Joshua Jake Bulan Grommen (born 10 July 1996) is a professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

for

Thai League 1 The Thai League 1 ( th, ไทยลีก 1), often referred to as T1, is the top level of the Thai football league system. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Thai League 2. Seasons run from August ...

club Khon Kaen United. Born in Australia, he has represented the Philippines at the under-22 and under-23 levels.

Early life

Grommen was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Australia to a Dutch father Rudy Grommen, and a Filipino mother Alma Bulan.

Career

Club

Joshua Grommen attended the

Queensland Academy of Sport The Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) is an elite sports institute set up in 1991 by the Queensland Government to support athletes in the state of Queensland. Its headquarters are currently located at the Queensland Sport and Athletics Centre in ...

and was part of

Brisbane Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland and has won the domestic title on three occasions, as well as holding the longest unbeaten record of 36 league matches without defeat. Brisba ...

's National Youth League team. At age 18, Grommen moved to the Philippines due to limited playing opportunities in Australia to play for clubs including Loyola Meralco,

Stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

, Ceres-Negros, and

Davao Aguilas The Davao Aguilas Football Club (abbreviated as DAFC) is a Filipino professional football club based in the city of Tagum, Davao del Norte. From 2017 to 2018, the club has played in the Philippines Football League (PFL), the highest level of fo ...

. Grommen joined Loyola Meralco of the now-defunct United Football League (UFL) in 2014 but left the club paying out his contract after getting an offer to play for Brisbane Roar. He returned to the UFL in 2015 with

signing him in for the 2016 season. He had a brief stint with Western Pride back in Australia. He joined Pride in October 2017 and made a bid to join the club's first team. After just two pre-season trial matches he left the club in January 2017 to join

Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...

which were then still playing in the UFL for a chance to play in the

AFC Cup The AFC Cup is an annual continental club football competition organised by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Under its current rules, the competition is played primarily between clubs from nations that did not receive direct qualifying s ...

. The club later won the zonal championships of the

2017 AFC Cup The 2017 AFC Cup was the 14th edition of the AFC Cup, Asia's secondary club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC). Defending champions Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya defeated Istiklol in the final to win their second AFC Cu ...

. He remained part of Ceres, which renamed as Ceres-Negros F.C., when the club moved to the

Philippines Football League The Philippines Football League, commonly known as PFL, is a Filipino professional football league sanctioned by the Philippine Football Federation (PFF). It is the Philippines' highest level of men's club football, supplanting the United Footb ...

(PFL). For the 2018 PFL season, Grommen joined the

which later become defunct by the end of the season. In early 2019, Grommen moved to

Petaling Jaya City The Petaling District is a district located in the heart of Selangor in Malaysia. Petaling is not to be confused with the city of Petaling Jaya located in it, nor the '' mukim'' of Petaling under Petaling Jaya City. The district office is locate ...

of the

Malaysia Super League The Malaysia Super League ( ms, Liga Super Malaysia) is the men's top professional football division of the Malaysian football league system. Administered by the Football Malaysia Limited Liability Partnership (FMLLP), now known as the Malays ...

. He later became a free agent but through connections with fellow Filipino-Australian player

Iain Ramsay Iain Irinco Ramsay (born 27 February 1988) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for Thai League 2 club Chiangmai United, on loan from Thai League 1 club Lamphun Warrior. Born in Australia, he represents the Philippines nationa ...

managed to secure a move to Sukhothai of

. Grommen rejoined Ceres–Negros for the 2020 season. On 11 February, he started in Ceres' first

group match against Cambodian champions Svay Rieng. He scored Ceres' second goal in the 14th minute, converting

Stephan Schröck Stephan Markus Cabizares Schröck (; born 21 August 1986) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for the Azkals Development Team of the Philippines Football League. Although primarily a midfielder, earlier in his caree ...

's cross with what looked like a header. Replays showed that Grommen used his hand to score, yet the goal was still counted in the 4–0 win for Ceres, as the referee and his assistants failed to notice the incident. In March, football tournaments in the Philippines and Asia were either suspended or cancelled due to COVID-19. Grommen then left Ceres–Negros in June and returned to Australia. In August 2020,

National Premier Leagues Queensland The National Premier League Queensland, run by Football Queensland, is the top tier state-level football (soccer) competition in Queensland. The conference is a sub division of the National Premier Leagues. The inaugural season kicked off in Marc ...

side Brisbane City announced that they have signed in Grommen. He made two league appearances for the team that season. Sukhothai announced Grommen's return on 6 January 2021.

International

Grommen has played for the Philippine national youth team. He played for the Philippines in the 2016 AFC U-23 Championship qualifiers.

Career statistics

Club

;Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grommen, Joshua 1996 births Living people Soccer players from Brisbane Filipino men's footballers Philippines men's international footballers Filipino expatriate men's footballers Philippines men's youth international footballers Australian men's soccer players Men's association football defenders Filipino people of Dutch descent Australian people of Dutch descent Australian people of Filipino descent Brisbane Roar FC players Brisbane City FC players Loyola F.C. players Philippines Football League players Stallion Laguna F.C. players United City F.C. players Davao Aguilas F.C. players Malaysia Super League players Petaling Jaya City FC players Expatriate men's footballers in Malaysia Filipino expatriate sportspeople in Malaysia Joshua Grommen Joshua Grommen Joshua Grommen Joshua Grommen Expatriate men's footballers in Thailand Filipino expatriate sportspeople in Thailand