By Chris McAsey
Cambodian star midfielder Veasna Leak was one of the standout players at the AFL Asia Cup and a driving force behind his team’s surge to the Grand Final.
Playing a multitude of roles across the tournament, Veasna’s connection with leading goal kicker Boree King delivered goals time after time when their team needed them.
A perfect example was Cambodia’s thrilling and hard fought semi-final win over undefeated Indonesia. With Cambodia trailing Indonesia by two goals at quarter time, the star duo combined for two goals in quick succession to even the ledger. A third goal to Kieng in five minutes gave Cambodia the lead and they went on to record a gutsy 10-point win.
Tournament leading goalkicker Boree Kieng got great service from Veasna out of the midfield.
Veasna is a natural footballer who is tough, beautifully balanced and agile. His perfectly weighted passes to Keing were a highlight and opened up space for his full-forward to work in.
He was thrilled with Cambodia’s come-from-behind semi-final win over Indonesia which put them through to the Grand Final.
‘I felt great after that game,’ he says. ‘We couldn’t believe that we beat Indonesia when they were undefeated.’
‘We played really hard early but couldn’t score and then we just fought back until the end.’
Veasna was closely checked by the opposition throughout the tournament.
Veasna was often closely checked and pressured throughout the tournament as opponents tried to limit the influence of Cambodia’s prime mover. During the semi-final he suffered a huge hit while backing into a mark, but got up and slotted the goal.
‘I was sore, but I don’t want to show any weakness,’ he says. ‘They hit me hard, but that just gave me more energy.’
Veasna is one of the most experienced players in the Cambodian team and has played some football in Australia. His outstanding tournament was capped off when he was selected in the All-Asia team.
‘I’ve been playing footy for about eight or nine years,’ he says. ‘I grew up in Cambodia, and moved to Australia not long ago and played with a few local teams in Adelaide.’
Veasna says that he, captain Nas Nan and Boree played on-field leadership roles in Cambodia’s young team to support coach Peter Kokke.
Veteran Cambodian captain Nas Nan worked tirelessly for his team.
‘We have more experience than most of the boys here,’ he says. ‘They’re new to the sport and still learning.’
‘We just try to tell them what we’ve learned and get them to play hard.’
Veasna played soccer when he was younger, but is now a true convert to Aussie rules.
‘I love this sport,’ he says. ‘I loved footy since the first time I saw it played.’
