Chats with Trewin, City's "production line" key in luring MacNicol to Victoria
Quinn MacNicol says a chance to jump onto Melbourne City’s “production line” was key in his move from Brisbane Roar, as were chats with World Cup Socceroo and one-time Roar to City nomad Kai Trewin.
Quinn MacNicol says the chance to jump onto Melbourne City’s “production line” loomed large in his decision to depart Brisbane Roar and head to Victoria in the offseason, with conversations with World Cup Socceroo and one-time Roar to City nomad Kai Trewin, in particular, playing a “huge” role.
After reports emerged during the 2025-26 campaign that a switch was on, MacNicol, 18, officially swapped Lang Park for Casey Fields in May when City announced that he’d signed a three-year deal with the club.
Debuting for the Roar in the 2023 iteration of the Australia Cup at just 15 years og age, the young attacker made 23 appearances across league and Cup play for the Queenslanders, with 15 of those, featuring one start, coming during the most recent season under Michael Valkanis.
They were performances that saw him earn Joeys and Young Socceroos honours along the way, captaining the former at the 2025 staging of the U17 Asian Cup.
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But with City’s imprint on the Socceroos’ World Cup squad apparent – Patrick Beach, Aziz Behich, and Mat Leckie all called up from Aurelio Vidmar’s squad and Aiden O’Neill, Connor Metcalfe, Jordy Bos, and Kai Trewin all having their international careers launched by their time at the club – his ambitions saw his eyes turn south.
“The production line of City speaks for itself, really,” MacNicol told JDL Media. “You have so many players that have played for City; Jordy Bos, Conor Metcalfe, they’ve all represented the Socceroos at the highest level, played at World Cups.
“For me, it was a bit of a no-brainer. The environment that you’re put in, you’re set up to succeed; the training facility is unbelievable. You have everything and anything there. That’s going to shape me to be a better player.
“And also the playing group; when you train with better players, and you play with better players, I think you just get better in that sense as well. So yeah, that’ll be a big help.”
The parallels between MacNicol and Trewin are notable, with the latter also debuting for the Roar as a teenager and earning recognition by Australia’s junior national teams before opting to depart and sign with City.
From there, of course, he established himself as one of the best defenders in the Australian top-flight before moving up into a holding midfield role. A first call-up to the Socceroos last November was then followed by a move to New York City FC and, six months later, a place in Tony Popovic’s 26-player squad for the World Cup.
“Kai was huge with my move down to Melbourne,” MacNicol said. “He helped me a lot with a lot of the questions I was asking him, and he spoke nothing but highly of the club.
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“Looking at the trajectory of his career so far, it’s similar to mine, starting at Roar and moving out of City, but then he’s gone on to a lot bigger and better things. Hopefully, I can replicate that.
“He was huge, he’s an unbelievable player, almost like a role model for me, in that sense. I played with him at Roar, an unbelievable player, and an even better person as well.”
After relocating down to Melbourne – mum coming down as well to aid in the transition – MacNicol’s transition hit a slight snag when he picked up a minor stress fracture early on in City’s preseason.
But while that has him “touch and go” to feature in his new club’s Australia Cup clash with the Weston Bears, it shouldn’t impact his ability to contribute throughout what he hopes will be a big A-League Men season.
And with Marcus Younis and Daniel Arzani’s loans complete and Elbasan Rashani’s contract expired, there may indeed be opportunities that present themselves for the former Rochedale Rovers junior.
“Personal goals, I want to get goals and assists, but for me, it’s a bigger picture,” he said. “It’s what I have to do to help the team succeed. If that’s scoring goals, assisting goals, playing one minute, 90 minutes, or anything in between. I think it’s just whatever helps your team. And if that’s helping the club win trophies, then that’s in my best interest. I’ve got to give back to the club as much as they’ve given to me with my opportunity so far.
“I love to be on the ball, and I think I’m a technical player and a creative player. City’s DNA is very possession-based and a lot of exciting forward-playing football. I think I’ll suit it, and it will suit me as well, my playing style. I’m just looking forward to it, and, hopefully, can hit the ground running straight away.”
Header Image Credit: AFC