Life in the A-League bubble; Soccerscene exclusive with Western United’s Steven Lustica

Staff Writer

When Steven Lustica signed on to join Western United in early 2020, little did he know that the world was within weeks of chaos.

By March, the future repercussions of the global pandemic were beginning to become clear and the 29-year-old’s return to Australia for the second half of the A-League season came to a halt before it even began.

The former Brisbane Roar, Adelaide United, Western Sydney Wanderers and Hadjuk Split midfielder had most recently been plying his trade in Uzbekistan with Qizilqum Zarafshon; playing 14 times and scoring once. Despite interest from a few Asian clubs, a conversation with one of Australia’s most successful young coaches brought him back home for the short term future and he was soon to remind domestic fans of his talent during Western United’s run to the finals.

In this Soccerscene exclusive, I asked the Canberra born Lustica about the behind the scene realities of A-League football in 2020, his return to Australia, Mark Rudan and his thoughts around the recent impasse between the club owners, players and the PFA, as well as the potential ramifications for the league moving forward.

In typically stoic and positive fashion, Lustica was quick to sight the benefits of being locked away as a squad for the final two months of the season.

“Life in the bubble during COVID provided many challenges and difficulties that players had never experienced before, yet spending 7 weeks in a hotel together also provided us with the opportunity to gel as a team; not only on the field but off it”, he said.

Forced to postpone marriage plans with fiance Marina when the restrictions made the mere notion of organising a wedding impossible, Lustica credits Western United and the camaraderie built in isolation with helping players manage the most unusual of situations.

“At times it wasn’t easy being away from family for such an extended period of time but our club was great in helping us get through it and make the experience memorable”, he said.

“Obviously once COVID hit it was a big shock for everyone. No one knew what to expect or what was in store for us. The club stayed strong during this period and provided a fantastic support network which allowed us to come back fit and ready to go once the restrictions were lifted.”

“It was a credit to the club, staff and players that we all came back in such great condition and with a positive attitude to finish off the season the best we could. It was a crazy ride going into the bubble and then finishing the season off but one that we are very proud of and now we can focus on building from our first season”.

The spirit and unity in the United camp were on clear view after the season restart, those elements of team culture Lustica had sensed immediately upon his arrival.

“I signed with the club in January so I missed the first 6 months of the season. However, from my first training session I felt a real positive energy around the place. The boss gave the players the freedom and confidence to go out there and express themselves.”

The boss of whom he speaks is of course, Mark Rudan. The former Wellington Phoenix and Sydney United 58 manager had obviously made an instant impression.

“Mark Rudan is a very demanding coach in a positive way. He sets his goals very high and expects the same from all his players and staff. He provides positive energy and really instilled a winning mentality into the team. He challenges all his players to improve each and every game.”

“I believe the success we had this first season is heavily attributed to his style. He has created a great culture around the club, where there is a balance between working hard and enjoying training every day to improve and achieve our goals”.

Recent discussions between the club owners and the PFA had many concerned that the new A-League season could well be under threat; should a deal prove elusive. The parties eventually agreed on one and with a reduced salary cap and a host of local and foreign talent having departed, I asked Lustica if he was pleased with the outcome.

“I am happy to see an agreement has been reached between clubs, players and the PFA. This is an important step for us all, however I do think the lower salary cap will have a major effect on keeping and attracting quality players in the A league. It is no secret that Asia, especially India, are enticing players with attractive salary packages that the A league can’t match. This will only diminish the quality of the A League.”

Sadly, Lustica’s words may well ring true in the short term future. However, the man who dons the number 10 shirt for Western United has a few other things on his mind. Improving on the fifth place finish achieved in the club’s inaugural season and avenging the loss to Melbourne City in the A-League semi-finals will drive both he and the team.

However, I suspect Lustica is desperately hoping that the ‘new normal’ which we are about to enter also allows those wedding plans to click back into gear and sees Mr and Mrs Lustica finally able to tie the knot.

