Football
AAP 3y

Macarthur FC land ex-Melbourne City winger Craig Noone

Macarthur FC's signing spree has kicked on with the Bulls landing former Melbourne City winger Craig Noone on a two-year deal.

Noone, 33, joins the Bulls after two seasons at City, where he won the premiership-championship double in 2020-21, providing six goals and eight assists.

The Englishman joins Johnny Warren Medal winner Ulises Davila and former Central Coast playmaker Daniel De Silva among Macarthur's recruits as they attempt to improve on reaching a semifinal in their inaugural season.

- Stream ESPN FC Daily on ESPN+ (U.S. only)

"The football knowledge Craig will bring to us will be enormous," coach Ante Milicic said.

"He is extremely versatile. A player who can play on both left and right sides of the pitch, giving us plenty of flexibility and threat in our front third.

"Craig is the type of player that can add a lot into our attack."

Despite their big signings, Macarthur will be without their leading goal scorer Matt Derbyshire after the striker joined Cypriot club AEK Larnaca FC for an undisclosed amount. Derbyshire, 35, was second in the A-League golden boot with 14 goals in 27 games.

Meanwhile, double title-winning captain Alex Wilkinson will return to Sydney FC for another year after signing a new contract which will take him through to the end of the A-League 2021-22 season. It will be Wilkinson's sixth season with the club as he goes looking for a fourth A-League crown, with the 36-year-old saying he's still hungry for more silverware.

The Sky Blues lost this year's grand final to Melbourne City.

"I'm feeling good and I'm extremely pleased to be captaining this fantastic group of players once more," Wilkinson said.

"With the FFA Cup returning and another AFC Champions League campaign to contend with, plus our challenge for more premiership and championship titles, it's going to be a tough and very exciting season."

The defender has missed only three A-League games in five seasons, two of which was when the coach decided to rest him, and he was the club's only player to play every second of last season.

Wilkinson has already won more premierships (five) than any player in Australian National League history (since 1977) and also holds the A-League record for most finals appearances (27) and grand final (7) appearances. He is also one of only five players to make 300 appearances in the A-League, despite having missed three seasons playing in Korea.

Across the Tasman, the Wellington Phoenix have parted ways with Israeli international Tomer Hemed. Hemed, 34, scored 11 goals and delivered three assists in 21 games.

^ Back to Top ^