The following is a summary of thoughts about the Capital Football NPLW1 2021 season, as discussed in this Beyond 90 podcast episode. For an alternate discussion of the season between members of the Capital Football NPLW1 BarTV Sports commentary team and the author of this article, the M&M Podcast NPLW1 season review episode is recommended.
Overall thoughts on the season:
- We were fortunate to have 17 rounds from 21 in this Covid-shortened season (many NPLW competitions across the country weren’t so lucky).
- Trophies were awarded to Canberra Croatia (Premiers based on points at the end of Round 17, and Federation Cup winners) and to Belconnen United (winners of the first-ever pre-season NPLW Charity Shield).
- A hoped-for challenger for the top two teams didn’t emerge; there were 16 points between second and third place.
- Mid-table was fascinating all season. Ladder positions three to six were turning over every week, games between teams in these positions were always entertaining and unpredictable.
- A 16 point gap also separated sixth place from the bottom two. While there were certainly positives to be taken from the Wagga City Wanderers and Tuggeranong United seasons (see below), squad depth remains an issue, as does the Goals Against column.
- Half the competition (four clubs) had new coaches in 2021. With new coaches come new approaches and new styles.
- Most years the competition sees a cohort of our most talented players leaving to play interstate, most often in NSW NPLW1. While this was still the case in 2021, it was a welcome change in 2021 to see some W-League calibre players choosing to come into the Capital Football 2021 NPLW1 competition. These included Julie Dolan medallist Michelle Heyman, Tiana Jaber from Newcastle Jets and ex-Canberra United player Jen Bisset, joining the likes of Grace Gill and Emma Stanbury in the competition. This helps to elevate competition standards and provide a better product for spectators.
- A special mention of the 2021 goalkeeper cohort needs to be made – an outstanding group of players, and this on-field position was the hardest Team Of The Year choice of all.
Beyond 90’s 2021 Team of the Year
Eligibility: minimum of nine appearances
Congratulations to the Team of the Year selections for your fine seasons! In 2020 there was a high proportion of Canberra Croatia red-and-white in the team, as befitted the new Premiers. In 2021, Belconnen United coach Michael Zakoski and his team worked hard on fitness and speed, elevating an already strong squad of individuals, and giving them a new edge. While the team as a whole finished behind Canberra Croatia and their belief in their on-field systems, this new edge sees more Belconnen United individuals take their place in the 2021 Team of the Year.
Narrowly missing out: Nik Brozinic (Canberra Croatia coach), Renee Junna, Jen Bisset, Rhiannon Fensom (Canberra Croatia), Chloe Lincoln (Canberra United Academy), Maddie Perceval, Jade Brown, Erika Pennyfield, Ella-Rose Brown (Gungahlin United), Emma Stanbury (West Canberra Wanderers).
Team-by-team thoughts:
Canberra Croatia (1st)
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- High player retention from the 2020 squad with new regulars Renee Junna, Olivia Fogarty and Jen Bisset fitting in well.
- Tactically astute, and the team most assured of their onfield systems which builds high resilience. Coach Nik Brozinic was once again terrific in guiding his team.
- Finest leadership group – Grace Gill (who inspires the whole league with her workout social media posts), Chantel Jones, Brittany Palombi, 200 gamer Alice Churchill, Krista Hagen and Jen Bisset.
- The team that built into the season best.
- The league’s leading goalscorer once again was Brittany Palombi (23 goals). You know what she’s going to do but you can’t stop her. Grace Gill was fourth on the list with 14 goals.
- After losing to Belconnen in the pre-season Charity Shield, Canberra Croatia went on to defeat them three times.
- Krista Hagen’s corner kicks had a big impact.
- Canberra United Academy tested them most (an early draw and a mid-season loss against them).
Belconnen United (2nd)
- A bit of turnover this year and a new coach (Michael Zakoski, who is off to NPL Men’s 1 next season, as Mitch Parker takes over).
- Inaugural Charity Shield winners and Club Champions.
- Fitness and speed gave them the edge over most of the other teams: genuine pace provided by Talia Backhouse, Keira Bobbin, Vanessa Ryan, Sarah Johnston, Tiana Jaber (midseason addition), Michaela Thornton and Reilly Yuen. This could well spur on the rest of the competition to rise to the challenge in 2022.
