Football Ferns coach spoilt for Choice
A Wellington Phoenix women’s team didn’t get over the line, but, reports Andrew Voerman, there are more Kiwis in Australia’s W-League this summer than at any point since 2013.
Plan A didn’t work out for Football Ferns coach Tom Sermanni with regards to the coming W-League season, but as far as plan B is concerned, it’s a case of so far, so good.
If a Wellington Phoenix entry had got over the line for the 2020-21 edition of Australia’s semi-professional women’s football competition, the Scotsman was set to coach the team, which would have been filled with a host of New Zealand’s top prospects.
But those plans were scuttled in early November, despite the best efforts of Phoenix chairman Rob Morrison, and a coalition that included NZ Football and Sport NZ, two organisations eager to increase support for the Football Ferns ahead of the 2023 Fifa Women’s World Cup, which will be hosted either side of the Tasman.
Football Australia wouldn’t budge when it came to allowing the Phoenix to field an unlimited number of Kiwi players, as they are allowed to do in the A-League, and with time running out before the start of the season, the push for a W-League place was put on the backburner.
At that stage, none of the nine existing W-League teams had announced any Kiwi signings, though at least three players were being linked with moves across the ditch. Some might have ended up elsewhere even if the Phoenix team did get up and running, but once it was clear it wouldn’t, the floodgates began to open.
Football Ferns centreback Claudia Bunge joined Melbourne Victory, where she will play alongside veteran midfielder Annalie Longo, back for her second season at the club, both of them linking up with former Ferns assistant coach Gareth Turnbull.
Ferns forward Paige Satchell had returned to New Zealand from Germany earlier in 2020 and will now play for Canberra United, while midfielder Olivia Chance has ended up at Brisbane Roar after leaving English club Bristol City in June.
Then there are the trio who have joined Perth Glory – goalkeeper Lily Alfeld, who has gone on tour with the Ferns on several occasions, but is yet to make her debut; defender Liz Anton, who has five caps to her name; and midfielder Malia Steinmetz, who captained New Zealand at the Fifa Under-20 Women’s World Cup in 2018 and has three senior caps.
He might not be working with them week-in, week-out, but Sermanni will at least get to watch those seven players closely over the next five months from his Sydney base, and he said this week he was looking forward to the opportunity.
‘‘ I think it’s a positive step forward, certainly for me to be able to actually see players play, which I haven’t been able to do recently, and also just to get players in the league, particularly some of our younger players.
‘‘ It will give them that experience of being somewhere that’s not a lot different, but is still a different environment, and has them moving away from home.’’
There was somewhat of an exodus from the W-League at the end of last season, with a number of Australian internationals making moves to Europe, while the Covid-19 pandemic has meant the usual influx of foreign players has
‘‘Once W-League teams see the value that New Zealand players can bring to them, that will help the next year. . .’’
been reduced, paving the way for New Zealanders to fill some of the gaps.
‘‘Those two catalysts have been a real positive in the sense that they’ve made our players more desirable and more in demand from teams,’’ Sermanni said.
‘‘I think that’s good and what it does is it gets our Kiwi players in the shop window, and I think the players that we’ve got going there will do well, which then enhances the opportunities for other players.
‘‘Once W-League teams see the value that New Zealand players can bring to them, that will help the next year and the next year again, because it will make them become more appealing to the Australian teams.’’
The seven Kiwis in the W-League this season have had a wide range of experiences in their football careers so far, from Longo and her 123 international caps right on down to Alfeld, who is still searching for her first.
Sermanni is eager to see all of them in action over the next three months, but he is particularly interested in how the lessexperienced prospects fare.
‘‘ Obviously, Annalie and Olivia are established senior international players, then Paige and Claudia, they’re two players who are getting themselves established in the team and who have made really good impressions at international level, so I think the key for them is for them to really step up in this league.
‘‘ I’m hoping that both of them make a really big impact in this competition and I’ve spoken to both of their coaches and they’ve been really impressed by how they’ve done so far in training.
‘‘Then with some of the younger ones, it’s a question of them showing their ability to step up to a level that’s a bit higher than where they’ve played before.
‘‘ With Malia and
Liz and
Lily going over to Perth, it’s a real opportunity for them, because they’ll get game time, so this is a great chance for them to see how they cope with stepping up a level.’’
With seven Kiwis in the W-League this season, there are more than at any point since 2013, when Longo was one of eight, alongside Hannah Bromley, Abby Erceg, Emma Kete, Sarah McLaughlin, Holly Patterson, Liz Savage and Rebekah Stott.
There is also potential for that number to grow, with Kiwi under17 international Te Reremoana Walker part of the academy setup at the Newcastle Jets. The W-League starts on Tuesday.