Sunday’s Westfield W-League semi-final against Sydney at Ballymore offers plenty of rewards for Elise Kellond-Knight.
As well as the obvious achievement of reaching the W-League-s inaugural grand final, the Queensland Roar midfielder is hopeful a good performance will earn her a national call-up.
Having represented her country at youth level, the 19-year-old now wants to be the 12th Roar player to play for the Matildas.
“I just want to keep playing at my best,” Kellond-Knight said.
“There are some international games coming up against Italy soon, so I-d like to be selected for those if I can.”
But when it comes to her personal success in the Westfield W-League, Kellond-Knight was quick to pay tribute to her team mates.
“I think being a part of a winning team is the best form of positive feedback for a player,” she said.
“When your team is winning and you-re helping with that, it-s the best feeling.”
After claiming the Premiership with two rounds to spare, the energetic midfielder is determined to build on the success in the finals series.
“I think we-re just going to keep our momentum we-ve gathered from the season and keep it going.
“There-s no reason to change it when we-ve been so successful.”
Premiership winners Roar Women will play fourth-placed Sydney FC in the semi-final on Sunday.
Despite beating Sydney 3-0 in their round six clash, Kellond-Knight believes the visitors will provide a stern test for the Queenslanders.
“You can never underestimate the Sydney team, they-re a quality side and you can never write them off,” she said.
“I think it-s going to be a tough game.”
However, Kellond-Knight remains quietly confident heading into the match.
“I think we have a good chance,” she said.
“We-ve been performing well all season so if we keep that up, it will be hard to stop us.”
Queensland Roar Women will kick off their finals campaign against Sydney FC on Sunday 11 January, 3pm at Ballymore Stadium.
