Earlier this year seventeen-year-old Logan Rogerson made a conscious decision to put his head down and work hard on the Wellington Phoenix training ground and that attitude was rewarded when he was named in the New Zealand squad to play in the OFC Nations Cup along with five other Phoenix players.
Rogerson has always had the ability, but there were some people who didn’t think he put in enough effort and thought enough of him to talk to him about his attitude.
“Yeah, a few people had a chat to me which I appreciated and I have made sure that I have given it everything every day,” Rogerson said.
“It meant I turned up at the New Zealand training camp in good condition and was able to put in a good shift every day.
“The stats showed I did well this week and met the standards the coaches were looking for.
“It was hard work but I am over the moon to have made the squad and will be going to another All Whites training camp in Brisbane on Saturday.”
The other Phoenix players to make the squad are Michael McGlinchey, Matthew Ridenton, Tom Doyle, Louis Fenton and new signing Kosta Barbarouses.
All Whites squad to play the OFC Nations Cup (Club side, country, caps and goals for New Zealand):
Goalkeepers
Max Crocombe (Oxford Utd, England 0, 0)
Stefan Marinovic (SpVgg Unterhaching, Germany 3, 0)
Tamati Williams (RKC Waalwijk, Netherlands 1, 0)
Defenders
Luke Adams (South Melbourne FC, Australia 0, 0)
Michael Boxall (SuperSport Utd, South Africa 14, 0)
Sam Brotherton (Wisconsin University, USA 1, 0)
Kip Colvey (San Jose Earthquakes FC, USA 0, 0)
Thomas Doyle (Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand 2, 0)
Louis Fenton (Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand 3, 0)
Midfielders
Te Atawhai Wihongi (Onehunga Sports FC, New Zealand 1, 0)
Moses Dyer (Onehunga Sports FC, New Zealand 2, 0)
Clayton Lewis (Onehunga Sports FC, New Zealand 3, 0)
Michael McGlinchey (Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand 33, 3)
Matt Ridenton (Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand 1, 0)
Bill Tuiloma (RC Strasbourg Alsace, France, 9, 0)
Themi Tzimopoulos (PAS Giannina FC, Greece, 3, 0)
Forwards
Kosta Barbarouses (Melbourne Victory, Australia 29, 2)
Rory Fallon (Bristol Rovers, England 18, 4)
Monty Patterson (Ipswich Town FC, England 0, 0)
Logan Rogerson (Wellington Phoenix, New Zealand 1, 0)
Marco Rojas (FC Thun, Switzerland, 23, 1)
Shane Smeltz (Sydney FC, Australia, 51, 24)
Chris Wood (Leeds Utd FC, England 39, 14)
