Back at the top
It’s all smiles for the Claudelands Rovers premier women’s team as after two months of waiting, the team has been promoted to the Northern Premier League after a oneyear absence. Claudelands Rovers consists of players from across the Waikato and Bay of Plenty. From left: Rhiannon Jones, Abbie Watson, Stella Neems, Gemma Cottrell, Emily Woollaston, Evahn Martinsen, Charli Rose and Giorgia Lawson.
After two months of hoping, Claudelands Rovers premier women’s team is on the cusp of returning to the LottoNRFL Premier League, after a one-year absence.
The Auckland Football Federation confirmed that the amalgamation between Three Kings United and Onehunga Sports has been completed, which has created a ripple effect across the league.
In the LottoNRFL premier women’s team, Three Kings United’s spot has been relinquished allowing Claudelands to move up due to contesting the Vacancy Playoff Series last season.
In 2019 the Claudelands women’s team secured the Waibop W-League title in dominant fashion, and narrowly lost to Ellerslie 4-2 in the playoff series. The news of Claudeland’s return to the league has been met with mixed reactions with some internet commenters, but former Claudelands Premier Women’s coach Dave Edmondson congratulated the team on Twitter, and told them to make the most of it.
Former journalist and online football commentator Bruce Holloway said “congratulations must be in order for coach Jeff Sole, promotion before the end of February must be the dream for any football coach.”
Before entering the league, Claudelands will need to show they can satisfy the NRFL participation criteria for the level they will play in for the 2020 season, including fielding a reserve team.
It had been a long two months for the Hamilton side, waiting to find out what league they would be contesting.
Last week, director of football for Claudelands Mark Cossey called for more support in the region for women’s football. He was concerned by the time taken to make a decision, and said allowing Claudelands back into the league would be the best choice for all.
“This is about offering women in the Waikato region another top team to develop at,” Cossey said.
“As of right now Hamilton Wanderers are the only team who can offer Waikato players northern league football. They are doing a great job for the region under Stephen Cox, but they can also only field a certain amount of players each game, leaving some to miss out. We want to develop strong players in the region. Claudelands is known as a club that has had a strong emphasis on women’s football in the past.”