Rhys Youlley is an Australian professional soccer player who plays for K.V.C Westerlo in Belgium. He grew up in Sydney as a junior before moving to K.V.C. Westerlo in Belgium. He has represented Australia at U20 & U23 level, playing in the AFC U23 Asian Cup in 2024 with the Olyroos.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rhys Youlley | ||
| Date of birth | 13/02/2005 | ||
| Place of birth | Sydney | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | K.V.C. Westerlo | ||
| Number | 36 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2016-2018 | Sydney FC | ||
| 2018-2022 | Western Sydney Wanderers | ||
| 2022-2023 | Macarthur Bulls | ||
| 2023-2025 | Jong Westel | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2022-2023 | Macarthur FC | 3 | (0) |
| 2023-2025 | K.V.C. Westerlo | 6 | (0) |
| 2025- | Sydney FC | 0 | (0) |
| Total | 9 | ||
| International career | |||
| 2023-2023 | Australia U18 | 3 | (0) |
| Australia U20 | 7 | (0) | |
| 2024- | Australia U23 | 4 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Rhys grew up in Sydney and played football from a young age, often going along to watch his older brother Liam play matches before he could join a team himself.
In 2016 he joined the Sydney FC Academy as a 12 year old, before moving to Western Sydney Wanderers Academy from 2018-2022.
From his time at the Western Sydney Wanderers Academy, Youlley made the move to Macarthur FC where he made his A-League debut in a 1-0 loss to Newcastle Jets, coming on as a 79th minute substitute in February 2023 [1] . He continued to play for the Bulls Academy team before earning himself a move to Belgium.
The Australian joined Belgian side K.V.C. Westerlo in 2023 with his previous employer Macarthur granting him the opportunity to pursue his football career overseas. [2] Youlley initially played in the youth team upon arrival before making his first team debut in the Croky Cup defeat to R.S.C. Anderlecht in May 2024.
He made his league bow on the 9th of February 2025 at home against Standard Liege and continued to feature off the bench at the back end of the campaign for his side.
Youlley has represented his nation on more than one occasion in the youth set ups, moving his way through the ranks of the U18's, U20's and U23 sides.
He has featured at a number of major tournaments including the AFC U23 Asian Cup in 2024 where he was the youngest member of the squad, however he was unfortunately left out of the U20 side for the AFC U20 Asian Cup due to him not being released by his club in Belgium as this tournament fell outside of a FIFA International Window.