- Did their fitness regime also take a toll? Jaz Zabel, Karen Clarke and Nicole Jalocha all had injury layoffs.
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- Injuries forced Sarah Johnston into the backline and they didn’t function quite as well while she was there, and they missed her contribution to midfield/attack
- Massive props to Bella Tammaro for the way she came into the middle of defence and rose to the challenge
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- Wonderful to see Lexi Forner (injured in 2020) make her way back into football.
- Cristina Esposito continued her great work in goals after joining the club from West Canberra.
- Tasmanian import Olivia Bomford is a classy number 10 with great touch, vision and finish.
- Young midfielder Reilly Yuen had a fantastic first NPLW season.
- Talia Backhouse was the league’s third top scorer – 17 goals from midfield!
- The glue of this team was once again captain Michaela Thornton, who gives the team fight and drive in the middle of the park, and is even harder to stop with Johnston beside her. (See the Canberra Olympic entry below for some more Michaela Thornton news)
- Leah Carnegie – another brilliant corner taker.
- After their Round 12 loss to Canberra Croatia they looked to be building strongly for a finals challenge. Looked great in their Round 17 performance (6-0 vs Olympic).
Gungahlin United (3rd)
- Another very settled squad, with a mid-year top-drawer signing in Michelle Heyman.
- Equal third but no doubt they would have liked to have finished closer to the top two, especially after the Heyman signing was announced.
- Tellingly they didn’t take points off the top two, but regardless had a very healthy For & Against.
- Like Belconnen United, the Gunners were looking to take a late run of form into a finals series that never happened.
- Coach Diego Iglesias tried some tweaks this season to find an optimal arrangement. Some that looked effective included:
- Erika Pennyfield in midfield; enormous work rate and a good decision-maker
- Ella-Rose Brown as wingback up against speedy wide attackers
- Elke Aitolu (heading to the US for college football) looked good in the number six role at the back end of the season as Michelle Heyman arrived
- After being equal leaders of the comp in Round 3, it was at times a bit of a frustrating season. There were some games where they dominated stats but didn’t win.
- Their midfield – so often the jewel in the crown over the last two seasons – battled to regain their mojo this year (perhaps after the loss of Tianah Miro to Olympic in the early rounds).
- Fabulous seasons for Maddie Perceval and Jade Brown (Brown is also heading to college football in the US), the latter top-scoring for the club with 11 goals. Very solid campaigns for Pennyfield and Ella-Rose Brown as well … and of course Michelle Heyman looked next level even if she says she was a little restricted with her hip injury.
Canberra United Academy (4th)
- Finished equal on points with Gungahlin United but they managed to take points off the top two in the form of a win and a draw against Canberra Croatia.
- With their mobility and high tempo passing game, they are often a difficult proposition, especially on their home synthetic turf at Hawker Football Centre.
- A highlight was a purple patch when coach Vicki Linton returned to the squad and they didn’t lose a game between Round 3 and Round 8 (including that 3-1 win against Canberra Croatia) until Belconnen United applied the brakes to them in Round 9. Results were mixed after that.
- With a development remit, Linton was not afraid to rotate the squad in and out of starting positions, with even the most experienced players on the bench at times.
- Captain Annie Grove was tremendous again in 2021 and news of her US Scholarship at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) was terrific to hear.
- It was just as satisfying to see Sasha Grove taking the captain’s armband in her sister’s absence late in the season. She was always dynamic in attack, but with five goals was not quite as prolific compared to seasons when she has played as an out-and-out striker.
- Keeper Chloe Lincoln is an outstanding prospect and had a stellar season, with a jaw-dropping performance in the Round 8 win vs Canberra Croatia.
- A potent forward line enjoyed a good year with Sofia Christopherson on 11 goals and Anna Hunt – who was so important with her harrying of defences – on eight. Bessie Riethmuller looks like a talent; she was prolific in the Reserves and had a run up front in NPLW1 at the end of the season.
Canberra Olympic (5th)
- With the free-roaming Ashleigh Sykes in attack, the team can certainly score a goal or three but they can also leak a few goals i.e. a similar pattern to last season.
- A lot of player turnover to deal with and a new (but known) coach in Nicole Begg, who was player / assistant coach last season.
