A-League Men: Perth Glory striker Nathanael Blair on comparisons to ex-Central Coast forward Matt Simon

Most young, up-and-coming Australian strikers of a tall and powerful build often get shoehorned into comparisons with former Socceroos forward and English Premier League goalscorer Mark Viduka. But while new Perth Glory attacker Nathanael Blair acknowledged his love for the man known as the ‘V-Bomber’, it is an A-League cult hero who he often gets compared to. “In terms of Australian strikers, I’ve never been to been able to avoid Matt Simon, it’s a natural comparison,” Blair said. The man affectionately known as the Wizard of Woy-Woy netted 66 goals in 288 A-League Men’s games and won three premierships while gaining a reputation as a hard-nosed impact substitute. Blair might come face-to-face with Simon on Saturday, when the Glory take on the Central Coast Mariners in Gosford, with the former A-League champion now the club’s sporting director. While Blair said he would stay professional and not try to pick the brains of Simon, he acknowledged the impact Glory veterans Adam Taggart and David Williams had already had on him. Blair, by his own admission, models his game a bit more around Manchester City superstar Erling Haaland than Taggart or Williams’ skill-sets, but said he was learning from them every day. “It’s not every day you get to work with the Golden Boot winner. It’s a bit of an honour,” Blair said of Taggart. “His quality on and off the pitch is unmatched. What more could you ask for, as a young striker trying to learn your craft than two veterans?” “Williams was here in round one of the A-League back in 2005 and I could only dream of having a career similar. “I was having a chat to him in the changing room and 2005 is a year after I was born. He was quite humbled by that.” After missing Perth’s opening round thrashing by Macarthur, Blair came off the bench against Wellington last week to make his first Glory appearance in A-League Men. Blair, who netted during Perth’s Australia Cup run, said he had enjoyed his time with the Glory since moving from Western Sydney and was confident the group would turn things around soon. “It’s hard to bounce back after two losses in the first two games, but I think we are quietly confident in what we’re building,” he said. “There’s definitely a vibe within the group that we know we have the quality to be winning football matches and I think that’ll definitely show in the coming weeks.” Despite the Mariners drawing their first two games of the season, Blair said they were not taking Central Coast lightly. “You always have to respect the back to back champions. It’s an incredible feat,” he said. “Similar to us, I think they definitely have quality in their squad, and they’re yet to click, but we’re hoping that we can take advantage of that, because we need three points.”