Ben Gilby spoke to Football West’s Chief Football Officer Jamie Harnwell about the Hyundai NTC program in Western Australia and their progress in the NPLW WA competition.
Harnwell began by outlining the history of the Hyundai NTC (National Training Centre) for Girls program.
“It began about 15 years ago and is aligned with Football Australia’s elite pathway program. It’s designed to ensure the most talented players have the opportunity to progress in the pathway. As well as competing in the NPL WA Women’s competition, the first team also plays in the NTC Challenge against other Member Federation NTC teams each year at the AIS. The most famous player who came through the NTC is Sam Kerr, who was in the program between 2006 and 2008.”
The launch of Western Australia’s NPL WA Women’s competition in 2020 gave further opportunities for the Hyundai NTC side to have regular competitive matches. Harnwell believes that the NPL is crucial to the development of women’s football in the state.
“Independent surveys and feedback from those in the women’s game supported the establishment of an NPL WA Women’s competition,” said Harnwell. “The community wanted to create an environment where the best are playing against the best to ensure the highest standard of competition is achieved. It also delivers an extended competition with more teams, allowing a further pathway for the development of players from juniors through to the senior team, whilst creating the highest quality playing and training environment in order to assist those aspiring to play W-League football.”
The start of the first NPL WA Women’s competition was even more important for the NTC because, as Harnwell points out, due to the coronavirus pandemic, “the NTC Challenge was cancelled in 2020 which deprived the girls of the opportunity to test themselves against some of the best players from around the country while representing Football West”.
Harnwell is positive about the impact that the NPL WA Women’s competition has had on the standard of women’s football in the state: “Even in the short time since the competition began, we have seen an increase in quality matches and intensity. All of the first team matches are live-streamed, which also gives the players greater exposure to coaches and teams outside of WA.”
In terms of the Hyundai NTC setup itself, Harnwell outlined the various teams that they field.
“All of our teams train three times a week plus play their games. We start with an U13s side whose head coach is Courtney Owen. The squad plays in the Boys U12 Division 1 competition. Our U14s have Gavin Sit as their head coach and play in the Boys U13 Division 1 competition. Faye Chambers leads the U15s and this squad plays in the NPL WA Women’s U23 competition. Finally, our first team, the U19s have Ben Anderton as head coach. The squad trains three times a week and plays in the NPL WA Women’s competition.”
With regards to their inaugural NPL campaign, Harnwell said: “NTC had a strong 2020, reaching the final of the Night Series and just missing out on the Top Four Cup. A number of players went on to perform in the W-League, including Hana Lowry, Isabella Wallhead, Leticia McKenna, Tijan McKenna, Abbey Green and Taneesha Baker. Hana, Bella and Judy Connolly were our most consistent performers last season.”
As the development of young players is such a key element of the NPL WA Women’s competition, Harnwell outlined the selection processes and how they strive to draw young players from as widely across the state as possible.
“Football West holds trials for the Hyundai NTC teams each October. The teams generally comprise of 16 full-time NTC players and a number of associate players. The associate players are also involved with their own clubs. Football West also holds its annual Country Week event for all regional associations to enter. Players may be invited to then attend Country Camp, where there are talent ID coaches. From there players could be invited to join the NTC.
“In addition to this, Football West has a good relationship with Perth Glory and each year we fund four players from the NTC program to have scholarships with the Glory W-League squad. This year the girls were Ella Lincoln, Georgia Cassidy, Judy Connolly and Miranda Templeman.”
Looking at this season, Harnwell is positive. “The campaign has been promising. The absence from the squad of the players who played in the W-League initially has meant that others have had to step up in their place. For us, it isn’t so much the results but more the performances and individual development that are the key focuses.”
With the season concluding last weekend, the NTC finished fifth with eight wins and three draws from their 21 games. They missed out on a place in the season ending Top Four Cup competition by just a single point from Fremantle City.
Western Australia continues to produce a large number of hugely talented young footballers, and the NTC is at the forefront of it all.
