Ruskin fighting for Crad Evans chance
SHE travels up to six hours every week from the Burdekin just to train with Brothers, and now teenage tearaway Charley Ruskin has been handed her biggest assignment yet.
The 15-year-old midfielder has been called into Brothers’ first XI as the club aims to bring the women’s Premier League Crad Evans Shield back to Townsville.
It is reward for Ruskin’s efforts off the bench in Brothers’ Football Queensland North grand final loss to MA Olympic, when she almost changed the game with her intensity on the field.
“She is a tough player,” Brothers coach Steve Mcnaughton said. “She is good off her right and off her left and will just work hard for you all game.
“She just gets busy on the field. At that age it is the decision making that can be troubling, when to make the right run and what ball to play. That is common for a lot of young players. That comes with experience.
“The thing about Charley is she is not shy. She will come up and ask the coaches or the senior players what she can do better. She wants to learn and she especially doesn’t want to let anyone down. She is eager and she wants to work hard.
“She is growing into a genuine Premier League footballer. Watch this space.”
Ruskin has been part of Brothers’ successful campaign in the women’s reserves competition this season, but instead made the decision to forgo that Crad Evans final to line up for the Premier League outfit.
She is not the only player
to make the tough decision. Kayla Wood was also called up to the top grade despite spending the season in the women’s reserves.
Wood, who played in Brothers’ loss to Edge Hill United in the Crad Evans Shield last season, has plenty of experience in the top grade, which Mcnaughton said his side would lean on.
“(Wood) is somewhat used to the pace of the game,” he said. “While she has not played Premier League all year, she knows the intensity and knows what to expect in the game.”
After winning two straight Crad Evans Shields, Brothers were cut short of a treble of North Queensland football titles by the Tigers in a highscoring affair last season.
Mcnaughton was adamant the Tigers had only become better since that game with the addition of several high-quality players.
Conversely, Brothers have struggled for consistency in their ranks at the back end of the season after losing a host of players this year.
The Football Queensland North giants have lost Emily Benton and Xanthe Dumbrell after they were deployed by the army, Nicola Klink, Darcee Bailey and Theresa Allan to season-ending injuries and experienced flyer Jess Harris to work commitments.
Still, Mcnaughton said they were determined to put up a good fight against their Far North rivals.
“That is the thing, these girls in our side don’t know any better, they don’t know what they are up against (at Edge Hill),” he said.
“They will have no fear going into the game and will give it their all.”