Player of the Week – Camilo Rios (AA8 Sunday)

Born and raised on the harsh streets of Medellin, Colombia, Camilo ‘The Conductor’ Rios joined Dunbar as a foundation member of the AA8’s.

Never one to mince words, Camilo didn’t shy away from expressing his disappointment after two enjoyable, yet ultimately fruitless, seasons with the squad and was rumoured to be considering an off season move to his local Manly.  However, encouraged by coach Oli Hulett’s off season recruitment drive, the South American journeyman was a late pre-season inclusion.

The decision has paid off in droves with the flashy attacking midfielder revelling in the new squad dynamic on his way to collecting a Dunbar career-high 13 goals in 11 league appearances, including two hat-tricks in the last three.
Camilo earns this week’s Dunbar Player of the Week nod on the back of an outstanding performance in the team’s major semi-final victory against Queens Park Rangers at Wentworth Park on Sunday.
In a tactical move, it wasn’t until the mid-way point of the first half that Rios was injected in to the contest, but his presence yielded almost immediate results as he nodded down a Miki Bisceglia cross with dolphin-esk flying header.
Just seven minutes later, Rios displayed some Víctor Aristizábal-like class as he finished off an incisive run that started at halfway and ended in the corner of the 18-yard box with a beautifully curled strike with the outside of the right boot, reducing the keeper a mere bystander. 

To close his personal account and the game, The Conductor clinically executed a penalty kick into the top right hand corner, earning himself a hat-trick and his side a maiden Grand Final appearance.