Strikers belt Innisfail, set sights on the title
JCU Strikers have long marketed themselves as possessing one of the region’s best programs for aspiring female footballers.
They battled their way into the Premier League a few years ago and, despite some early thrashings, have persisted with largely the same group of players.
Last year, they shocked a few observers on their way to the FNQ Premier League preliminary final and with much of that squad returning have now set their sights on the crown.
That journey started in near-perfect fashion on Saturday, courtesy of a 9-0 demolition job on Innisfail United.
The lopsided scoreline was driven by strong performances by Astia Neckebroeck, Morgan Stanton and Jordan Cunsamy — three of the region’s rising stars who spent part or all of the past fortnight in Brisbane with the Queensland Academy of Sport.
The addition of rep star Jenna Mortimer has added extra fire to the Strikers’ ranks, as coach Victor Neckebroeck declared his side was looking to mix it with perennial heavyweights Leichhardt and Edge Hill United this season.
The coach didn’t want to single out any player as the team came together for their first hitout since the coronavirus pandemic pushed pause on the football world, but he was more than happy with how his side performed.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect, but we believe we’ll be up there this year,” he said.
“They’re a good bunch of girls. They’re about the same age as some of the rest of the competition now — it’s not a team of 15-year-olds like they used to be.
“They’ve had a few years play together and developing so I hope we’ll do well.”
Coach Neckebroeck said his side had developed into a stronger outfit with each season, and much of that growth was on show in their seasonopener.
“They’re at a different level to what they were last year, they played a really good game out there and did what they had to do on the day,” he said. “We’re hoping that next week, when they play Leichhardt, they’ll be able to do similar.
“(Saturday) was about getting the girls together and testing out a new formation we want to play to this year … Before COVID, we played Brothers in Townsville and we looked OK, but I think it will take a few games for us to get back to the style that we’ve trained for.”
On Friday night, Mareeba United had a dominant 7-0 win over Premier League newcomers Southside, while defending league champions Leichhardt smashed Stratford 9-0.