The 17-year-old who swapped school for A-League finals

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The 17-year-old who swapped school for A-League finals

Dylan Leonard is getting a different education this year.

While his mates are preparing for exams, the 17-year-old Western United sensation is studying up on strikers under the tutelage of one of Australia’s greatest ever marksmen.

United coach John Aloisi can’t stop praising the talented young centre-back who has looked mature beyond his years at the heart of defence.

And Leonard is soaking up every bit of Aloisi’s advice.

“He says to play with confidence, especially when you make mistakes – don’t change, don’t do anything different, like you’re there for a reason,” Leonard told AAP ahead of his finals debut.

“Play the way you play.”

Last year, Leonard was juggling studies and football.

But battling with fatigue, he dropped out earlier this year.

Leonard started believing he could belong at A-League level when he went toe-to-toe with Melbourne City stars Marco Tilio and Andrew Nabbout in a pre-season friendly.

After a calf injury to James Donachie created a starting opportunity, Leonard hasn’t looked back.

Leonard could have gone with the Young Socceroos to the U20 Asian Cup – where they won silverware and U20 World Cup qualification – but chose to stay behind to cement his spot at United.

He has no regrets.

“As much as an honour it is to play for your country, for me, I felt like the right footballing decision was to stay,” Leonard said.

“We had a few tough games coming up, and I wasn’t too happy with the way I was playing, and really wanted to get back onto the next game and get better.

“I felt if I’d gone away, it wasn’t the right thing for me or for the team.

“I’m happy they won it. It brings a lot of confidence and shows the level of *********** football.”

Leonard, whose family is Scottish, dreams of one day playing for Celtic, while he’d love to emulate former Sydney FC young gun Hayden Matthews in cracking the Socceroos.

“It shows that the coaches are willing to put trust in young players,” he said.

“That’s something the A-League’s starting to do as well, not just the national team, and it’s paying off.

“There’s a lot more players going overseas, and then because of that, we’re building a better national team.”

After beating Auckland last Saturday to seal third place, Western will host Adelaide United in their elimination final at Ironbark Fields on Friday night.

Although golden boot winner Archie Goodwin (hamstring) won’t feature, Leonard is wary of Adelaide’s attack.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if they threw something different at us this week,” Leonard said.

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