V

GRAND FINALS

VALENTINE SPORTS PARK

5.45PM

SUNDAY 2ND SEPTEMBER 2018

NSW WOMEN’SKICKOFF

U14 • 9AM U15 • 10.45AMU17 • 12.45PM RESERVE GRADE • 2.45PM

Referee: Assistant Referees:

4th Official:

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#NPLNSW

KICK OFF 9AM

L. Bryant S. Gregory and M. Ryan M. Allum

1 FRANCO Tahlia2 BREWSTER Emily3 ELIADES Pandora4 GALIC Daniela5 GHABACH Anabelle6 HOLLMAN Shay7 LOBO Maya8 LYSIAK Olivia9 MANITI Chantelle10 MOORE Donnelle11 NAEIMI Daniella12 PEAKE Molly13 PRAKASH Avaani14 SAVESKA Sienna15 STANIC-FLOODY Mary16 VALLE Alessandra17 WELSH Riley18 HALL Aimee

Coach: Linda KhamisAssistant Coach: Shamiran Khamis

82 BRADLEY Valentina83 DAVIES Gemima85 HENEBERY Ashley86 HORSLEY India87 JOHNSON Kahli88 MORABITO Teresa72 NEL Mia89 OATES Emily90 RAINBIRD Natasha91 RYAN Ruby92 SERGI Esme93 SIMONS Piper94 STEIN Isabella81 SYRON Summer95 THOMPSON Alice96 VERNON Ruby

Coach: Sharon EggerAssistant Coach: Maddison ZahraManager: Mel Kypri

U14 TEAM LISTS

Referee: Assistant Referees:

4th Official:

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KICK OFF 10.45AM

M. Allum L. Bryant and S. Gregory M. Ryan

19 NORTON Anna20 BELL Jini21 CICCO Claudia22 COLLINS Aurelia23 CONNOLLY Bronte24 DANES Keira25 DE LA HARPE Olivia26 FERNANDEZ Maya27 FERRIS Gemma28 HOULIARAS Renee29 KAMBOURIS Paris30 MALONE Madeleine31 MITCHELL Olivia32 NASH Jessika33 PLUMMER Amalia34 TROPEA Giorgia

Coach: Craig FosterAssistant Coach: Youssif Maximos

2 MORGAN Gemma3 CRYE Peyton4 BROC Micheala6 CHESSARI Amy7 PECIOUS Amber8 JABOUR Sheriden9 NADAN Ashna10 HENRY Bryleeh11 SHEMBRI Oliva12 BEDANO Kyah13 BRUCCINI Breanna14 SEVETTA Amelia15 BEZZINA Sarah16 HOLDER Clair43 JACKSON Amity

Coach: Brad AttardManager: Maryanne Holder

U15 TEAM LISTS

Referee: Assistant Referees:

4th Official:

4

#NPLNSW

M. Ryan M. Allum and S. Gregory L. Bryant

1 ORPHANIDES Amy4 CHRISTIE Torah41 THACKWAY Adrienne42 CAROLAN Olivia43 BOSNICH Lara44 MCDONAGH Ailish45 QUADAN Nahla46 HOBAN Sophie48 PHILIP Lauren50 McEVOY Tulley51 DI SIPIO Isabella52 WILLIAMS Juliet53 WHITESIDE Alexandra54 KOWALENKO Madeleine55 GORDON Chloe

Coach: David O’keefeManager: Denise Hoban

44 FARRELLY Emma45 GEORGAKLIS Kayla46 GILBANE Elizabeth47 GILBANE Phoebe48 HALL Summer49 HIGGINS Chloe50 KEECH Izzy52 KERR Ellie70 LITTLEBOY Somerset43 MELVIN Lucy53 NEWMAN Holly51 RITCHIE Annabel 41 RYAN Lily54 SCHNITZLER Lily55 STANBRIDGE Kate56 SWEETNAM Gemma

Coach: Claude De FrancescoAssistant Coach: Chloe O’brienManager: Rachel Sweetnam

KICK OFF 12.45PM

U17 TEAM LISTS

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Referee: Assistant Referees:

4th Official:

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I. Libri E. Phillips and T. Brown N. Peterson