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A Coroner’s Call: Why Football Can No Longer Ignore the Science on CTE

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The recent coronial inquest into the death of Gordon McQueen has once again forced football to confront an uncomfortable truth.

The former Manchester United and Leeds United defender was renowned for his aerial prowess. But decades after his playing career ended, McQueen was diagnosed with dementia. The coroner has now formally linked his condition to repeated heading of a football. This is a landmark acknowledgement that many in the scientific community say has been years in the making.

For Ian Greener, Australia’s HEADSAFE representative and former State Director of Coaching at Football Victoria, the ruling should be a turning point.

“The evidence has been there since 2019,” Greener tells Soccerscene. “But the general public and much of the football community have simply not been told.”

The Research Football Can’t Ignore

Much of the modern understanding of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in football stems from the work of Professor Willie Stewart at the University of Glasgow. Commissioned by the English FA and PFA, his landmark 2019 FIELD study found former professional footballers were three-and-a-half times more likely to develop neurodegenerative disease. For defenders, that risk rose to five times more likely.

Stewart then spent years re-examining his findings through analysing lifestyle, alcohol consumption, social factors and broader health variables across tens of thousands of records.

“He looked at everything,” Greener explains. “Drugs, diet, social background. After years of further research, he came back to the same conclusion — there is no other explanation apart from repeated head impacts.”

CTE differs from concussion. Concussion is visible and immediate. It can be identified through dizziness, nausea and blurred vision. CTE is silent. The damage accumulates over decades and can only be confirmed post-mortem through examination of brain tissue.

Greener explains the science in simple terms: repeated head impacts cause the brain to move within the skull, stretching neurons. This releases tau protein, which clumps together over time and disrupts electrical messaging in the brain. The result can be memory loss, personality change, aggression, anxiety, and in some cases, suicidal behaviour.

“It’s not about frightening people,” he says. “It’s about understanding brain health.”

Not About Banning Heading

HEADSAFE, founded by the family of former Middlesbrough player Bill Gates after his battle with dementia, operates across three fronts: research support, financial assistance for affected families, and coach education.

“We are not about banning heading,” Greener stresses. “Heading is an integral part of football. What we’re saying is: minimise the repeated heading in training. Most of the damage is done there.”

In England, guidelines already exist. Children under 12 are not permitted to practise heading in training. Though monitoring is difficult, In the Premier League, players are advised to limit high-force headers to around 10 per week. In Scotland, players are not permitted to head the ball the day before or after a match.

Australia, however, has no formalised CTE-specific guidelines.

Greener says attempts to engage both Football Victoria and Football Australia have so far gained little traction. Instead, he has taken the message directly to clubs, academies and grassroots coaches through workshops and podcasts.

“We just need a module in coach education,” he says. “If we’ve embraced sports science in nutrition, recovery and match analysis, then we also have to embrace the science on repeated head impacts.”

What concerns Greener most is not just the science, but the time lag between evidence and action. “This was once considered an old person’s disease,” he says. “But the science now shows it begins much earlier. The symptoms might not appear for decades, but the damage can start in youth.” He argues that brain health should sit alongside hydration, nutrition and recovery in every coaching curriculum. “We talk about load management for muscles. Why wouldn’t we talk about load management for the brain?”

A Duty of Care

The urgency is heightened by the rapid growth of the women’s game. Emerging research suggests female players may experience head impacts differently due to chemical and physiological factors.

“It’s about duty of care,” Greener says. “My grandson has just started playing. I want to know that whether I’m there or not, he’s protected.”

McQueen’s case has placed the spotlight firmly back on football’s responsibility. With further inquests pending in the UK, including that of Bill Gates later this year, pressure is unlikely to ease.

Football has adapted before — from concussion substitutes to advanced medical protocols. The next step, Greener argues, is simple:

“Make every header count. Don’t do 30 or 40 for the sake of it. Protect the brain, protect the player, protect the future of the game.”

