Ethan Beaven looking for progression at the Wollongong Wolves

On the hunt for another defender in his side, Carney made the call to Beaven, who was playing for the Central Coast NPL team last season.

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The 20-year-old defender has spent plenty of time in the NPL system in Sydney, playing four years with Sydney United - where he spent one year coached by former Socceroos assistant and Macarthur coach Ante Milicic - and more recently playing for the Mariners.

Despite not being the tallest defender, Beaven has proved over the years he possesses other traits that make him effective at the back. Being a ball-playing centre-back, Beaven told the Mercury he hopes to bring a number of good habits to the field with the Wolves.

"Coming from Sydney United that [being a ball player] is what was drilled into me," he said.

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"I'm not the tallest, but ball playing, reading the game, stepping in type and trying to be a leader [are things that I try to do on the pitch]. It depends on the coach, some coaches like the big six-foot four just head it away type of defender. One of my main strengths is my composure on the ball."

Beaven added he felt that this was the right time in his career to move to the Wolves, as it would give him the best chance to break into first grade at NPL level.

The youngster said he had enjoyed training so far with the Wolves, sharing the pitch with former A-League attackers Josh Macdonald and Lachlan Scott. He said that he had already learnt a lot from last season's player of the year, defender Banri Kanaizumi.

"It's huge being around those guys, players like Chris McStay and even Banri. They are going to be huge for developing my game," Beaven said.

"They're top people. Lachlan Scott is a phenomenal bloke. Just being in and around them, after what they've done and me being a bit younger, being able to learn off them comes at the perfect time in my career. I'm at the age where you want to be pushing [into] first grade. I thought it was the perfect opportunity [to sign with Wolves]."

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