Ellie Brush has done it all.
She won three Premierships & two Grand Finals with Canberra United, and was part of the club’s undefeated campaign in 2011-12. The defender also spent a season with Western Sydney Wanderers in 2017-18, and her many talents have extended to AFLW, where she has now played three seasons for GWS Giants.
After missing the 2018-19 W-League campaign, Brush is back, and this time she will be wearing sky blue after signing for defending Champions Sydney FC. There were many factors in her decision to sign for Sydney, among them the success that they enjoyed last season, as well as the quality of the squad assembled by head coach Ante Juric.
“I always had it in the back of my mind that maybe I did want to come back and finish on more of a high, so what better way than to come over to a Championship club in Sydney FC?”, she said.
“The team that they’re building under Ante, and keeping as many players as they have from last season, was a big reason as to why I wanted to come to Sydney FC. Ante must be doing something right to retain those players and keep those Matildas wanting to come back to the club.”
Brush is coming off a fantastic season with Northern Tigers in the NSW NPLW competition. After ninth-placed finishes in 2017 & 2018, the Tigers finished third this year, and she spoke highly of the teamwork and camaraderie that helped take the Tigers all the way to the Grand Final.
“Culture is a word that’s thrown around a lot to explain why teams, not just in sport but also in life, can be successful. That certainly stood out for me this year as to why the Tigers enjoyed such success. It was an environment that was really positive, there were no big egos, and everyone worked for the person beside them.”
Photo credit: Dan Ullman (Instagram: @aptitudephotography)
The Tigers were able to achieve this in a league which has improved noticeably in recent seasons. Brush spoke of the broader impact this will have not just on the highest levels of football in Australia, but also on the game as a whole.
“The increasing quality of NPL NSW means the standard of women’s football across the country is growing and growing. That’s only going to be beneficial to our national team, grassroots football, and to keeping girls playing sport.”
Of course, the W-League has also grown, and Brush is impressed by the progress shown by the league over the past decade. However, she knows that there is plenty still to be done.
“The quality has risen and the league is so far ahead of where it was, as is the reputation that it now has across the globe. It is getting competition now with other codes, and that’s meant there had to be a big jump in professionalism. That’s been really good for the league, but things like the draw for the season, we still don’t have the fixtures,” she said.
“I would have liked to think that by the tenth year, we could have been fully professional. That’s a big step, and I hope we keep heading in that direction.”
The growth in women’s football has been matched by other codes in recent years, with the establishment of national women’s competitions in multiple sports, most notably AFLW. As a dual-code athlete, Brush is better placed than most to compare AFLW and the W-League. Football and AFL have different strengths, and she believes that the two codes can learn from each other.
“It seems like the AFL initially threw a lot more resources behind promoting the game initially, than FFA did in those formative years. I really think FFA can learn something in terms of marketing and investing properly in the great product we have. AFLW still has a long way to come as well, and they can certainly learn something from football in terms of the numbers that are playing football, grassroots and pathways for development.”
With all her experience, Brush loves mentoring up-and-coming talent, whether it’s in the NSW NPLW competition or the W-League. Sydney FC have signed plenty of players that fit that description, and the defender is looking forward to taking up a leadership role at the club.
“Something I always love doing is trying to give back. I know when I was a young player I really looked up to the older players in the squad and loved any help or advice that they could give me, so I try and do the same thing. I’ll naturally gravitate to that kind of leadership position and it’s something I’ll relish.”
While she still holds ambitions of adding to her tally of two Matildas caps, Brush is aware that her first task is to get the job done for her new club.
“Never say never, but it all comes down to how I play for Sydney FC. I’ve certainly not given up hope, I didn’t give up hope of playing in the W-League again. I’ll just try and put my best boot forward, and first and foremost try to perform well for my new team.”
Ellie Brush is certainly a welcome addition to the 2019-20 W-League season. Whatever happens, you can be sure that she will be a steady influence as the Sky Blues attempt to win back-to-back Championships.
