If Chelsie Dawber continues this run of form, it will be nigh on impossible to ignore the Adelaide United striker in the Matildas conversation.
Six goals in eight Liberty A-League games have put Dawber in the hunt for the 2021/22 Golden Boot, and on the radar as a potential Matildas bolter in the future.
Catch Chelsie Dawber’s next game as Adelaide take on Newcastle Jets:
Joining this week’s episode of The Official A-Leagues Podcast, Dawber was asked whether she felt her club form was translating into the recognition she deserves as one of Australia’s best young forwards.
“I feel like I’m probably not as well known or hyped up as the other girls, but I feel like if I keep scoring each week my name will continue to get out there – and who knows what will happen,” Dawber said.
“Being from Adelaide you’re always I guess the underdog. But I’m happy with how I’m going and can’t complain.”
It has taken years for Dawber to show the type of consistency in minutes she’s displayed at Adelaide United this season, scoring six goals in eight games to put the Reds into contention for a club-first finals appearance.
Dawber has never scored as many goals in a Liberty A-League campaign as she has up to this point of the season after a string of serious injuries early in her career hindered her ability to accrue consistent minutes in the past.
The 22-year-old’s horror injury run includes a severe form of post-concussion syndrome suffered in 2016 when an errant shot on goal saw a football push her head into a wall at an indoor tournament.
In 2019, it was stress fractures in both of her shins restricting Dawber’s game time; just one appearance in Red was to come for the emerging striker in the 2018/19 campaign.
“In 2016 I suffered a serious post-concussion,” she said. “I think that was probably the hardest injury I’ve had to go through. It’s not quite like an ACL (injury) where you’re still able to do all the things you want to do, you just can’t play soccer. I couldn’t go to school, I couldn’t see my friends, I lost a lot of weight because I was sleeping all the time. For me, that’s probably been the biggest challenge.
“I’ve experienced injuries like tearing your hamstring… but (post-concussion) was definitely a big challenge to overcome. I had all the support from my friends, my family, my soccer team, doctors… so in the end I think that’s made me stronger.
“For a while I was a little bit cautious about heading, that’s an ongoing joke with everyone that I never head the ball. So when I do it in the game I get a bit more hype than everyone else… but when playing now I don’t tend to think about it too much. I’m fully over it, all good.”
Dawber made her Liberty A-League debut in late 2017, and her first 22 Reds appearances garnered just two goals.
She’s since scored 11 in her following 13 dating back to mid-last season.
Her consistent goalscoring form is helping Dawber flourish during a season in which she’s played all eight of her side’s games to date; prior to this campaign her highest number of appearances in a single season was nine (2019/20).
Add in Dawber’s form for NPL SA outfit Adelaide City FC in the Liberty A-League off-season, where she scored 16 goals in 12 appearances, and her current run in all competitions rises to 27 goals scored in her past 25 games.
Dawber’s individual form is helping Adelaide into finals contention. The Reds have never finished a Liberty A-League season inside the top four – a statistic made all the worse by Adrian Stenta’s side missing out on goal difference alone last season.
“I definitely think we had that sense last year, that last year was going to be the year,” Dawber said. “The girls that were there last year who are also there this year are still pretty bitter about not making finals last year. That’s definitely a goal we’ve set.
Dawber added: ”I definitely think we can surprise other teams. I think some games we’ve been unlucky or haven’t played our best against Melbourne City and the likes, so we’ve definitely got what it takes to beat the top sides.
“We don’t play Sydney until the last round of the season, so we know we need to win all the other games to still be up there.
“I definitely think we’ve got a few teams coming up that will be really important to stay on top (of) for the rest of the season, so we need to keep winning each week. I definitely think we’ve got what it takes to be pushing finals this year.”
Beyond this Liberty A-League season and the next looms the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, set to be held on Australian and New Zealand shores.
Dawber watched along with “disappointment” as the Matildas bowed out of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup in a 1-0 quarterfinal loss to South Korea on Sunday night, a game in which an out of sorts Sam Kerr and her supporting cast failed to put the necessary goals on the board to progress to the final four of the tournament.
Whether Dawber can follow in the footsteps of fellow Liberty A-League forwards Holly McNamara and Remy Siemsen and break into Tony Gustavsson’s Matildas squad in between now and the World Cup remains to be seen.
But one thing is for sure: Dawber’s unique attacking skillset would provide the Matildas boss something different in the final third, should the Matildas boss feel he need to re-jig his squad after falling short at the Asian Cup.
“I don’t think I necessarily base my game off anyone in particular,” Dawber said. “I like watching quite a few players in (the Matildas) but I don’t think I resemble anyone in particular in that team the way I play.
“Obviously I like to be like Sam, scoring goals and all the rest of it but I think I have my own playing style, I’m not really comparing to anyone in that team.”
Adelaide United v Newcastle Jets
Friday, February 4 2022
Coopers Stadium
Kick-off: 5.05pm AEDT
Broadcast: Paramount+
MATCH CENTRE | HOW TO WATCH