1 PARRAGUIRRE Romina28 CASPERS Heidi34 FOSTER Antonia22 GARRETT Jessica23 HEZLETT Leila24 KENNEDY Madeleine25 KILBRIDE Teal29 MACRI Tahlia33 PRUSCINO Lauren31 RYAN Lauren35 TIMS Alexandra32 TUCKER Genevieve26 YOUNG Hannah55 MARTIN Victoria49 BAINSFAIR Kiera56 LA HEI Pascale

Coach: Andrew TuckerManager: Suzy Foster

1 EASTHOPE Sarah4 HUYNH Samantha11 CROFT Ashlie14 McPHERSON Kate17 SURGEON Lydia18 ABRAMOVIC Stefeni19 DOBSON Bianca20 FRANCIS Danielle21 LI Rachel22 BURNS Rhiannon24 BLAKEMORE Renee25 VLANGOS Georgia28 JERRAM Lucy29 FITZHARRIS Courtney33 DACZKO Annabelle34 PHELPS Lauren41 WHITTON Isabella

Coach: David SalibaAssist Coach: Scott DaczkoManager: Maryanne Holder

KICK OFF 2.45PM

RESERVE GRADE

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8

#NPLNSWFIRST GRADE PREVIEW

We are down to the final two in the elite National Premier Leagues NSW Women’s

competition as the Macarthur Rams and Sydney University lock horns on Sunday afternoon at Valentine Sports Park.

It’s been a long and arduous season for both Macarthur and Uni and it all comes down to the big dance on Sunday afternoon at Football NSW headquarters.

The ‘students’ deservedly won the Premiership after leading the competition for a significant part of it.

With head coach Alex Epakis in charge of his first season at the club, he has had some amazing results and completing the double in his debut campaign would be something special.

Cortnee Vine leads this team from the front and her prowess in front of goal is a key factor to Uni’s success. Added to that the late forward runs of Nikki Flannery and the Rams defence will need to be at their best.

Tori Tumeth has been another standout for Uni this season but it was stand in keeper Sophie Magus that grabbed the headlines last time out and another performance like that will put Uni closer to the title.

Littered with talent, Uni will also have the likes of Rachael Soutar, Bianca Galic, Taren King and Charlotte Mclean to look towards in spearheading their title challenge.

Last week Uni booked their place in the final in what was one of the best footballing displays put on by two teams this season.

The team with a ‘hoodoo’ they can’t shake. The Macarthur Rams.

First it was the Football NSW Institute in 2014, then Uni in 2015 and Manly United last season.

Three finals, three losses.

Interestingly, all three times they came into the grand final as the premiers, not this time though.

The wily eyed Norm Boardman has an

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experienced side at his disposal and will be expecting his team to go all the way.

Kylie Ledbrook, fresh from signing a W-League deal with the Western Sydney Wanderers, and Teresa Polias are arguably the team’s biggest stars with of course well-known goal-poacher Leena Khamis who also snapped up a Western Sydney Wanderers contract.

Georgia Yeoman-Dale is another the Uni defence will need to watch with the attacker in red hot form this season while the experienced Renee Rollason will look towards commanding the Rams to victory.

Caitlin Campbell has also had solid year and will be tough to break come Sunday while the zippy Rosaria Galea will need be watched closely as her speed can turn any game on its head.

The two drew twice in the regular season with Macarthur coming away with a one-goal victory only two weeks ago in the semi-final.

It will be a fine game between the two best teams in the competition.

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14 GUZMAN VICTORIA16 WOODS CLARE17 FLANNERY NICKOLETTA21 MAGUS SOPHIE26 GALIC BIANCA28 MCLEAN CHARLOTTE33 TUMETH TORI38 EBBS KATHERINE

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12

#NPLNSWPLAYER FEATURESPOLIAS AND RUSSELL READY FOR WOMEN’S NPL NSW SHOWDOWN

Macarthur Rams and Sydney University FC are set to clash in the final of the 2018

NPL NSW women’s top tier competition.

Macarthur Rams’ Teresa Polias and Sydney Uni’s Julie-Ann Russell gave us a run down on what we can expect from the final showdown and their thoughts on what is to come for the future of the women’s game.

