Westfield Junior Matildas Head Coach Rae Dower has selected five Queensland players in her 30-player squad to attend the first camp of 2019 next week, in preparation for the second phase of AFC Under 16 Women’s Championship qualification.
Queenslanders Charlotte Farmer, Georgia Beaumont, Jamilla Rankin, Kezia Pritchard and Mia Bailey will attend the camp at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra between Sunday, 20 January 2019 and Thursday, 24 January 2019.
Last September, Dower’s squad ventured to Bishkek in Kyrgyz Republic for the first phase of qualifying and won all four of their matches to comfortably advance to the second stage of qualifying.
In March, the Westfield Junior Matildas will play in Laos against IR Iran (3 March), Vietnam (5 March), and the host nation (7 March) at the New Laos National Stadium in Vientiane.
“I’m really excited to work together with the staff and the players again,” Dower said.
“It’s always a great week together when we get into camp, to see everyone’s smiling faces as we get down to work.
“What we want to do is build on the momentum created from the first round of qualifiers and continue to develop our playing style and our overall team work.
“This round of qualifiers will be harder because we have to finish in the top two but the prize is a really good one – to be able to go on and play in an Asian Championship where you are trying to qualify for a World Cup, that is the ultimate goal.”
Brisbane Roar NTC coach David Da Silva, who guided his team to the National Premier Leagues (NPL) Women’s Championship in 2018, will also join the squad as part of a professional development opportunity.
“Being back home in Queensland I get the opportunity to see these players on a regular basis, which means I get to see their improvement firsthand,” Dower said.
“A number of the players have performed well over the years and just like players from the rest of the country, they show enormous talent and potential.
“The idea is given the right opportunity and environment, they will continue to grow as elite footballers and they can represent their state here as a Brisbane Roar player, and work towards the ultimate goal of hopefully becoming a Westfield Matilda one day.”
This is one of two preparative camps for the Westfield Junior Matildas with another one scheduled before their trip to Laos.
Westfield Junior Matildas 30-player Squad – Training Camp – Sunday, 20 January 2019 – Thursday, 24 January 2019 (Canberra, Australia)
Name | Member Federation | Club |
Emma Ilijoski | Capital Football | Canberra United Academy |
Josephine Dubbert | Capital Football | Brindabella Blues FC |
Brianna Edwards (GK) | Football NSW | North Western Sydney Koalas |
Charlie Rule | Football NSW | FNSW Institute |
Darcey Malone | Football NSW | FNSW Institute/Sydney FC |
Jessika Nash | Football NSW | FNSW Institute |
Kahli Johnson | Football NSW | Manly United FC |
Madeleine Malone | Football NSW | FNSW Institute |
Olivia De La Harpe | Football NSW | FNSW Institute |
Anna Hunt | Football NSW Country | NSW Western Mariners |
Jordan Jasnos | Football NSW Country | Riverino Rhinos |
Poppy Tay | Football NSW Country | Southern Branch FC/Sydney Uni FC |
Charlotte Farmer | Football Queensland | Brisbane Roar NTC |
Georgia Beaumont | Football Queensland | Brisbane Roar NTC |
Jamilla Rankin | Football Queensland | Brisbane Roar NTC |
Kezia Pritchard (GK) | Football Queensland | Brisbane Roar NTC |
Mia Bailey (GK) | Football Queensland | Brisbane Roar NTC/JCU Strikers FC |
Alana Jancevski | Football Victoria | NTC Victoria |
Claudia Mihovic | Football Victoria | NTC Victoria |
Grace Taranto | Football Victoria | NTC Victoria |
Nia Stamatopoulos | Football Victoria | NTC Victoria/Melbourne City FC |
Paige Zois | Football Victoria | NTC Victoria |
Hanah Lowry | Football West | Perth Glory |
Isabella Wallhead | Football West | Perth Glory |
Tijan McKenna | Football West | Perth Glory/Cockburn City |
Amy Parkinson | Northern NSW Football | Newcastle Jets Academy |
Josie Morley | Northern NSW Football | Newcastle Jets Academy |
Kirsty Fenton | Northern NSW Football | Newcastle Jets Academy |
Ruby Jones (GK) | Northern NSW Football | Newcastle Jets Academy |
Teagan Douglas | Northern NSW Football | Newcastle Jets Academy |
Words: Zoe Nilsen