After welcoming full international Riley McGree to the Boro last week, we look back at 9 more Australians to have plied their trade on Teesside.
Born in Felling near Gateshead, Peter Wilson’s time at Boro was limited to a single senior appearance before he emigrated to Australia to join South Coast United. Enjoying success there playing as a sweeper, he was capped 65 times for the Australian national team, and captained the side at their first World Cup finals appearance in 1974.
Arguably Boro’s greatest ever goalkeeper and certainly our most decorated, Mark Schwarzer was an astute capture for Bryan Robson’s Boro when he signed from Bradford in 1997. Over the next 11 years, Schwarzer was almost indisputably Boro’s permanent no.1, and was part of the team that lifted the Carling Cup in 2004 and went on to reach the UEFA Cup final two years later. Australia’s most capped player, Schwarzer also holds the record for the most caps received while a Boro player, with 53. He represented the Socceroos at two World Cups in 2006 and 2010.
Hailing from Sydney, Paul Okon was once considered the next big thing for Australian football, and had enjoyed spells in Belgium and Italy before joining Boro in 2000. Injuries had taken their toll on his career by that point - including a pelvic problem proven to be a result of a childhood car crash - but when Terry Venables arrived to save stuttering Boro from relegation, Okon stepped up to be a key figure. The midfielder rejoined Venables at Leeds in 2002, the first of five clubs over the next five seasons that ended with Okon back in Australia with his final club Newcastle Jets. He was capped 28 times by his country, several as captain.
Adelaide-born defender Tony Vidmar lifted seven major trophies in five years with Scottish giants Rangers before joining Boro on a free transfer in 2002. An experienced and versatile figure, Vidmar made 12 appearances in his single season at Boro before spells in Cardiff, the Netherlands, and back home in Australia. Capped 76 times by the Socceroos, he has been an assistant coach of the national team since 2019.
Travelling around the world to join Boro’s youth set-up as a teenager, Luke Wilkshire was on the fringes of Boro’s senior side in the early 2000s. Then a midfielder, though he would later play as a full-back, his highlights included playing in a memorable Boro away win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, and in a narrow FA Cup semi-final defeat to Arsenal at the same venue. He joined Bristol City in pursuit of regular football, and after three years there played for a number of clubs across Europe, including two spells with Dynamo Moscow where he was a league winner in 2016/17. He also won the title back home with Sydney FC in 2018, and was capped 80 times by his country.
Mark Viduka will forever be remembered by Boro supporters for fantastic goals and classy displays during his three seasons at the Riverside. The big Australian forward made the switch to Boro in July 2004 from Leeds United, and after injury struggles at first, came into his own during Boro’s fairytale run to the UEFA Cup final. That summer, he captained the Socceroos to the last 16 of the World Cup, the pinnacle of his 43-cap international career. Viduka’s final season at Boro was his most prolific, netting 19 times in all competitions before a move to Newcastle United where he call time on his playing days.
Goalkeeper Brad Jones progressed through Boro’s Academy to become a regular understudy to Mark Schwarzer for both club and country. Schwarzer’s departure in 2008 handed Jones an opportunity, and over the next two seasons he vied with Ross Turnbull and Danny Coyne for Boro’s number one jersey. He left Boro in 2010 to join Liverpool, where he was once more mostly a back-up option, though later in his career he enjoyed a prominent role in title wins for Dutch club Feyenoord followed by similar success with Al-Nassr in the Saudi Professional League. Now 39, he is still playing football with hometown club Perth Glory.
Scott McDonald was one of a number of players bought from north of the border by boss Gordon Strachan, but was one of the most successful. The wily forward had found the net regularly for Motherwell and Celtic, and though it was not always plain sailing in a Boro shirt, was our most consistent scorer over his three full seasons at the club. He later played for Millwall before a return to Motherwell, also turning out for Dundee United and Partick Thistle. McDonald was capped 26 times by Australia, and was part of the side that finished runner-ups to Japan in the 2011 Asia Cup.
Described as a ‘Roll’s Royce’ by former Boro boss Tony Mowbray, Rhys Williams was a cultured operator in defence or midfield. Boro in Perth, he joined Boro’s Academy set-up as a teenager and was quickly offered pro terms. But for a strong of serious injuries he could have made far more than his 141 appearances over his eight seasons with the club before returning home in 2016 to join Perth Glory. Now 33, Williams plays for A-League side Western Sydney Wanderers, where he is a teammate to another ex-Boro man in Tomas Mejias.
An honourable mention goes to Craig Johnston. Born in South Africa but raised Down Under to Aussie parents, Johnston’s story is one of the most remarkable in Boro’s history. His parents sold their house to fund Johnston’s flight from Australia to England, where he trialled with Boro. He was rejected at first by Jack Charlton, but stuck around at Ayresome Park and persevered to the point of reaching Boro’s first team as a 17-year-old. The winger went on to have an incredible career at Liverpool, where he won no fewer than five league titles as well as the European Cup. Johnston resisted calls to represent Australia, as well as Scotland and South Africa, instead playing for England’s Under-21 side and receiving one call-up to the senior squad without making an appearance.