This week’s episode of A-Leagues All Access centres on Sydney FC captain Natalie Tobin. Watch the full episode on Thursday night, 7.30pm AEDT on KEEPUP.
As an A-League captain with a decade’s standing, you only get to hand the baton on once. Teresa Polias knew the type of character required to wear the armband at Sydney FC – and then the chaos of the pandemic provided the perfect way forward.
Natalie Tobin wasn’t even meant to be at Sydney FC at the point when Polias decided to step away from the game and focus on starting a family. As Tobin told KEEPUP last year, she and her partner had decided to start a new life in WA, and Perth Glory were delighted to sign her.
But when the Omicron variant of Covid shut the border between NSW and WA a few weeks later, Tobin aborted her decision to leave Sydney – and soon after, was offered the captaincy when Polias decided to step away.
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“I was shocked when we learnt she was leaving Sydney FC, but it turned out her staying was meant to be,” Polias laughs now. “It’s like the Law of Attraction!”
In 2022, Tobin admitted: “It’s been really, really strange.”
Sydney’s former captain notes that there were a number of candidates to replace her, but Tobin – the subject of this week’s episode of A-Leagues All Access – had shown dedication to the cause since making her debut in the last minutes of the 2013 Grand Final.
“I remember her coming in to the club as a youngster, a real talent but primarily a midfielder,” Polias says. “She was pretty much a train-on player in the early years because it was a hard team to break into.
“She waited for her chance and did the hard work. She could have gone to any other club but she backed herself to make it Sydney, and has been reaping the rewards ever since.
“When I moved on there were a number of good candidates to be captain but Nat embodies what it means to be a leader. She’s respected and gives respect, she’s fair, she’s got good morals and values.
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“It’s easy to listen to someone when they embody what they say, and she wears her heart on her sleeve for Sydney FC. She was the perfect choice because she shares the core values of the club.”
Tobin will be a key figure for the Sky Blues in Saturday’s elimination final against Melbourne Victory as her club bids to expunge the memory of losing consecutive grand finals.
Polias can particularly empathise with the workload inherent in Tobin holding a full-time job as an occupational therapist, after she herself had combined primary school teaching with being Sydney captain for so long.
“It’s really hard to pull off – now that I’ve stopped playing I appreciate quite how hard,” she said. “At the time you’re almost in a bubble, doing it all on autopilot.
“As the game has got more and more professional, the demands have just got higher, especially with the season extending.
“But Nat has proven herself to be an outstanding captain at the biggest club.”
