Natasha Rigby might just be Perth Glory’s most popular goalscorer this season – and it’s easy to understand why when you hear her story. The Glory captain speaks to Matt Comito for KEEPUP.
Natasha Rigby had it all planned out – and then, she “blacked out.”
Going scoreless through 89 games would make any player fantasise about how they would celebrate their very first goal – but when the Glory captain rippled the back of the net with her maiden Liberty A-League strike, all of her best laid plans flew out the window.
“I always say to everyone: ‘If I score a goal, this is what I’m going to do’ – and I did none of that,” Rigby tells KEEPUP. “I blacked out… I did say I was going to twerk, but I did not do that. I probably would have got a yellow card, so it’s good that I didn’t!
“I think I just jumped on Alana (Jancevski), I didn’t even realise until I saw the footage. And then obviously everyone jumped on me and screamed.”
You’re unlikely to find a more popular goalscorer at Perth Glory than their captain who, in her 90th league appearance, finally broke her duck in a 1-1 draw with Western Sydney Wanderers in front of friends, family and the adoring Glory fans at Macedonia Park.
It was a blistering move sparked by an intercept high up the pitch from Rigby, and spurred on by a one-two with Jancevski which sent the full-back barrelling into the box.
Then came the finish: Rigby plastered her right boot against the ball as if it had personally affronted her, and within a flash it was past Wanderers keeper Jordyn Bloomer, and into the back of the net.
Rigby’s goal sent family and friends berserk in the stands, sparked limbs amongst the club staff – and even prompted a congratulatory email from Glory CEO Anthony Radich.
It was a “magic” moment to cap off Rigby’s perfect start to 2023, with everything falling into place for the Glory skipper.
“It’s been an amazing start to the year,” Rigby says, who kicked off the year celebrating her 30th birthday and becoming the proud owner of a puppy named Summer. “I never thought 2023 would be my year, but it absolutely has been an incredible year so far.
“I turned 30, which was crazy, and I’m happy to be 30 (but my back’s a bit sore now).
“And, I got engaged!”
In February Rigby got engaged to Angelique Stannett, her partner of four years. They met playing for Queens Park Soccer Club in Perth, before a season spent as Glory teammates in 2016-17. Stannett, now a defender at AFLW club Fremantle Dockers, surprised Rigby by proposing in the midst of a game of ‘Bananagrams’ in Kings Park.
It was Plan C after two initial attempts which ended in disaster.
“It’s the craziest story,” Rigby says. “We went to go camping, and she was going to do it there. We have a little puppy, (and) she peed all over us in the middle of the night, so Ange was like: ‘We’re not doing it!’ And we went home. So Plan A failed.
“Plan B was to go to the beach in the morning and she was going to do it there. But when we went to the beach, I felt sick. I said ‘I’m not swimming!’ And so we went home.
“Plan C, we went to Kings Park in Perth, which was iconic.
“I had no idea… I did not know at the time, I just thought she was acting so weird. I was like: ‘What’s happened to my girlfriend?’
“When she said; ‘Let’s go for a picnic’, I was like: ‘Will this lady just chill? Like, hello? I feel sick!’ (But) I was feeling a bit better so I said fine, let’s go… but it was magic, it was so nice.”
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From an engagement to a new puppy, her 30th birthday and a maiden Perth Glory goal – not to mention her side’s six-game run without defeat since New Years Day – it’s no wonder Rigby has been feeling “over the moon” throughout the first two-and-a-half months of 2023.
But now Rigby is eager to live out yet another new experience: guiding Glory back into the Liberty A-League finals as a captain for the very first time.
Perth currently sit four points behind fourth-placed Melbourne Victory on the table, with a game in hand heading into the final four rounds of the season. Sandwiched between the two clubs is Canberra United in fifth; last season the three clubs entwined in an epic final-day battle which saw Victory edge Glory into fourth spot and the finals series on goal difference alone.
Rigby believes last season’s heartbreak has added steel to her side’s resolve in 2022-23; she’s become a better captain for it, too – a leader who has had to grapple with plenty of self doubt along the way since her debut in 2016, growing into the armband she inherited from none other than Sam Kerr.
“My journey in the A-League has been a really interesting one,” says the Margaret River local, a picturesque town some three hours outside of Perth.
“I grew up in a remote and rural area. I didn’t have the same development pathways… I had only ever played at state league level in WA. I played a pre-season game against Perth Glory, got selected in an all star team, the coach saw me there and asked me to come down and trial. So my professional journey playing has been really interesting.
“I’ve just been trying to survive, and I’ve been slowly growing into myself more and more as a player and as a leader over the years.”
Rigby went to two grand finals with Perth through her first three seasons. Kerr then departed for Chelsea off the back of defeat to Sydney FC in the 2019 title decider, which led head coach Bobby Despotovski to name Rigby as skipper after just 38 Liberty A-League games.
“I was so excited but also terrified,” Rigby says. “There were times I felt I didn’t deserve it, per se. It took me a long time to feel confident – and I still don’t feel confident some days. In leadership, it’s tricky. But I definitely feel much more confident in my role now. But it has taken a few years.
“The biggest thing for me was it was big shoes to fill – and (Kerr) is one of the biggest players in the world – so that was really tough. But I identified that I needed to stop comparing myself, because it’s not about comparing. It’s about identifying my own strengths, looking within at why I may have been appointed to that position and to really hone in on those strengths, and to use those.
“Then I also worked really hard to identify strengths in others, to help bring them along on the journey with me. Because leadership isn’t about one person leading, it’s about empowering the whole team to do their own thing, and what they think they’re strong in.
“It took a lot of reflection, shifting, and understanding my own mindset to be able to get to this point.”
Kerr’s shadow loomed large over Perth as Glory finished bottom in Rigby’s first year as captain. But the arrival of head coach Alex Epakis helped the side shed its former skin to become something entirely new: a team led by a captain whose strength as a leader has come from extracting strength from others. A young side whose collective stock is well and truly on the rise.
“I think (making finals) would mean so much to the group,” Rigby says. “Especially the players who have been through all the hardships and challenges. And also the people who have jumped aboard, they’ve done nothing but add to the environment. It would be an incredible achievement.”
