NPL: Andrew Pawiak back on solid ground with Lambton after turbulent time

And now the 22-year-old midfielder, and the Lambton Jaffas, are reaping the rewards on the pitch.

Jaffas are unbeaten, with two wins and a draw to start the year, and Pawiak has been a key player.

With Jobe Wheelhouse and Ben Hay leaving Lambton's midfield, Pawiak has stepped into the breach.

"He's probably been our pick across the first three games," Jaffas coach James Pascoe said. "When you sit back and analysis it and the roles you ask people to play, and how they execute it, he's probably been the pick.

"He's always been a good player, he just probably needed to feel comfortable at senior level, not being the biggest boy. But he's strong, with a low centre of gravity, and he does what he does really well."

Pawiak went close to an A-League debut in 2015 when he was twice an unused substitute for the Jets. After leaving the club, he played a handful of NPL matches with Maitland in 2017 before taking up a deal with Ilocos in the Philippines.

He returned after one season and joined Hume City in the Victorian NPL in 2018 before moving mid-campaign to Werribee City.

Now back home at Beresfield, Pawiak was focused on his exercise and sports science degree at Newcastle university and continuing his solid start at the Jaffas.

"The Philippines was a bit interesting," Pawiak said.

"It didn't really work out for me in the end because I couldn't get my Filipino passport, so it wasn't viable to stay there after that.

"I went to Hume but I tore my meniscus in the pre-season and that really hampered me, and I was in and out of training and games, so I was let go and I finished the season with Werribee in NPL 2.

"The last couple of years have been sort of turbulent, but it's good to be home and have that bit of stability and I can just focus on getting back to my best football."

He said he hadn't closed the door to professional football "but once you get to your mid-20s, the opportunities start to dwindle".

"I gave it a good crack and it sort of hasn't worked out and I'm at that age now where chasing that isn't really sustainable," he said. "So I'm happy just to be home and having that stability."

He said reuniting with Pascoe, who coached him at the Jets Youth, was a factor in joining Jaffas.

"I know what to expect from him and what he expects from the playing group," he said. "And I played with a few of the boys there in the youth team, like Michael Kantarovski, Tommy Waller, Braedyn Crowley, Finn Parris.

"It's been a good start, but we're not getting ahead of ourselves."

"We just want to keep putting in the good performances and hopefully the results will continue."

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