Three Brisbane Roar players at the FIFA Women’s World Cup with the Matildas? It’s possible. But how does coach Garrath McPherson manage their respective aspirations? Nick D’Urbano explores.
Brisbane Roar are one of many Liberty A-League sides who are set to have a number of players gunning for selection this upcoming season, with the proverbial pot of gold of FIFA Women’s World Cup selection on their home soil waiting at the end of the rainbow.
Among them are star midfielder Katrina Gorry, who is set to return home after a stint at Swedish side Vittsjo, linking up with striker Larissa Crummer and emerging defender Jamilla Rankin.
The three of them, have all been part of the Matildas set-up over the last 12 months, but all to differing extents, with some more than others closer to securing a place in the final squad.
Brisbane’s star trio are set to lead the charge domestically this season, as they look to return to the finals following a sixth-placed finish last campaign.
But from the moment the Roar kick a ball in anger for the first time against Newcastle Jets in Round 1, right up until the final game of the campaign, the magnifying glass will be on each of their performances.
Fortunately, aspiring members get an entire season to try impress Matildas head coach Tony Gustavsson and his staff, but as seen in the lead-in to the men’s carnation, the message from many coaches and players alike was to “not look too far ahead”.
McPherson, like many coaches in Australia, faces a similar situation of trying to manage those pushing for selection, ensuring they’re focusing on the task at hand at club-level and not getting too distracted by the pressures of trying to make the WWC squad.
“They’re all just very down to earth,” McPherson told KEEPUP regarding Gorry, Crummer and Rankin.
“They have very high levels of self awareness… They know where they’re at. We spend a lot of time making sure each player in our environment always knows where they’re at right now, where are they going and how we get them there.
“So maybe through that, it puts their minds to ease that they don’t need to worry about or stress, whether or not they’re going to be in the team, starting in the team, that they know what’s happening this weekend, the week after… to make them a better footballer.
“It’s definitely on their minds (WWC selection). Funnily enough, start of last year Jamilla was the only one who was actually in the squad. ‘Mini’ (Gorry) had just had a baby and wanted to get back but didn’t really know whether it was possible, would she ever get back to the way she was? Larissa (Crummer) was coming back from a broken leg, not on radars, not on shortlists.
“And by half-way through the year I think we had all three of them included in a (Matildas) camp at one point.
“I guess part in parcel of being at that level is the pressure of thinking ‘geez, there’s a World Cup. Am I going to be there? I’d love to be playing’. “
“I think there are others in our squad too who just have to keep an eye on that tournament. One injury here or four-five good individual performances in a row and maybe [they’re thinking] ‘I am someone that’s in the mix’?”
Gorry was all the buzz last campaign in her return to competitive football after having a child – which in turn, led to her Matildas recall.
There is arguably no Matildas midfielder who is more well-rounded – as exemplified with her cracking goal against Denmark and overall performances in green and gold this year – making Gorry well and truly an odds-on-favourite to not only go to a third consecutive World Cup, but lead the charge at the base of midfield.
The 2014 AFC Player of the Year, however, will likely be eased into action this season after returning from her European stint and the latest Matildas camp.
But McPherson believes she will be chomping at the bit to get out on the pitch as soon as possible.
“We will see how her body is after camp (Matildas),” McPherson said. “She will need a rest. Her body hasn’t had one since before last A-League season so [maybe] a week, or two, or three. More so for her to mentally recharge as well.
“She will have her family around, obviously she loves Brisbane… She will need to spend some time with them and then we will get her back in.
“We want to get her back as soon as possible but we will be very cautious… She’s already in the group chat, she’s vocal, she’s on our leadership team.
I imagine, knowing Katrina, she will probably wanting to be training the day she lands!
While Crummer’s case for selection is a different one all together and maybe, not for the reasons most would think.
Despite playing her best football as an out-and-out number nine, the 26-year-old has been shuffled into defence at national-team level, playing as a full-back in the friendly against South Africa.
Even though it’ll be her exploits up top which will more than likely catch the selectors’ attention (like it did in the latter stages of last season, scoring five goals in the last three games); it may be her ability to play a myriad of roles that gets her over the line.
“I think at the top level at women’s sport, you just have to be athletic. You have to have this ability to compete,” McPherson said.
“Larissa probably possesses those attributes in terms of acceleration and speed, agility, her height… I can see why, she has played central defender before for Newcastle so playing as a defender isn’t unfamiliar for her.
Larissa loves playing striker, she loves scoring goals… but at the same time, knowing Larissa she will do anything she’s asked to do for the national team. If they wanted her to play goal-keeper she would pick up the gloves I’m sure!
“She’s a professional, she will do what she’s asked so that’s probably another reason why they’ve looked at her there because they know she has that mindset. She won’t be phased by that. She will just rock up and you want her to play full-back, she will play full-back for you.”
Rankin is the other wildcard who may be right in the mix, especially after earning her first Matildas cap against Spain in June and McPherson believes sky is the limit for the ultra talented 19-year-old.
“We’re really excited about where she’s at,” McPherson said.
“Because she’s already been involved in camps and was a regular in the U20s World Cup, I think sometimes we lose sight of the fact she’s just had a 19th birthday and only two seasons into her career, and only half of that has been her playing centre-back, the rest has been at left-back.
“For a centre-back… I think that’s somewhere she wants to be able to play. She knows left footed centre-backs are unique and there’s opportunities for her to continue to progress there and become world class in that position.
“For her to think about leading our back-line, which she ended up doing for us last year at 18, was a credit to her football maturity but she’s still a teenager. She’s off now to play Putt Putt with four or five her mates!
She’s still a 19-year-old who’s got a lot to learn and a long way to go but we will be doing everything we can to make sure she’s in the picture for 2023, that’s for sure.
