Polly Doran is an example of how, with dedication and hard work, so much can change in one season.
She went into the 2020-21 campaign having played only 48 minutes of national league football, but would end it as Victory’s starting right back and with a Grand Final winner’s medal around her neck.
Now, as the navy blue side of Melbourne attempt to defend their Championship, Doran is very much a firm fixture on the right side of Victory’s defence. Her tenacious defending has caught the eye of not just the Victory coaches and fanbase, but also the national team, and a Matildas Talent ID camp callup in May could be a sign of even greater things to come.
However, despite understandably looking towards the 2023 World Cup (who isn’t?), Doran isn’t one to rest on her laurels – good signs for the Victory faithful.
Polly Doran believes the mix of the Club's strong core with talented additions will make the side hard to beat again in 2021/22. pic.twitter.com/76W84vrJ6m
— Melbourne Victory (@gomvfc) October 16, 2021
To truly understand just how far Doran has come in such a short time, it is important to think back to the 2019 NPL Victoria campaign. That year, Doran was a part of Calder United’s treble winning squad and relished the opportunity to play with some of Victorian football’s biggest names. At that time, Doran was a forward whose focus was just to earn a regular spot in Calder’s starting lineup.
“I wasn’t really consistently a starting player, I had three really experienced players ahead of me (Angie Beard, Catherine Zimmerman and Aleks Sinclair) so I was behind those three in terms of the pecking order. An A-League Women’s contract at that time was probably a little bit out of my vision. As the year went on, Jeff (Hopkins) started coming to some games and I got invited to trial. I started realising it (a Melbourne Victory contract) could be an opportunity later on in that season.”
16yo surprise star of @cusc2016's cup win Polly Doran is up to six #NPLWVIC goals after this bullet header at the weekend #WLeague aspirant and former @SkyBlueFC player Catherine Zimmerman and @victorywleague star Angie Beard also score 🎥👉 https://t.co/jVenTUce86 pic.twitter.com/yHRPfR0Ndz
— Teo Pellizzeri (@teopellizzeri) August 13, 2018
Despite coming off the bench in a lot of Calder’s games, Doran still managed to score 14 times in 2019, and her performances were enough to earn her first contract with Melbourne Victory. She was most appreciative of the opportunity she had been given.
“It’s something that not a lot of players are lucky enough to be able to do, so I think that first year especially, I was really happy to be there and grateful that I was able to do that. In my first year we got to travel to Korea and we had a whole heap of away games.”
Normally, the following NPL season would have been the time to build on her first season with Victory and develop her game. However, Doran’s home state of Victoria was hit hardest by COVID lockdowns in 2020 and the NPL Victoria season was completely cancelled. Competitive games and the team environment had been taken away from her, but in a sign of what was to come during her next season with Victory, Doran found a way to get the job done.
“After my first season with Victory, I spoke to Jeff and he said how important it was going to be for me to go back and get more playing minutes in NPL and I was really looking forward to that. Then obviously, the season got cancelled, so I think it would have been the easy option just to sulk about it and mope around, but I used it as a time where I could improve. Every day, I was just working on different little things, and I think now looking back, having that time, where a lot of people might have stopped or slowed down, the fact that I used that time to work on a lot of things benefited me.”
It was this period that really set the groundwork not just for Doran’s rise to prominence as a Victory starter, but also for Victory’s run to the 2020-21 Championship. Victory coach Jeff Hopkins worked tirelessly to ensure his team were not disadvantaged by the events in Victoria (read this article by Marissa Lordanic for more detail), and Doran was more than happy to give her perspective.
“I can’t put into words how much Jeff’s helped me individually, because he obviously took a big chance on me when I first came into the league. He’s stuck by me and helped me with a lot of things, tactically and technically as well. Moving to a new position, I had to learn a lot and he’s been really patient with me, when a lot of coaches probably would have just left me out of the team or not given me reasons for why they were making certain decisions. He gives me a lot of feedback, and I‘ve asked him a lot of questions about what I could be doing better. I think now we’ve got a pretty good relationship where we can talk about those things and I value his opinion a lot.”
A lockdown and a cancelled NPL season would be enough of a challenge for any player, but Doran would face another test: being converted from a forward to a right back. While there may have been some teething issues, Doran’s qualities as an athlete would come in handy, as would the support she received from experienced defensive teammates Angie Beard, Kayla Morrison, Claudia Bunge and Gaby Garton.
“Obviously it was a little bit difficult just learning a new position and trying to wrap my head around where I needed to be in certain situations, but I think I’ve always been a player that’s very focused on work rate and I’ve always been a pretty good runner in terms of getting up and down the field. Even as a winger I would end up dropping back and trying to help out, and then getting forward anyway, so I think the transition was pretty smooth.