- Three main goalscorers: Sykes (21 – the second highest in the league), Ali Cook (9), Anna Vandenbroucke (7), then daylight. More goalscoring sources next season would be advantageous.
- Wonderful for Canberra football fans to see Matildas legend Heather Garriock in action this season.
- The team looked more solid with Brittany Fiorese (who had a fine season) and Ella Hemmings in defence together, freeing Cook to play in midfield and be more involved in play construction. With Raechel Hardwicke and Cook in midfield the team has a solid spine.
- On the goal leaking front, the team possibly gets hurt on the flanks in both defence and midfield. The early loss of Iesha De Andrade didn’t help and Tianah Miro – a vital part of the Gungahlin midfield in 2020 – perhaps took some time to settle in.
- Nicole Begg is one of the finest wide defenders the city has seen and will no doubt be working on sharing her craft in the offseason.
Finally, with regards to Canberra Olympic’s prospects in 2022, the following news is of a seismic nature in the Capital Football NPLW1 world:
West Canberra Wanderers (6th)
- Some drama during the season with three coaches at various times and the loss of their two W-League calibre players Emma Stanbury (player coach) and Tiana Jaber in early July.
- Despite this, the Wanderers showed a high level of unity and resilience.
- A fine mid-season run saw them go all the way to the Fed Cup Final and push Canberra Croatia deep into the second half.
- During the season, they were low as seventh and as high as third (in Round 13, but fell away a bit after that).
- The only team apart from CCFC to take points off Belconnen (a 1-1 draw in Round 7).
- Players who stood out:
- Janet King (B90 Team of the Year goalkeeper) – great shot-stopper/reflexes, excellent distribution (some led to goals)
- Alex McKenzie (B90 Team of the Year) – highly determined and impressive in the last few seasons. Plays wide midfield but controls the game like a central midfield maestro, wouldn’t be surprised to see her there at some point
- Sofia Chaverra Calle (debutant striker and top scorer with seven goals)
- Briana Maguire – the engine in midfield and built impressively upon last season
- Young winger Kilkie Leten scored four goals in nine games before getting injured, looks like one to watch
- The backline never really seemed to settle, with players such as Samantha Briggs and captain Sarah Whitfield in and out of defence.
Wagga City Wanderers (7th)
- A lot of turnover during an injury-hit season, resulting in many youngsters being given opportunities.
- Some real highlights with three players (Piper Lockley, Ava Tuksar, Samantha Emms) coming to the attention of Young Matildas coaches (Emms was at the June camp) and all have a big future, as does Tess Vaccari if she returns to football.
- Travel is never easy – some players travel between towns just to train….
- … but if you sit amongst the Wagga City crowd, their spirit is undeniable.
- As high as fifth and as low as seventh on the ladder.
- Points came from two wins over Tuggeranong United.
- Ashley Holder, Bronte Buik and Kirrilee Cameron were impressive.
- A little less insistent on a high line this season, which was probably to their benefit.
- Emms was outstanding all season (and made the B90 Team of the Year)
- Megan Castle top-scored with six goals, she is a quality forward but can be isolated when the team is under defensive pressure.
- Christina Grauer-Kompos was the next highest scorer with four goals.
Tuggeranong United (8th)
- Long-serving coach Michael Aldred stepped away on the eve of the season, and president Stan Mitchell stepped in as caretaker until Paulo Romero took the reins in the second half of the season.
- The team rallied under Romero and won against Wagga City in Round 16. Their most impressive result was a draw against Academy (and they led for most of that game).
- Many in this team have been together for a few seasons now and there are some promising signs moving forward. Romero was recently re-appointed coach and he spoke about seeing a will to work for each other and to improve amongst the group.
- Standout players Zoe Terry and Madeleine Magee are willing to attack down either flank, Terry from right back (making the B90 Team of the Year) and Magee from left half.
- Showed willingness to compete in the middle of the park (Steph Coates, Jacqui Freeman, Sarah & Rhiannon Daisley).
- Ash-Lea Condon was an accomplished centre back addition alongside captain Lara Mustaine.
- Striker Sophie Bui has benefited from US College stints, and now that there were wide runners, was able to shield and either shoot or distribute in a purposeful way.
- Sophie Rolfe in goals did better than the goal difference suggests.
Thanks for an entertaining 2021 season, here’s to 2022!
