As young Canberra United fan Laura Hughes was nearing her teen years, her father thought he would do something special for his daughter. He happened to work with one of the players, so one day he took Laura’s Canberra United jersey into work and asked if she would mind getting the jersey signed by all the players as a special treat for her.
Thus was cemented Hughes’ love for the team in green. Within five years that love had led her into the local NPLW league (featuring stints at Tuggeranong United, Brindabella Blues, and Woden Valley along the way); then Canberra United Academy from age 13; and then into her first Canberra United contract in the 2016-17 season, having signed alongside Clare Hunt and close friend Karly Roestbakken.
#CU unveiled local CUA youngsters Clare Hunt, Laura Hughes & Karly Roestbakken into the @WLeague & welcomes back longterm sponsor @ActewAGL pic.twitter.com/kspwCWHvhn
— Canberra United (@CanberraUnited) October 13, 2016
Another five years on, and Hughes is – astoundingly – Canberra United’s longest-serving player with respect to consecutive seasons leading specifically into Season 13 of the W-League (her fifth).
“I would always want to go to the games when I was 11 and 12. Really, just to sign my first season, I was in awe of all the players that were around me, and to be able to contribute to the success and history of the club.
“There’s no better feeling than that, especially being a young player coming through and also being a fan of the club.
“I always loved watching Caitlin Munoz play. I was a big fan of Sally Shipard as well. The Sykes twins, always really exciting to watch up and down the wing. Michelle Heyman is another one I’d always look up to.
“What I loved most about those players was that they always played with a smile on their face. They always looked like they wanted to be there. And you know, it didn’t matter about the pressure and [the need] to perform, it was more like a Sunday afternoon with your mates on the field, kicking the ball around.
To fans of the club, and to Hughes herself, it feels that Season 13 is where she is really coming into her own.
“Ever since I’ve signed as a young fifteen-year-old, I’ve wanted to slowly cement my position in the club and in the starting 11 and improve every year, and I felt there has been that progression. I got 20 minutes [in] my first season. And then my next season, I was injured. But the season after that, I started more and got more minutes off the bench and [am] now starting more and more, and making a big impact in the game.
It wouldn’t be the same without Hughesy! pic.twitter.com/ggSdQKpygR
— Canberra United (@CanberraUnited) September 17, 2020
“It speaks volumes to the coaches that I’ve had in the past and the players I’ve played with to be able to get me to this point.”
Typically modest, Hughes is quick to acknowledge the role of others in getting her to where she is now, but this belies her own fierce determination and competitiveness. Popular among her team-mates and fans for her cheekiness, quick smile, and positivity, her work ethic and drive is on display in the centre of the park each game. These qualities have led to her not only being an integral member of the Season 13 edition of this team, but also into the Matildas Talent Identification Camp just prior to the start of the W-League season.
“I thought [the camp] was really enjoyable. I was really nervous at the start of it because I didn’t really know what to expect, and because the staff was the Matildas staff. I’d been involved in Mini Matildas and Junior Matildas camps, but not really anything higher up than that.
“But I thought it was really interesting to see how I went up against some of the best young talent around the country and some older talent with Ellie Brush, and Tash Rigby from Perth.
“There was a mix of players that I could see myself up against, and also see the level that was expected of me to get to that next level with the Matildas, physically, mentally, and football-wise.”
“So it was good to see that level and have that experience.”
The strength of Hughes’ friendship with Roestbakken was on show in Campbelltown Stadium in 2020, donning face paint and holding signs while supporting her in that game. It says a lot about what sort of friend and person Hughes is. With her being on the radar of national selectors, it occurs to her that she may also be in the frame for the 2023 Women’s World Cup on home soil and that perhaps someday someone may be holding signs up in support of her at the senior national level.
“100%. I think you never know what can happen in the next couple of years. I think every year it should be a goal of most young talents to be able to break into that squad. Whether you don’t get there or you do, it’s always a goal of mine to make it, to break into that squad. Although it’ll be very hard, but I always like a challenge. But yeah, 100% I think I would love to make my mark in the Matildas, and with hard work and consistency, we will see.”
Hughes took a very deliberate path leading into the Talent Identification Camp. Several years in the Canberra NPLW with Canberra United Academy gave way to a desire to test herself. She looked to improved her sharpness and physicality in the 2019 NPL18 Boys competition in Canberra, where she shone, scoring six goals that season.
Bill Shorten realising he got nutmegged by 14-year-old Laura Hughes from the Canberra United Academy pic.twitter.com/LgdlNGI2sH
— Alex Ellinghausen (@ellinghausen) May 29, 2016
In 2020 following the W-League season, she won a contract with Thróttur Reykjavík in Iceland and played a full season there while the uncertainties of the COVID pandemic swept through Europe.
“… my next step for me to push myself out of my comfort zone was to try and go overseas. I talked to a couple of teammates, Grace Maher was one of them, about the Icelandic league. It’s a very physical league. Probably, W-League’s a bit more technical and tactical, but, you know, I’ve always I want to work on my physicality on the field as well.
“I also wanted to push myself off the field, moving across the other side of the world, away from everything I’ve ever known. I’ve never left home before. So I think that part also helped me grow.
