Ex-Ceres Negros player Grommen joins 2nd tier Aussie club

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MANILA – Not all of Ceres Negros players will be absorbed into the new United City club.

One player from the reigning Philippines Football League (PFL) champion is heading elsewhere as defender Josh Grommen signed with Australian outfit Brisbane City.

The signing, which was made official on Friday, is actually a reunion for both Grommen and Brisbane City as he played for the club’s youth team before packing his bag for the Philippines, where he began his professional career.

Grommen bounced around Filipino and Australian clubs in his first five seasons as a pro, ending up with Davao Aguilas for the latter part of the 2018 PFL season.

Last year, Grommen had stops in Malaysia and Thailand, suiting up for Petaling Jaya and Sukhothai, respectively.

Grommen, who played for Ceres Negros in 2017 and the first half of 2018, returned to the club earlier this year and still got to suit up for the team in the AFC Cup.

The 24-year-old footballer, however, scored a controversial goal for Ceres Negros in a blowout win over Cambodian club Svay Rieng as it was actually a result of an uncalled handball infraction, in which he used his hand instead of his head to put the ball inside the goalmouth.

Amid the then-ongoing talks about the sale of the Ceres Negros franchise to the group of investors led by MMC Sportz Asia and the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic further delaying the PFL season start, Grommen hinted about taking his acts to another club, and it was made formal by returning to Brisbane City.

Brisbane City in the National Premier Leagues (NPL), the second tier in the Australian football ladder.

Unlike the top flight A-League, the NPL is played in conferences based on the states the clubs are situated.

Brisbane City plays in the Queensland Conference.

Also, with the A-League not applying a promotion-relegation system with the NPL, Brisbane City has never tasted top flight football since getting relegated after the 1986 season of the A-League’s predecessor, the National Soccer League.

Brisbane City is currently ninth in the Queensland Conference table with seven points on two wins, one draw, and two losses five matches in.