Ahead of the crucial second legs of this weekend’s Ninja A-League semi-finals, aleagues.com.au caught up with Melbourne Victory forward Holly Furphy.
In the Oxford Dictionary the term ‘Furphy’ carries the following description: “A rumour or story, especially one that is untrue or absurd.”
But when it comes to the story of Melbourne Victory’s Holly Furphy, there’s nothing untrue about it, albeit there are now aspects which seem absurd given her talent.
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Her’s is a story of hard work and perseverance to overcome a series of hurdles in a bid to realise her dream.
“Maybe there were days that were really tough, but I don’t think I’ve ever thought ‘I don’t want to do this anymore,” said Furphy when speaking to aleagues.com.au after training.
“Because I love the sport and it’s just what I want to do with my life.
“I wouldn’t give it up. If I couldn’t play professionally I’d be playing amateurs or anything.”
Beginning life as a train-on at Melbourne Victory in the same youth set-up as the likes of Matildas ace Kyra Cooney-Cross, Furphy’s big break in the Ninja A-League could have come years ago.
Somewhat tempted by a move to the Western Sydney Wanderers, the now 22-year-old ultimately opted in favour of a move stateside, signing up for a degree in environmental science at Santa Clara University in California, where she would also get a crack in the college soccer system.
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But just as she was finding her feet in the US, the three most feared letters in the footballing alphabet reared their ugly head: ACL.
“The experiences I had during college, I think going through my injury, my ACL, that was such a huge turning point in my career,” Furphy said.
“I think that I can really credit what I went through with that as the biggest thing that has helped me coming into this league.
“I think I just value the game so much more now and I really do play every game like it’s my last, because I know that it could be taken away at any moment.
“And I think that’s what’s helped me the most. You know, coming into my first game, like I said, I have nothing to lose here, and I’m just gonna play with some fun and then hopefully get a result.”
Returning from her injury within 10 months, Furphy aimed to hit the ground running after getting back on the pitch, but things proved to be complicated.
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“During my rehab it was brutal sitting out and watching everyone play. I was just counting down the days. But I do think it was sort of after I got back and I was playing, I still had some issues leading into my first season back.
“I was dealing with a lot of pain, and I always remember thinking ‘I love this game so much, and I want to figure out a way I can do this at my best ability.’
“I think just having such a long, drawn out rehab process, like every day just made me more motivated. Every day I missed out I was like, Okay, I have to keep going. I have to keep going and I felt like the feeling of being back and 100% healthy, I think that just made it so much more worth it.
“I think even this season, coming to Victory like that was the moment of ‘Oh, I’ve done it’ like, I’ve come back from this speed bump in my career.”
Now fit and firing, there hasn’t been a speed bump capable of slowing her down.
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Signed by Victory as an injury replacement for Paige Zois, Fuphy scored 11 minutes into her debut against Sydney FC and then went on to score three in her first six games in the Ninja A-League.
As often happens with those who possess the ability to put the ball in the back of the net, the goals went in and acclaim soon followed, with many tipping the 22-year-old rookie as a Matilda in the making.
“I remember hearing that,” smiled Furphy when asked what she made of hearing her name linked with a possible Matildas call-up.
“It’s like a fever dream because Matildas, that’s my dream to even have a look in for that.
“It’s just unreal. I’m going to keep working to make that goal a reality one day. But it was a bit of a pinch-me moment.
“Every game is a pinch-me moment. I’m like, I can’t believe I’m here and I’m healthy and I’m able to play the game I love. But yeah, one day I’ll get there.”
But whilst the dream of playing for the Matildas remains just that, of more pressing concern for Furphy and her Victory teammates is a semi-final showdown with Adelaide United this weekend.
Leading 3-1 going into the second leg, Furphy will be hoping to play her part at the Home of the Matildas as Victory bid to book their spot in the Ninja A-League Grand Final.
“Our record against them shows that (while) they’re a challenging team to play, we know how to do it and we know the solutions when we’re going against them. I think we’re going into this game pretty confident, even if it will be a challenge.
“I know Adelaide is going to come out and give everything they have but I think we’ve got it in the bag.”
Whilst some may perceive that last line to be somewhat arrogant, it couldn’t be further from the truth.
Furphy’s confidence in her team’s ability to get the required result comes from the fact Jeff Hopkins’ side are currently in a blistering run of form and are showing no signs of stopping.
Furthermore, had Premiership winners Melbourne City not gone undefeated throughout the entire Ninja A-League season then plenty more people would be talking about the run Melbourne Victory are currently on.
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“We just take every game like it’s our last game, basically. We’re like, let’s just play with everything we have and then that’s helping us get the result. We’re really good at just fighting games out and even if we’re only leading by one, we know that’s so important to us and we just have to keep fighting.
“I’ve noticed so much since I’ve joined how much fight and how much grit we have in those tough end minutes of the game.
“I just think you can see how determined everyone is, and we’re all on the same page which I think is great, and I think that’s going to really help us going into the finals.”
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Watching on with a keen eye this weekend will be two people who have hade a huge impact on Furphy’s blossoming career, who themselves know what it’s like to be competing in pressure cooker situations.
Older brother Joe played in the AFL with the Geelong Cats while younger brother Johnny is currently playing in the NBA Eastern Conference semi-finals with the Indiana Pacers. Add to that the fact both her parents have distinguished sporting backgrounds and it seems sport is firmly entrenched in the Furphy family DNA.
“I think part of the reason why I did choose soccer is because I knew they were going to get taller than me, and I was like, ‘well, I can’t beat them so I might as well be good at something else I could beat them at!
“Obviously, we’re all sort of just coming into the professional world but over the last year or so, it’s been great. We sort of just bounce off each other and share our experiences and it’s good to have people so close that we can really relate to.
“I know Johnny, my younger brother, is in a completely different world to what me and my older brother are in, but it’s just good to even just talk about like training and game feel and just all that pressure that goes around, you know, the need to perform all the time, and you’re always sort of in the spotlight.”
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