Both teams have met three times this season, with their first two games ending in a draw and their most recent, the semi-finals ending in a nail-biting 2-1 to the Rams over the premiership winners, Sydney Uni.

Between the two teams, they boast three of the top five leading goal scorers, the Rams with leading goal-scorer Georgia Yeoman-Dale at a whopping 31 goals scored so far this season, Leena Khamis with 14 and Sydney Uni’s Cortnee Vine at 20.

Fans of the beautiful game would be no stranger to the name “Teresa Polias.” The former Matilda and current W-League

superstar has been an ever-present force in female football for several years.

Starting football at the age of six with her twin sister Susy, Polias made her debut at 17 in the very first season of the W-League. As her career progressed she went on win a grand final with Sydney FC and captain the squad.

Polias says that playing in the NPL helps keep her primed and ready for the W-League during off-season. She also believes the league and game has grown in leaps and bounds throughout her time.

“I love playing in the NPL during the W-League off-season. During this time most players return to work, school or study, however, we do need to keep ourselves in touch with the game and the legs ticking over”, the 10-capped Matilda said.

“The NPL has been great in helping me to keep fit and ready to roll into pre-season for W-League. Just as importantly, it’s also very enjoyable.

“When it comes to how the game has changed and grown throughout my time, I think the obvious major factor that everyone can relate to, is the exposure that women’s sport is getting as a whole now.

“When I first started playing at an elite level there wasn’t really any promotion of the women’s game. You basically found things out from sources close to the game, so it was really hard to build fan bases and get exposure out there.

“Social media has really helped in a global sense as well. If you want to watch games or tournaments taking place in other countries, there is a lot more access than there used to be.”

Julie-Ann Russell is one of this season’s most impressive international imports, joining the women’s top tier league from Ireland.

With an already impressive resume playing for the Republic of Ireland women’s international football team and an FAI Senior Women’s International Player of the Year award under

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her belt, Russell has also made her mark down-under, as Sydney Uni’s second leading goal scorer.

Russell says moving to Australia last year and joining the women’s NPL was one of the biggest decisions of her life, but one that has paid off.

“Moving to Australia was a huge decision as I was playing with the senior Irish national team for nine years, so moving over meant I would have to take a break from playing with them.

“I wanted to continue to play at a high standard when I moved over so I decided to join Sydney Uni and it has been an absolute pleasure since day one. Everyone was so welcoming, from the girls, to the coaching staff, to the backroom staff and helpers. I have gained great friends, great coaching and great experience playing with and against top players,” the 27-year old said.

Russell also shared that the women’s top tier NSW NPL competition and the Australian women’s game in general has exceeded her expectations.

“To date I have only experienced football in the NPL in NSW but so far it has exceeded my expectations.

“I think it’s great that the clubs all have underage teams and that they all play on the same day one after each other. The standard is very high with lots of talented top-class players,” she said.

“I have also seen lots of young players with huge potential. A huge number of NPL players also play in the W-League which I believe is growing from strength to strength. Finally given the fact the Matildas are doing so well in World Tournaments, competing and beating top nations I really think the future is bright for the women’s game in Australia.”

In terms of what she thinks the future has in store for the women’s game in Australia, Polias sees it as glowing.

“The future is definitely so bright! I think the most exciting part about it, is that there are endless possibilities. We could even be hosting a world cup in the near future which gives me goose bumps just thinking about.”

Polias says the advantage the Rams could have over Sydney Uni is experience.

“We’ve had 3 tight battles and I’m sure Sunday will be no different!

“I think that the experience our team holds is a factor that could get us over the line. We have players that have played in big games throughout their career, so hopefully they can transfer a level of calm into the team to ensure we play our usual game.”

Russell says that Sydney Uni is up for the challenge,

“In general, I think the Rams are a strong team particularly in midfield and up front. They are well set up and we will need to watch out for the ball over the top for their runners. However, I have every confidence we can match them player for player and come out on top and am looking forward to the battle.

“I think having lost to them in the semi-final makes us want to beat them even more. I also believe having won the league, the drive to do the double will give us that extra determination and edge over the Rams,” she said.

By Liana Buratti