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Full Noise by SN
Auckland FC’s unsung heroes step up in statement win
Henry Lee • March 18th, 2026 11:03 am
Jake Girdwood-Reich | Photo: Photospor
As far as regular season games go, not many have been as important than Saturday's 2-1 triumph over the high-flying Newcastle Jets.
It was a massive result for Steve Corica's men, crucial to their cause of retaining the Premiers Plate.
It’s far from over in the neck-and-neck race with the first-placed Jets, but the performance in Newcastle was nothing short of season-defining.
Corica’s men were four points behind the Jets heading into the clash at McDonald Jones Stadium and with five games remaining, a loss would have almost ended their hopes of winning a second piece of silverware in the space of two seasons.
But they stepped up, and while it was Sam Cosgrove and Jesse Randall who grabbed all the headlines, there was another pair of players who were the heartbeat of those three points.
Francis De Vries is quickly becoming a club legend, and rightly so, having not missed a game for Auckland FC through the club's first two seasons.
How Auckland FC's attack differs in 2025/26 season | Sport Nation
His assist for Cosgrove’s second was pinpoint, and the ease with which De Vries linked up with his forwards with that magical left foot has become a key asset for Auckland FC.
Callan Elliot has hardly put a foot wrong in the absence of club captain Hiroki Sakai, banging the door down for a spot in the All Whites World Cup squad.
Elliot’s pace and work rate got AFC out of trouble on a number of occasions, and added that outlet down the right flank.
But it’s the duo of centre-backs, who both in their own right played man-of-the-match performances, that were the key parts of Saturday’s puzzle.
Dan Hall, a back-to-back premier with the Central Coast Mariners, hasn’t slowed down at all under Corica and Danny Hay’s guidance.
His decision-making defensively, sliding in and mopping up any danger that gets past the midfield, has single-handedly kept AFC in the race for the Premiers Plate.
Minus one mistake against his former club at Mt Smart earlier in 2026, Hall has been flawless, unflappable, and someone strikers have nightmares of playing against.
Dan Hall | Photo: Photosport
And then there’s Jake Girdwood-Reich, who was given the man-of-the-match award by his club, and rightly so, proving to be a brick wall for not the first time in 2026.
He’ll try to claim his best moment of the season, as his “goal” against the Phoenix in Derby 3.0 in February, but it’s his partnership with Hall in the second half of the season that has been most important.
Many thought that after Nando Pijnaker came back into the side alongside Hall in January, they would re-solidify a partnership that worked so well last season.
But Pijnaker’s return didn’t have the intended impact, as they dropped a number of points in January with last year’s combination.
Corica reverted to JGR and Hall for Sydney FC at home in early February and the duo haven’t looked back since, helping AFC go unbeaten through that six-game period.
An underrated part of JGR’s and Hall’s game is their heroic last-ditch blocks, which were in full effect against Newcastle.
Hall sits in fourth on the A-League Men clearances list on SofaScore with 118, while JGR is not far behind in sixth with 114. JGR is also sixth in interceptions for the 2025-26 ALM season with 28.
The flashy forwards who light up the goal-scoring tables will rightly claim the headlines, but the heartbeat of Auckland’s victory and their chances going forward revolve around the form of their two central defenders.
After all, defence wins championships.
