Stats say that the more defender Lauren Keir plays for Canberra United, the better the club does.
Season 14 of the A-League Women’s competition marks Keir’s fourth season with Canberra United. In her first season, she saw less than 20 minutes of action as the club finished eighth. Fast forward twelve months, and with six appearances under her belt, the team in green finished sixth. Season 13 saw Keir play every minute of every Canberra United game as they came fourth, bowing out in that semi-final against Sydney FC at Jubilee Oval.
This pattern is mirrored in the statistics for her former NPLW side Belconnen United – Keir played for the Blue Devils between 2011 and 2019, with the club winning eight Grand Finals during that period.
2020-21 was a watershed season for Keir, who notably became coach Vicki Linton‘s go-to marker after the Round 7 away loss to Sydney FC, often matching up against specific attacking threats regardless of the position her target played. Some memorable through balls and intelligent over-the-top passes also led to Keir recording two assists for the campaign.
“Last year I was determined to set goals and I really wanted to make those goals happen. To be honest with you I just wanted to crack the starting eleven and keep my spot there. I didn’t want another season where I sat on the bench or in the grandstand; I really wanted to contribute to the team on and off the field, and I wanted to go out there and prove myself [by] earning a spot in the starting eleven and playing consistent football throughout the season… doing as much as I could to help the team get to the finals.”
“It was really nice to get those assists but that came off the back of a team effort and hopefully I can continue that into this season as well.”
The road to the national league
Keir is a popular figure in the local football community, and her journey to the national women’s competition has endeared her to Canberra locals.
When she was a junior at Majura FC in Canberra’s north, Keir played centre back alongside Grace Maher‘s brother at a very young age.
“I did a bit of coaching there [Majura FC] during winter which I absolutely loved with the little ones; it’s so nice to give back to my junior club who supported me.”
Then in 2014 while studying at Canberra’s Erindale College, Keir was selected in the Australian Schoolgirls side which toured Europe in January and February of 2015.
View this post on Instagram
Renowned locally for her role in that run of Belconnen United NPLW championship trophies, it is remarkable to think that Keir was chosen in her very early twenties to lead a championship-winning Belconnen United side containing ex-Matilda Caitlin Munoz, as well as several players with W-League experience such as Catherine Brown and Maddy Whittall.
“[I was at Belconnen United and] I had a couple of years with ACTAS (read here for more about the ACT Academy of Sport program) – I think I had just turned 14 – and played [in the] boys competition and came back, but it wasn’t until the last two seasons at Belconnen [2018 and 2019] that I captained. It gave me a lot of experience to lead a side that had so much success and had so many quality leaders in the past. I realised who I had around me to help me and guide me. It’s one of those things that I’m very grateful for – being chosen to captain – and hopefully I can bring some of that leadership to this [Canberra United] team.”
Keir cites long-time Blue Devils coach Antoni Jagarinec as pivotal to her development and career progression. She also counts Kaleigh Kurtz‘s time with Canberra United in Season 12 (where Kurtz was player of the year) and role model Clare Polkinghorne as important to her.
“Ant was a massive support, he kind of put me under his wing when I was 14 and saw potential in me. I still talk to him on a regular basis, he’s one of my neighbours here, so I see him regularly. He’s been a massive influence on my career and I’m super grateful to have had a coach that has supported me and backed me the whole way. To have someone like that in your corner is really nice.”
Keir’s achievements with Belconnen United should not be understated. At age 14, she shared the 2011 Coach’s Player of the Year award with Munoz, and 2011 also saw the first grand final victory in that sequence of eight from nine seasons. 2019, the final year in that run, was Keir’s final season with the Blue Devils – her thoughts turned to challenging herself in the NSW NPLW competition, starting in 2020 with Illawarra Stingrays.
View this post on Instagram
Two seasons in the NSW NPLW
Although that NSW NPLW season and the one after it with Macarthur Rams were shortened by the COVID pandemic, both were invaluable to Keir and her preparations for A-League Women’s campaigns with Canberra United. Keir’s performances for the Rams saw her named in the Beyond 90 2021 NSW NPLW team of the year.
“I was in a little bit of shock when I was chosen in that team as there’s a lot of quality players in that competition and I didn’t play that many games – obviously we had a bit of a break and then COVID hit us. I absolutely loved Rams… I was with some quality players at Rams that I had played with previously in Canberra and it was nice to be there with Rachael Goldstein and Hayley Taylor-Young from Canberra and we drove up twice a week to Sydney to train and play. It’s a quality competition with quality players and the last two seasons it’s helped me grow as a player on and off the field.
“It was really nice to see that we – the Rams – were able to grow and get better and we ended up coming third. Credit goes to Steve, our coach [Stephen Peters], but all the girls at the club as well. We’re one massive family and I feel like I slotted in well there and I feel comfortable [there], which is always what you want as a player, to feel comfortable in a team and be able to be yourself.”
View this post on Instagram
It was Keir’s desire to remain living in Canberra and full-time work commitments which led to her choosing Macarthur Rams for the 2021 NSW NPLW season, along with some great company on road trips.
“I wanted to live here in Canberra and, with Rams I was able to train and drive up on a Friday with them [Goldstein and Taylor-Young], drive back, and drive up again on Sunday. I’d also heard good things about the club and Steve [the coach]. I have a full-time job here so I was juggling that as well; with Stingrays I moved to Wollongong and unfortunately it was just a bit too hard with work being in Canberra and dropping down to part-time and what-not. I absolutely loved my time at Illawarra Stingrays but due to the fact I was working full-time here and was able to play with Rach and Hayley and travel up together was nice – it was nice having company, making that trip.”
Managing work and football commitments
Although conditions and remuneration for A-League Women players are slowly improving, it is a challenge to balance work and the football dream, as Keir explains.
