Centreback Ryan Noon is one of a number of new faces who will be turning out for Melville when the northern premier league kicks off with an away match against Tauranga City at Links Ave (3pm, Saturday March 23).

(NB. Melville's follow-up game is away to Wanderers Sports Club on Thursday March 28 at 7.30pm, while their first home game is on Easter Monday, 3pm on Gower 6, with Gower No 1 having still not recovered from renovations.)

Visually 22-year-old Noon appeals as a cross between Luke Searle and a young Wayne Bates and he has shipped in after playing a handful of matches for Gisborne Thistle in 2023, having emigrated from England

Noon played for Scunthorpe United academy teams from 11-16, then was at Darlington on a youth scholarship.

At 18 he returned to his home town and played for Goole AFC (Yorkshire) in the Northern Counties East League Premier Division (the 9th tier of English football) though in late 2022 he broke his leg and dislocated an ankle while playing.

He joined Gisborne Thistle last year after having been approached by a friend at the club, then at the end of the season stopped in at a few training sessions at Gower Park before the Chatham Cup final, in search of playing at a higher level.

As a youth Noon would play half a game as left-footed centre back and half a game as centre forward, but now focuses exclusively the defensive side, where his strengths are his aggression and reading the game.

At Melville he is expected to feature in a formation based around three centre backs and he has been impressed with the standard at Gower Park and the style of play.

"The standard of football is good," Noon said. "The way they play is brilliant with passing football compared to the English game, which is really much long ball, so it's a nice level to play."

When asked who had impressed in pre-season, the first name he mentioned was Chatham Cup final goalscorer Lucca Lim.

"Ry Mcleod has obviously also got some magic, while Erik (Panzer) is a very experienced player to play next to.

"But the whole squad is good.  There's a lot of depth, a lot of young lads coming through."

Noon was also taken by 17-year-old Torhan Kurnez, who scored a quality goal in Melville's 4-1 away win over East Coast Bays in the Unicorns final warm-up match, where Campbell Brown was also back to his best form.

Melville's 2024 squad:

1 Max Tommy

2 Ryan Noon

4 Niall Fletcher

5 Campbell Brown

6 Matthew Dale

7 Ry McLeod

8 Isaac Bates

9 Jack McGovern

10 Lucca Lim

11 Thomas Cave

12 Jakob England

13 Dylan Williams

14 Charlie Holloway

15 Erik Panzer (Captain)

16 Alec Bowden

17 Dan Maronga Ngungambili

18 John Oakman

19 Torhan Kurnez

20 Lemuel Kayleb Le Hane

21 Nathan Marlow

22 Max Gurnick

23 Roman Knox

24 Liam Jessep

25 Archie Mutch

Article added: Friday 22 March 2024