“Angie, I’ve known for a while and she actually spoke to me pretty early on when we started preseason, that last season, and she just told me that I could be confident in that position. I had Kayla and Claudia there who were really good support for me, they both taught me a lot about the defensive side of things and we built a pretty good connection, us four and Gaby behind us as well. They were pretty patient with me as well in learning the position and ended up being really helpful for me, so I was grateful to have them there.”
@bythewhiteline)
Whatever she did leading into the 2020-21 campaign, it clearly worked. The player who was previously used as a late substitute was now one of Victory’s most important players and would start all but one game of Victory’s run to the Championship. For Doran personally and Victory as a whole, team camaraderie and the need to constantly improve were vital to their success.
“I think from probably halfway through the season, we were pretty confident in ourselves and we knew we were hitting our stride at the right time. Every week, we were setting new targets and every week we had little things that we needed to improve on to then be better for the next game.
“We just loved being around each other, so everyone was just really excited and there was no one that didn’t want to be there. We all loved going to training and games and I think that made the biggest difference as we got towards the end of the season.”
Victory’s season had a Hollywood ending: an away trip to Sydney for the Grand Final and a 120th minute winner after Kyra Cooney-Cross scored direct from a corner kick. Being interstate didn’t bother Doran, who had become a W-League Championship winner with her family watching from the stands.
“I actually really enjoy away trips. I like being away and being with the team all the time. I was pretty lucky, my family got to fly over and watch the game, and I think they nearly missed their flight coming home because we went to extra time!”
Further personal recognition would come soon after that Grand Final as Doran was selected for a Talent Identification Camp in May – quite the accolade for a player with no previous youth international experience. The theme of pursuing constant improvement appeared during the camp, something that is very much in line with Doran’s approach to her own development.
“A few of the (Victory) coaches had mentioned that there was some interest and I didn’t really overthink it. I was really honoured to be selected in that camp. I didn’t know what to expect coming into a first camp and that was a really good experience, playing with some of the best players in the league and a few international players as well. I really enjoyed that time away and hopefully it’s not long until I can get my name into another camp.”
“They’re really big on working on little one percenters and any small detail that’s going to help you, and I think that matches pretty well with what I do and that’s something that I try and take now into every day. If there’s something that I can work on, trying to get that done and be better for the next training or the next game, I think that’s definitely something that they drilled into us.”
Our latest in Royal Journeys chat is with former junior & senior player and current @mvfcwomen star @polly_doran!
In this clip she chats about her approach to lockdown which helped see her establish herself in Victory's starting XI.
Full chat with @mg91: https://t.co/MsJTqMpPTQ pic.twitter.com/7kgrcgwbKC
— Essendon Royals SC (@EssendonRoyals) October 1, 2021
Unfortunately, lockdowns would cast their shadow again in 2021 – clubs in both Victoria and NSW were unable to complete the NPL season. Despite this, Doran kept herself occupied and placed herself in new footballing environments, which would stand her in good stead when the Melbourne Victory squad reconvened for preseason training.
“After our (W-League) season ended, I didn’t have much of a break, I went straight to that Talent ID camp and then came back to the Victorian NPL. Then the season got postponed here, so I actually headed up to Sydney and I was meant to play for Blacktown (Spartans), but unfortunately the Sydney league got cancelled not long after.
“I was pretty lucky I had the support of the Future Matildas program there. That was a little bit different to the lockdown experience the year before, just because we had a little bit more structured sessions that we needed to do and I was living with another player at the time, so we were able to go out and train together, which is something that I didn’t do the year before. Coming back to Melbourne, we then pretty much straight away had support at Victory.”
So far, the 2021-22 campaign has been just like the previous one for Doran – she’s started in both of Victory’s games. However, she is not one to get carried away with her run in the starting lineup or Victory’s status as defending Champions.
“I think all of us need to stay on our toes and keep striving to be better. I think if we get too caught up on any success we had, or any personal achievements, you can almost become a bit stagnant and not keep improving. That’s something Jeff actually said to us on day one. He said, ‘if you don’t get better, you’re getting worse’.”
Like all A-League Women players, Doran isn’t short of motivation with a home World Cup on the horizon, and there is always the possibility that she will be noticed by an overseas club.
“We’ve got the World Cup in 2023 and that’s something that I’ve set my eyes on. I also want to play overseas if I can. If football allows me to travel overseas and play in another country, I think that would be pretty cool.
“I think a lot of people might jump the gun and go to a club that might not suit them. So I think it’s just about finding the right club and the right environment for me, and whatever country that’s in, I would be fine with.”
While she may have flown under the radar for a few years, there’s no denying Doran’s quality as a footballer, and her dedication to self-improvement is a good sign that she won’t be a one season wonder. She’s a Victory fan favourite, she’s on the national team radar and she’s only just turned 20 – the future’s looking bright for Polly Doran.
