in the FFA Cup Round 4 win at Murray United made for a good return for the popular Scot, who has already received interest back home in his native Scotland.
But the Kilmarnock native will begin to explore other ventures and possibilities upon arrival in his homeland over the weekend with non-football pursuits taking priority over the on-the-pitch goals.
“A few teams have already spoken to me but I have to look at the bigger life picture there. I set up a life here in the last seven years and don’t want to tie anything down too quickly. I want to assess all my options and see what my best life choice is before worrying about my football. I don’t want to sign somewhere or be somewhere just for purely football reasons.”
134 league games and 55 goals in Victorian football have followed him since first touching down at Tullamarine Airport for the 30-year-old, who has also won two All Nations Cup titles with Scotland as well as finishing runner-up in the competition last term.
A likeable character who will be missed by many of his former teammates and coaches, McIlroy made a name for himself over the last six and a bit years and can leave the country happy with his achievements over the course of that journey.
His former coach Paterson was full of praise for the man he helped get to Bentleigh in early 2011 and has already received enquiries for his services from back home.
“Sean was a terrific signing for me both at Bentleigh and St Albans and was a fantastic professional who looked after himself both on and off the field. He was a great character to have in the dressing room and scored some memorable goals during his time with me. One in particular sticks out as it was a bicycle kick from the edge of the area last minute against Brunswick from memory.
“In addition to that he played a huge part in the Saints fantastic FFA Cup run which ended with that game against Perth Glory. He is a big loss to Victorian football and I have actually had a couple of contacts from clubs in Scotland asking about his availability.”
Whatever the future holds for the likeable forward, there is no doubt that he will go down as one of the most successful imports to have piled their trade in Victoria in this decade.