Biography
Joshua Laws Lewis is a 23-year-old Australian defender, who is entering his second season with the Wellington Phoenix.
> History
Scotland-born, Sydney-raised Joshua Laws joined the Wellington Phoenix in October 2020 after being based in Germany since 2013, where he spent six years in Fortuna Dusseldorf’s youth development system – including 23 appearances in Fortuna’s second team in the Regionalliga.
Laws had also made four appearances for the Scotland Under 16 side and six combined appearances for the Australian Under 17 and Under 23 sides.
Wellington Phoenix Coach, Ufuk Talay, said that he was familiar with Laws from coaching him in the Australian sides and knew what he could bring to the table for the Phoenix.
“I worked with Josh back in 2015 with the Joeys Squad in Chile, as well as during the Under 23 camps in Spain – he gives us a bit of balance as both a left footer and a versatile player; he’s very technical and can play as a six or as a central defender,” said Talay.
“Beyond his technical skills and abilities as both a stopper and attacker, he’s got good passing range and he’s very smart, cerebral – so I have no doubt he’ll fit in well with our style of play and give us a few new options we didn’t have available last season.”
> 2020/21 A-League Season
After joining the Phoenix in October 2020, Laws played in 14 matches – including 12 starts – during the 2020/21 A-League season.
In his first season in the A-League, Laws led the Phoenix in Blocks Per Match (1.07) and was second-equal overall in Blocks (15), while also ranking first in Passing Accuracy in an Opponent’s Half (88.7%) and second in Passing Accuracy (90.9%).
Coach Ufuk Talay said that Laws was a solid addition to the Club’s defensive rotation.
“Josh was consistent for us this past season; he’s smart and it’s always good to have someone like him in your backline who is dependable night in, night out,” said Talay.
”You want a player who comes in and does the job he’s asked to do, and Josh has done this - and more - for us this season; he’ll have more opportunities to contribute to the Club next season and beyond, so we’ll look forward to seeing Josh continue to lift his game even further.”
> 2021/22 A-League Season
The Wellington Phoenix have confirmed that Laws has re-signed with the club for two years, ensuring he remains with the Nix through the 2022-23 A-League season.
Laws say that he enjoyed the comradery of the Phoenix players and coaching staff.
“Over the last year I’ve gotten to know the players and the staff – I just love this team, I love the environment and its culture,” said Laws.
“And from a football aspect I think it’s a really good place for me to be for the next couple of years so I can develop even more; Ufuk and the other coaching staff are very passionate about what they do and you can see that, Uffie’s ambitious to do well and he projects that onto the team.
“I really enjoyed playing under him and his high expectations, it’s a good breeding ground for success.”
