W-League Team Preview

Overview

There’s an old adage that says winning back-to-back championships is the hardest thing in sport, and it’s easy to see why: repeating success year-on-year requires a consistency of personnel, an evolution of tactics, and a hefty slice of luck. Any team that tactically stands still is left behind, while changes to the core of a playing group can lead to differing dynamics on and off the field. It’s for these reasons – among the millions of variables throughout the course of a season – that only four Australian football teams have won back-to-back grand finals since the turn of the century: Wollongong (2000-01) and Perth in the NSL (2003-04), Brisbane in the A-League (2011-12), and Melbourne City in the W-League (2016-17-18).

That’s exactly the task that awaits Sydney this season: to once again climb the mountain of the W-League and plant their sky blue flag at its summit for the second consecutive season. Even with that weight of history, Sydney defender Alanna Kennedy believes her side has what it takes to go all the way once again. “I think there’s no need to change too much for us. I’m confident we can win again but I know it doesn’t come easily,” Kennedy told w-league.com.au. “You have to be pretty consistent throughout the league, so that’s our aim this season and I’m confident we can do it with our Sydney team.”

Kennedy is right to credit her side’s consistency; in an off-season marked by seemingly endless player movement, manager Ante Jurić has done well to maintain stability across his playing roster. Of Sydney’s 20 announced players, 16 are returning for another season in sky blue, including Matildas stars Kennedy, Chloe Logarzo and Caitlin Foord, plus American imports Sofia Huerta and Aubrey Bledsoe, all of whom were instrumental in their side lifting the W-Championship trophy last year.

 

Last Season

2018-19 was a flagship season for Sydney Football Club, as it became the first in Australian history to win both men’s and women’s national league grand finals in the same year. Largely guided to the playoffs by Caitlin Foord’s prowess up top – leading the way with nine goals – and an attacking triumvirate of Princess Ibini-Isei, Lisa de Vanna, and American playmaker Savannah McCaskill, Sydney’s fearsome front four combined for the equal-best attack in the league, notching 16 of the side’s 28 goals through the regular season.

Despite that incredible achievement, most of Sydney’s season was almost a perfect picture of mediocrity. Finishing with a 6-1-5 record, and after stumbling through the first half of the season, Sydney made the finals in third place, with only goal difference seeing them ahead of Perth and Melbourne City. However, Sydney kicked things up a gear in the playoffs, dispatching Brisbane in the semi-final before returning to their home turf to dominate a Sam Kerr-led Perth side in the Big Dance, earning their third Championship crown with a 4-2 win.

https://twitter.com/SydneyFC/status/1176398361206722560

Ins and Outs

IN: Ellie Brush (Northern Tigers), Mackenzie Hawkesby, Remy Siemsen (both Western Sydney), Veronica Latsko (Adelaide)
OUT: Lisa de Vanna (Fiorentina, Italy), Amy Harrison (Western Sydney), Danielle Colaprico, Savannah McCaskill (both end of loan)

With the loss of de Vanna and McCaskill, Sydney are without two of their most important attacking weapons from last season; although de Vanna didn’t contribute on the scoresheet, her ability to stretch defences with speed and find the final pass for a teammate shouldn’t be underestimated, while McCaskill’s touch of class was a hallmark of Sydney’s attacking raids throughout the year. The departures of Colaprico and Harrison also leave the side two running midfielders short, though the return of Taylor Ray and Amy Sayer from long-term injuries may go some way to replacing their work ethic and versatility.

On the other hand, Sydney have recruited two outstanding players at either end of the pitch: two-time W-League champion Ellie Brush, and American striker Veronica Latsko. In Brush, the Sky Blues have signed a leader in defence and a genuine set-piece threat – she is the all-time leading scorer among W-League defenders – while Latsko’s attacking threat will no longer be foreign to backlines throughout the league after her nine goals in 12 games for Adelaide last season. Add to that equation a re-invigorated Remy Siemsen, looking to recapture the form that saw her named W-League Young Footballer of the Year in 2017, and NSW NPLW star Mackenzie Hawkesby, and you’ve got a team once again brimming with talent across the pitch.