“Yes, I’ve dropped to part-time now [for the A-League Women’s season], and I really appreciate my job and the flexibility that they give me and the support… they’re a really unique bunch of people and I’m super grateful to be in a team [at work] that backs me and supports me as much as they can on and off the field, and allows me to drop to part-time.
“That was the biggest thing; it’s quite hard juggling two jobs full-time and I really want to focus on my football, so dropping down to part-time was the best thing for me. It’s really nice having some flexibility around when I work in the office and around my training with Canberra United and come [the start of the] season obviously that changes… they’re so good to me and they allow me to do what’s best for me.”
Lockdowns and family support
The curtailing of the NSW NPLW season meant there was a break of about four months with no football, until Keir was announced as signing for her fourth season with Canberra United and the commencement of training.
Thankfully, Keir had some great family support to help her through the potentially difficult lockdown periods in the lead up to pre-season.
“It was a nice little break but obviously I missed it so much. It’s very hard doing things on your own and my brother [Dan, not pictured below] was in Brisbane and he came home. He’s got a dream to crack the NRL at some stage as well, so we feed off each other in so many aspects of being an athlete. He’s got different knowledge to me so we use each other, to bounce off each other. He was coming to ovals with me. He’s not in pre-season yet but I would message him and he’d come to the oval and he would do the four-minute runs with me and I would sit on the back of him – obviously he’s a lot faster and his legs are a lot longer than mine <laughs> but he helped me so much going into pre-season and it’s been showing in my pre-season results which has been really nice to see.
“I’m just so grateful to have him with me, supporting me, and I’m supporting him – I see a bright future for him – he backs me as well and it’s really nice having a brother like that. I also have a sister [Ashley, previously a tennis pro] who is very supportive as well – she’s got a little bubba at the moment; it’s nice having her around as well.”
Is this Canberra’s most talented sporting family? (smh.com.au)
View this post on Instagram
Versatility and exemplifying the Canberra United culture
Keir is an engaging and positive person in conversation. These traits may contrast with her focus, determination and commitment to the team cause, which she shows both at training and in her preparation. Her years at centre back have made her comfortable guiding teammates around.
“I’m still directing play at right-back as well <laughs> – it’s just natural for me – but I do love bombing forward and getting involved a lot more, but I love centre back as well. I’m really torn between the two, I really can’t say that I have a preference. If I’m on the pitch and I’m doing as much as I can for the team, I’m happy.”
This adaptability and the leadership qualities identified at an early age make it easy to see why Keir is so highly regarded and important to the fabric of this Canberra United squad.
Coach Linton has made it clear that for this season’s recruiting, fitting in with the culture is uppermost in her mind. That culture and willingness to fight for each other memorably saw the team mount several late comebacks in 2020-21.
One can’t help but think that Keir is clearly the type of player Linton has in mind. When asked how she prepares on game day and gets in that sharply focused and determined zone, Keir chuckles.
“I have a playlist, and I know I need to go out there to do a job, and like any other job you have, you get employed to do something and you’ve got to do it well. That’s my attitude; I just want to do what’s best for the team and my prep leading up to the game is really focusing on my job, and our job as a team. And that’s the biggest thing: what we need to do to win and to be successful in this competition.”
If that all sounds very serious, rest assured that Keir also very much enjoys her football.
“Of course, of course, I absolutely love it, you know me, love going to training, the whole thing. I may come across as very serious but I’m absolutely loving it inside, and I love being out there with the girls.”
Leading into Season 14 with Canberra United
No matter how solid one’s previous season was, there is always room for improvement. During the media conference announcing Keir’s signing for 2021-22, she hinted that Linton had identified some areas for her to concentrate on, and Keir was able to elaborate on those discussions.
“There’s a few technical aspects of my game that I need to work on and a few other things as well, and she’s very good at helping her players on and off the field to develop. It’s hard because she only sees us for six months and then we disappear for six months, and so in that time I always reach out and I ask what I need to improve on as well. It’s nice having a coach that wants to see you develop and help you grow as a player, so it’s really nice that we got the chance to sit down and discuss what I need to develop my game to improve.
“I’m right-footed but I’m actually left-handed. My parents thought I was right-handed and encouraged me to kick with my right foot. I’m actually left-handed so you’d think I’d be more dominant on my left. It’s one of those things – I used to have a left foot and I neglect it because I have a really strong right foot, and I want to keep improving that left foot so I can play more on the left and use it a little bit more than my right.”
On the squad as a whole at the beginning of pre-season, Keir remarked: “Everyone is excited to be back, especially in a team environment as we’ve been iso-training. It’s really nice to come together as a group now, there are a few new faces in the group. They’ve joined us and fitted in really well. Vicki has brought such a unique group together on the back of last year’s success as well. Everyone’s buzzing to be back and everyone wants to continue the success of last season. We have a long way to go – it’s only early in pre-season – but it’s looking really good.”
Linton expressed during a recent interview with ABC Radio Canberra that the team are aiming to replicate last season’s unbeaten home record and do better in away fixtures. Should they do so, a top four place and perhaps even a top two place is well within their sights. Keir is definitely on the same page:
“We want to aim for that top two to take the championship, that would be really nice. It’s early in pre-season, so we’ve got to start focusing on that and hopefully we can do that this season. We have a goal and we want to achieve it.”
If Lauren Keir is consistently on the park and Linton’s focus on culture once again comes to fruition, then continuing the pattern of improvement is certainly within reach (as mentioned above, Canberra have finished eighth, then sixth, then fourth in Keir’s time with the club). Should that transpire, Keir and the team will have taken another major step forward … and who are we to dispute the maths?
Read more about Canberra United in the forthcoming Beyond 90 Canberra United Season 14 preview.
