Sydney University SFC has become a force to be reckoned with in the women’s game, claiming their fourth straight #NPLWNSW Premiership last week.
Emily Husband has been in the driving seat for this season’s success, securing first place with three games of the regular season to spare.
Uni’s 17-match unbeaten run which stretched from late April all the way through to last weekend when Manly United came from behind to defeat the ‘Students’.
The dominance began in 2015 but putting the jig saw together was not easy, taking a lot of hard work, time and effort. Building a culture and system at Uni started with Heather Garriock, the former Matildas superstar.
“For the Club, the number of First Grade Premierships shows the culture we have built over a period of time, all of which contribute to 2022’s successes,” Head Coach Emily Husband said.
“The Premiership is of course important to not just the players but also the University, as a large number of our players are predominately students or alumni.”
“This season we’ve had foundations to build upon that were laid prior to winning our first premiership in 2015 under Heather Garriock. We have phenomenal group of players who have a love for the club and the game, willing to fight for each other and with the self-belief and determination no matter what obstacles are thrown their way.”
The club has become one of the strongest forces in New South Wales and at a state league level, have the arguments and evidence to say they are the best in the country. Not only has Uni been successful with their First Grade team but the success stems right through the club in all age groups.
“We look to build from the bottom up, in which our Girl’s Youth League squads are just as important as our Women’s First Grade squad, as they are the future of this Club,” Husband said.
“Having this outlook provides us with depth for years to come, and has enabled us to win five Club Championships, highlighting the depth we have across the Club with valuable development pathways, enabling players to come through our system.”
In the hunt for their ninth trophy in seven years, 2022 has not been an easy year for the Students, despite their fantastic results. Representative call ups, injuries, suspensions and everything else that comes up during a football season has not avoided them.
“As with a lot of teams across the league we have suffered with injuries, losing a number of key players for the season; Bianca Galic, Taren King, Clare Hunt, Rachel Lowe, just to name a few! As well as having players away on national/representative team duties,” said the Premiership winning coach.
“Thankfully we are coming to the end of our injury patch with some players returning to First Grade football as we edge towards finals. It is not all bad though, as it has opened the door for some of our talented U18’s, with two players now being regulars in the starting 11, and a number of our U18’s making their debuts off the bench. It is great to see them rise to the competition!”
For Husband, it has been difficult to pick a stand out this season with the team so well structured and disciplined throughout the campaign.
“It’s been a real team effort, I couldn’t pick! Defensively we have been solid, with (Courtney) Newbon making a number of key saves, and our defensive unit of Gabby (Gabrielle Peak), Ash (Ashley Irwin) and Taren (King) being hard to break down. Annabel (Martin) and Emma (Ilijoski) have been unbelievable out wide, accompanied with the hardworking and versatile midfield of Brianna (Oliverio), Hannah (Jones) and Sarah (Morgan). We have then had a clinical forward pairing of Rola (Badawiya) and Holly (Caspers).”
“So I think the whole squad have been unbelievable!”
As mentioned earlier, Uni are on course to record another trophy and completing the double for the third time since 2016, having also done it in 2019, underlining their dominance. In the last decade, only the Macarthur Rams (2012) and Marconi Stallions (2013) have managed to take both trophies.
Husband is confident their team can carry their consistency into the semi finals and finals and lift the Championship.
“I will always back the players, they’ve proved they are the most consistent team this season and can turn up on the day so my belief is with them,” Husband said.
The #NPLWNSW competition was arguably the strongest it has ever been this year but was hampered with international duty, still, Husband believes it has been a fantastic season with the standard remaining high.
“At the start, I think the league definitely looked at its strongest ever, but with all the representative football it has affected a number of clubs throughout the season. Having said that, there has still been some great football on display.”
When asked on who she believes will be Uni’s biggest threat in the playoffs, Husband couldn’t give a direct answer.
With six teams still in contention for finals football and Uni being the only ones assured of semis with two rounds still to play, the competitiveness of the season is once more clearly on display.
“I think anyone on the day can come through, it’s probably who will come into finals with the healthiest squad, as every team have suffered with injuries and players on national duty. Macarthur Rams have strung a good run of games in the back end of the season and the Northern Tigers have been consistently up there but you just never know,” Husband concluded.
-By NPL NSW Women’s Chief Writer and Commentator Nikola Pozder