The Strengths

Defence

With almost 300 W-League appearances between their three potential centre-backs, Sydney have by far the most experienced defence of any club in the league this season. Alanna Kennedy will once again anchor the side’s backline, while Ellie Brush and Elizabeth Ralston will be vying for a spot alongside the Matildas stalwart. With American international Sofia Huerta re-signing for the Sky Blues this season, and club captain Teresa Polias retaking her favoured position in front of an omniscient backline, Sydney’s back five will be as imposing a force as any other, in a league where miserly defence has constantly delivered silverware.

 

The Challenge

Replacing McCaskill

American attacker Savannah McCaskill was a genuine revelation in the W-League last season. Drafted second overall in the 2018 NWSL Draft by Boston before eventually ending up at Sky Blue, McCaskill’s attacking nous came into its own as the season wore on, with her ability to pick a pass seeing her finish equal-5th in chances created and 10th in assists. Losing McCaskill presents two main problems – replacing that technical ability on the ball and attacking impetus, but also forming partnerships among the new first-string forward line. If those three pacy forwards don’t receive proper service in the final third, Sydney would be forced to rely on long passes over the top or shots from distance to break down opposition defences.

 

Key Players

Ellie Brush

Following a season concentrating on AFLW with GWS Giants and an impressive year in NSW NPLW with Northern Tigers, Brush has returned to the W-League with Sydney, and will be looking to emulate the success she earned in her 100-plus appearances for Canberra United. Her calmness on the ball and experience over more than a decade at the top level will prove invaluable for the Sky Blues, and her ability in the opposition penalty area will cause more than a few headaches for defences this season.

Teresa Polias

Captain, leader, legend – there are few players in the life of Sydney Football Club as important to its history as Teresa Polias. The W-League’s most-capped player will once again wear the armband for the Sky Blues, reprising her role of disruption and distribution in front of the side’s back four. Polias’ experience, industry and craft will be integral to Sydney’s ability to control the tempo of matches, allowing them to play their own game and dictate terms throughout the 90 minutes.

Veronica Latsko

Despite still recovering from a knee injury sustained during training with NWSL side Houston Dash, Latsko is the kind of genuine gamebreaker every football side needs. Quick as the wind, skilful, and with an eye for goal, Latsko provided more than half of Adelaide’s goals last season, and that attacking potential is exactly why manager Jurić would’ve been so keen to recruit her. Questions will remain over her fitness as she returns to the starting XI, but a fit-and-flying Latsko is a terrifying prospect for defenders of any stripe.

 

One to watch

Princess Ibini

In the words of Gough Whitlam: “it’s time”. After four goals in 13 matches for Sydney last season, five appearances for her country at the recent AFC U-19 Women’s Championships, and with Lisa de Vanna having departed for Italy, the stars have finally aligned for Princess Ibini to take her chance and become one of the best attackers in the W-League. While Ibini is both rapid enough to play on the wing and strong enough on the ball to play at the point of the attack, her ability to whip crosses into dangerous areas or make intelligent runs off the ball to draw defenders and stretch the lines in behind are both scandalously ignored. With those weapons in her arsenal, and the support of a midfield willing to feed quality passes to her feet, Ibini is one of the most exciting prospects in Australian women’s football, and one that fans everywhere should be keen to watch grow and develop into a genuine star.

 

Prediction: Champions

Put simply, Sydney is a club that knows how to win. The team has made the W-League finals every season since the competition’s inception, and has played in three of the last four grand finals. With a settled core of the squad, and a number of shrewd signings, Sydney will once again be challenging for both pieces of silverware. If they can avoid any major injuries, and effectively incorporate their vast wealth of talent, there are few teams that can stop Sydney going back-to-back.

DALE ROOTS
DALE ROOTS
Dale is a Canberra-born, Sydney-based writer for Beyond90, covering both W-League and NPL competitions, as well as the Australian national teams.
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