In 2020 Football West launched the first-ever NPLW competition in WA and there was much excitement in the local women’s game to see if it would herald the start of a new era for the game.
Unfortunately, COVID meant that the league was severely truncated and it’s probably fair to say that 2021 will be the first true test of the new competition with a full 21 round schedule.
As all clubs now have a season of NPLW behind them, they know the challenges ahead and can draw on their experiences from the shortened 2020 season to hopefully continue the upward trajectory in standards.
MUM FC
Last season’s league champions again appear to be one of the teams to beat. The squad is relatively unchanged, although they have brought in Tia Stonehill and Abbey Green to bolster their attack. Sadie Lawrence and Jaymee Gibbons bring a wealth of W-League experience to their engine room and the backline will again be well marshalled by Katy Schubert. The loss in the night series final to Balcatta would have been disappointing but the competitive nature of the squad remains, and with the return of last season’s Golden Boot and MVP, Katarina Jukic, from Perth Glory duties they will be stronger than during the night series.
The only possible issue lies off the field with a new coach still to be formally announced following the departure of 2020 Coach Of The Year Peter Rakic, leaving Technical Director Mark Jones as the interim coach.
Prediction – 1st
PERTH SC
The 2020 runners up were probably the surprise package of last season, and they certainly created headaches for all the teams with wins against everyone in the league except for Curtin University and Northern Redbacks. Perth have since defeated Redbacks in the pre-season night series.
With coach Danielle Brogan again at the helm, they will be strong contenders for the title and have bolstered their squad with former Republic of Ireland youth international Kerrie Ryan joining them from NPL NSW side APIA Leichhardt. She will add some experience of top-level football to the Azzurri, and they have also secured the services of Perth Glory’s Gemma Craine, who will be a real threat when she recovers from the serious hamstring injury sustained whilst playing for Perth Glory.
There are also many players from last season returning for a second stint, and in Liana Cook and Abbey Meakins they have some proven firepower at this level. They are likely to be strong contenders for the title and should be hot favourites for a top 4 spot.
Prediction – 2nd
FREMANTLE CITY
The port team were many pundits’ tip as inaugural title winners in 2020, but a lack of consistency, especially early in the season, cost them the title. Since then, they have lost their head coach and one of their star players, with Gemma Craine opting to pull on a Perth Soccer Club jersey this season.
Despite these losses, they will still have the services of captain Mikayla Lyons, who was the joint second goal scorer for the league in 2020 and can consider herself desperately unlucky not to have earned a call up to the Perth Glory squad. Glory captain Tash Rigby and Jamie-Lee Gale will be back from the W-League, and there is enough talent spread through the rest of the squad to ensure they will be a tough team to beat.
They may not have enough in their midfield to go all the way to the title, but a top 4 place is something that should be within their reach.
Prediction – 3rd
NORTHERN REDBACKS
The most successful women’s team in the competition are now showing signs of some serious wear and tear and have one of the oldest squads in the competition. There are several players with over 150 games under their belt, and Carla Bennett recently celebrated her 250th senior game for the club.
This experience has stood them in good stead though, and the Top 4 win last season was an example of a team knowing just what it takes to win a game, but doubts remain if they can do this week in and week out, especially if they suffer injuries to a couple of key players.
Having Kim Carroll return for another season is a huge boost for the club, as is the signing of last season’s club Golden Boot Sarah Carroll and these two will need to be wrapped in cotton wool by coach Carlos Vega Mena if the team is to entertain any hopes of more glory, especially with star keeper Morgan Aquino opting to play this season in the NSW NPLW.
Prediction – 5th
HYUNDAI NTC
Trying to predict how the NTC is going to play this season is like trying to herd cats.
The very nature of young players is that they are inconsistent and this was the case last season when they managed to demolish title favourites Fremantle 6-1 just one week after drawing with bottom side Subiaco 2-2.
On their day they can beat anyone, but they can also lose to anyone and this is likely to again be the case this season. With Leticia McKenna moving to the NSW NPLW, Abbey Green going to MUM FC and Grace Monteiro to Northern Redbacks they have lost some influential players from last season, and the toll of the W-League season on Hana Lowry and Tijan McKenna could also be a factor.
Whatever season they have though, there is no doubt they will continue to play some of the most attractive football in the competition.
Prediction – 6th
Balcatta FC
Another team with a new coach, Balcatta have shown signs during pre-season that their stability and injection of new coaching ideas are showing signs of bearing fruit, as they took out the night series with a 2-1 win over MUM FC in the final.
Their team spirit was evident throughout the pre-season tournament and they were undefeated, with a draw against Northern Redbacks being the only blemish on an otherwise perfect record. With Christiane Astorp back from injury they have some goal scoring cover for the departing Perth Glory striker Caitlin Doeglas. Centre back Kimberley McCartney was another impressive performer during the night series, and with skipper Gabby Dal Busco showing that she is still a fine shot-stopper, the team will be hard to score against.
They may not have quite enough depth to seriously challenge for the title, but they should be strong enough for a top 4 finish.
Prediction – 4th
CURTIN UNIVERSITY
As one of three new teams to the top level of women’s football in WA in 2020, Curtin was not expected to be serious challengers for honours but they proved to be a tough nut to crack, and at one stage went on a 3 game unbeaten streak.
Ultimately though, their lack of goals was a real weakness and they scored just 15 in the season.
They didn’t have a hugely successful night series campaign with just one win in the group stages, and it would be a huge turnaround in their form to see them be competitive enough over 21 games to earn a top 4 spot, especially if they suffer any major injuries.
Prediction – 7th
SUBIACO AFC
Last season was incredibly difficult for the Lions, and there was little to be positive about. The numbers weren’t pretty – they only earned 2 points, scored 4 goals and conceded 70.
Despite all this, coach Iain Jolly is hopeful that his team will improve and with the likes of youngsters such as Dylan Davidson, Samantha Ellen and Ella Gillespie he feels the future is looking bright for the club. He also feels the influence of captain Jennifer Walsh can’t be overestimated.
Jolly was also realistic about the challenges his club has faced since coming into the NPLW and had this to say about the new league, and its ability to produce W-league standard players:
“At the moment we are one of the clubs who struggle due to coming from the state background … we want to add more depth and strong players to our team but that has proven very difficult. For that to change Football West has to put a structure in place. (There are) 8 teams at the moment and we want 8 competitive teams. We want the league to be 10 teams soon so again we must look at the structure and how we can maximise the top players and who they play against every week to make sure they are getting pushed hard to improve and be challenged so that carries forward to Perth Glory.”
Prediction – 8th
In many ways, this second season of the NPLW feels like the proper start of the new era, as last season was basically a sprint from start to finish. This year the competition will see teams having to manage their resources over a longer campaign and they may well have to go deeper into their U23 squads than last year.
Northern Redbacks coach Carlos Vega Mena has played professional football in his home country of Chile, and he had this to say about player development in the NPLW:
“As a coach, there is nothing more satisfying than seeing your players developing and succeeding on the pitch. As a developing NPLW league, we need to focus on giving the players the right tools to be able to get to the higher levels. Whether this is through more professional training focusing on developing a player’s skills or developing a player’s mindset and commitment will depend on individual players.”
For those who yearn to see more WA players in international jerseys, it’s to be hoped that the clubs will take up the challenge thrown down by Football West and develop more local players capable of playing in the W-League and at senior international level.
