Western United’s ascent to the pointy end of the A-League Men’s table nearing the mid-way point of the campaign has caught most seasoned observers by surprise, their current run of six wins from seven characterised by late drama, and driven by an old-school forward pairing.

Sceptical eyebrows were raised in the off-season when Western signed Hiroshi Ibusuki, after the Japanese striker left Adelaide United. The 33-year old had been a more than solid citizen at the Reds but seemed at odds with Western’s stated youth policy, and of potential detriment to the development of the highly-touted Noah Botic.

Instead, the pair have brought the best out of each other. Seven goals for Ibuskuki thus far and six for Botic – including Saturday’s brace against Newcastle punctuated by a belter from range – have the club firmly in the finals mix.

‘We wanted to strengthen that [forward] part of the field, and we did remember when we had Aleksandar Prijovic and Noah, or Prijovic and Dylan Wenzell-Halls playing up front together, that it can be a real foil for young players’, Western Director of Football Steve Horvat told Box2Box.

‘[Ibusuki] has been outstanding. We know what Japanese players bring to a football club, their culture, work ethic, the way they fit in. I’m also so thrilled [for Botic] – he’s now in his fourth season with us and to be fair, he’s had a tough run with injuries.

‘But we have incredible faith in him as a footballer. He’s one of the best professionals at our club and when some were querying whether he’d be good enough, we never doubted his work ethic. Those of us who have been in the game for a long time, know that’s the most important thing.

The duo have spearheaded a decidedly young squad, with manager John Aloisi calling heavily on academy products Matthew Grimaldi, Dylan Leonard and Abel Walatee in lifting the side up the table after last year’s second-bottom finish.

It’s rare to see a Championship-winning coach commence a youth-driven rebuild at the same club in the A-League. But United’s faith in Aloisi, paired with their understanding of the shifting financial practicalities in the competition and their fresh approach borne of them, have seen just that.

‘We were fortunate enough to bring John in and win the title in our third season, but post-that we took stock of the club, where we were, and had a look at what that silverware actually meant. Did it bring more members, eyeballs, visibility?’ said Horvat.

‘It was towards the back-end of season four (2022/23) that we developed and implemented our football strategy. A big factor was our academy, promoting players from the western region of Melbourne, and we went through a bit of pain last season.

‘But we’re seeing the fruits of that now, the narrow-minded focus of what our football club wants to be. That’s testament to John and the entire football department for buying in. There’s still a lot of work to do, but it’s been a pretty exciting season to date.’

Now playing consistently in Tarneit at the stop-gap Ironbark Fields, construction continues on the long-awaited, much-debated purpose-built stadium that the club have long promised will be their point of difference in Australian sport, no less football.

‘We’re flagging season 2026/27. It’s easy to be critical from the sidelines… but there’s a lot of costs going into this. Hopefully in the not-too distant future there’ll be some really exciting announcements we’ll be able to bring to the public, that should get the community really excited.