The Future of Football with Bill Papastergiadis

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In our first episode of Unfiltered, our conversation with Bill Papastergiadis quickly cemented why he’s the National Chairman and Managing Partner at Moraine Agnew Lawyers, President of the Greek Community of Melbourne, President of South Melbourne FC, and a board member across several organisations.The episode serves as a lens for examining the deep interconnections between football, community, governance, and the tangled politics beneath Australia’s sporting landscape.

Football and the Ties That Bind

For Australian football stakeholders, the implications are clear. Football’s true power isn’t just what happens in the technical area or at the board table; it’s how sport can unify diverse cultures and channel rivalries into positive outcomes. Papastergiadis reflects on his own journey, where law and leadership blend seamlessly into community-building: “All of the things we work in have an interconnection…my job as a lawyer relates to my work at South Melbourne Hallas.” Clubs are, in this sense, social institutions, able to support not just athletes, but families, grassroots volunteers, and community partners.

Yet, the podcast doesn’t shy away from highlighting how politics shapes the game, for better and worse. “Football brings out the best in us and sometimes not the best in us,” Papastergiadis admits. Behind every bid for a stadium, every negotiation with government or governing bodies, there’s manoeuvring, advocacy, and, at times, division. As he puts it, “People are trying to use whatever skill or relationship they have to get their club where they want it to be. They will describe that as political. Politics is really part of our lives.”

The Fight for Access

It’s in this way that the episode’s most substantial industry analysis emerges. The conversation turns to the national second tier- the newly launched Australian Championship, and the legacy of locking NPL clubs out of the A-League.

“I hope it’s fixed. We will agitate for it to be fixed. Not because for the sake of South Melbourne, but for the sake of every club in this country. They all deserve…to aspire, to dream and to bring out the best in themselves and to progress. You can’t stop that in humanity.”

Papastergiadis credits Football Australia and Football Victoria’s recent efforts to re-introduce competition between historic clubs:

“Every club went another level in terms of player engagement, fan engagement, creating a better experience, match day experience for their supporters. Everything went up because we introduced competition again.” Fan attendance soared by up to 600% in one season, and clubs invested in both players and match-day infrastructure. For commercial operators, administrators, and sponsors, this speaks to a simple truth: when doors open, football’s audience answers.

Community, Identity and Social Cohesion

The episode also asks hard questions about identity and inclusion, both for clubs and communities. Papastergiadis doesn’t downplay the tensions that can arise from tribalism or historical rivalries, yet he champions the need for clubs to embrace their heritage within a multicultural framework. “We’re an Australian club, first and foremost (…) we do have, however, a history and it’s a history that gives meaning and purpose to the club. Let’s not deny that, but let’s make sure that history is conveyed in a way which promotes social cohesion, which doesn’t exclude others.”

He draws a direct line between football, ethnic history, and social progress, arguing that attempts to erase cultural identity or punish clubs for their backgrounds was a regressive move rooted in Australia’s old racism. “The demise of the National Soccer League was racist in its execution and to deny those clubs the opportunity to continue to participate solely because of their historical background, particularly when those clubs are what football was built on.”

 

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Industry Lessons and the Path Ahead

Politics will always be embedded within football’s machinery. But, as Papastergiadis notes, the impacts are not inevitably negative, provided that industry leaders focus on engagement, transparency, grit, and trust-building. His advice for clubs working with councils is clear: “Invite them to your events. Invite them to your club presentations. Invite the counsellors to matches. Organise lunches. Through that process, they will find that doors will open. (…) Trust is built over time.”

If anything, this episode illustrates that the future of Australian football rests on industry’s willingness to marry grit and ambition with cultural sensitivity and openness. “The journey is more important than the outcome. We should encourage people to feel good about the particular journey, that daily journey they’re involved in.”

For listeners, football stakeholders, and policymakers, Papastergiadis’ reflections and stories, some poignant, some political, all rooted in decades of experience, are both a window and a challenge. Open the doors, listen deeply, agitate constructively, and let football’s dreams flourish.

Dive into the full episode for more stories, leadership lessons, and insight on shaping Australian football’s next chapter.

Our episode is now out on Spotify, listen here.

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