“I was hoping [the experience in Iceland] would also help me grow on the field and mature. And I think it really did, I found a lot of independence over there, having to look after myself, and also prepare for games and matches. It was a league that had characteristics that I wanted to improve in my game. And then I found a club that was interested in me, so [it became] a no brainer.”
All but two games of her season in Iceland were played on artificial grass, a surface renowned for being unforgiving, and for causing injuries if the amount of time on them isn’t managed. And on the issue of ‘time’, Hughes spent three times as many minutes on the park in league games in Iceland as she has in any W-League season to date, something that no doubt set her up well for her time back in Canberra United green.
“I wanted to go to a club where I would get good minutes because it’s not great going overseas and not playing at all. So I had a chat with the coach about what he expected of me, and it felt right because he said I would be involved a lot.
“I started every match and I got really good minutes. I was really happy with that. Being on the field as much as I could was a goal of mine because I hadn’t been as consistent in W-League as I wanted to be, so I wanted 90 minute games week in and week out to just build some momentum and to get match fit.
“We probably played on two grass fields the entire time. At the club that I played at, we had an artificial pitch and there were also grass fields. But my coach didn’t like us going back and forth, because it was just a bit hard on your body. So we would train just on synthetic and then mainly play on synthetic. I actually preferred playing on synthetic over there because when I swapped over to grass, the few times I did were really hard; it was slower and I just wasn’t used to it. So I actually didn’t mind playing on the artificial grass over there.
“Also with the weather, we had a game on grass, and it was pouring with rain, and windy, and it was so hard to play. That’s why I think they play [on] a lot of artificial grass, because the grass is so hard to maintain in through the winter as well.”
Hughes threw herself into her work at Thróttur. In 15 matches, she scored two goals and received seven yellow cards. In an Instagram post celebrating her time in Iceland, she posted some stunning pictures next to the word ‘2020’, and her coach good-naturedly replied ‘As many days as yellow cards’:
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With a couple of yellow cards also under her belt at the start of the current W-League season, Hughes is keen to assert herself and to make her presence felt in the middle of the park.
“[Being] physical always helps, I think I’ve definitely gotten better physically and dominating in games. But I think now it’s about playing to my smarts and knowing when and where to do it, and being smart and how I do it as well. So yes, that’s the next step for me.
“Kendall Fletcher has been coaching me a little bit about that.”
Hughes’ collaboration with Maher in the centre of the Canberra United midfield this season led commentator Andy Harper to remark:
“If there’s a better midfield pairing in the W-League right now, I’m yet to see it”.
It was no surprise to see Hughes line up in centre midfield in game 1, but coach Vicki Linton could have quite easily played Maher as a number 10 (matching Maher’s jersey number – in fact, Linton played this configuration in Round 6 against Western Sydney Wanderers, with Fletcher partnering Hughes in that game). The fact that the Hughes/Maher pairing was initially chosen is likely due to a number of factors, including their familiarity with each other’s games; the structure the team is playing to; and their complementary styles.
Hughes’ work-rate is phenomenal and her ability to scrap and dispossess in midfield is second to none, with her passing accuracy then often turning defence into attack. When Maher is the recipient of that outcome, Maher’s heads-up vision, touch, and distribution skills operating off the back of Hughes’ good work can double down on the benefit to the team as a whole.
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“Grace and I have played together for a few years in the past. And so we’ve always been able to build that chemistry and we know how each other play. So I guess Vicki wanted to bring in a lot more locals this season. A lot of us have played together before. So I think the chemistry that we’ve already built is showing on the field this season.
“And [with] a six week preseason, it’s not enough time to build new players in together. So I think it was smart bringing in players that had played together before. All through the Academy, I always looked up to Grace, and she helped me develop into the player I am today. So I think it was really cool that we are able to play in the midfield this season together. It works well.”
McKellar Park has been a fortress for Canberra United for many years but Hughes is also enjoying playing at Viking Park, saying that for the players the vibe is not dissimilar.
“Yes, I was sceptical at first because I always I love McKellar [Park], and the atmosphere there is just unreal. But I actually really enjoy playing here. The field is in really good shape, so the ball moves really well on it. And it’s nice to run on it, and we get good numbers. And I think we’re getting more of a crowd than last season as well…. and I only live 10 minutes away, so it’s cool.”
When asked about her playing plans beyond the W-League season and whether another overseas stint is on the cards, Hughes is yet to firm up any plans and is understandably concentrating on the task in hand with Canberra United for now.
“I do plan to hopefully go overseas again. But I’m always open to playing back here in Australia. I think if I played here in Australia, I would look to play in the Sydney NPL. But yes, I haven’t figured that out yet, just focusing on W-League. But we’ll see.”
Hughes has come a long way since then-coach Rae Dower spoke fondly of her as one of the new “chipmunks” in the squad back in 2016. One can’t help but think that Dower – like many of Hughes’ fans and supporters in this town – would be proud of Hughes and her rise to prominence, with her spirit and determination central to the unity and progress of this Canberra United side. Long may it continue; we salute you, Laura Hughes.
