Sydney FC’s midfield dynamo is driven by needing to win any contest – and by a litany of injuries that left her fearing she might never reach the top. Tom Smithies reports.
Don’t be fooled by the diminutive stature or her quiet tone. Sarah Hunter’s gaze is unwavering whether you’re an A-Leagues legend on the opposition team, a goalkeeper facing her penalty at an Under-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup or even a journalist discussing her career.
Sydney FC’s goalscoring midfielder might feel she has time to make up, after a litany of injuries marred her teenagerhood, but in little more than two years she has packed in a remarkable level of experiences and is quietly making a name in the Liberty A-League.
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This year’s World Cup cycle will almost certainly come too early, but her calm displays at the U20 World Cup last year – scoring that penalty to register Australia’s first goal – suggest the senior national team will come calling sooner rather than later.
And at the heart of it all is a competitive streak that, she admits, dominates everything, even card games with friends. “It’s like,” she says, “I’m gonna die if I don’t win.”
You could argue that Hunter is one of several players in Sydney’s consistently successful squad who get scant recognition, but the highest praise is probably the way she has allowed Sydney to thrive despite the retirement of Teresa Polias, the exit of Clare Wheeler and the ACL injury to Taylor Ray.
Polias in particular has been a source of positive feedback for Hunter, which is ironic as their first meeting was less than cordial, in the heat of an NPL fixture.
“Teresa was Sydney captain for so many years, such a great leader and I loved watching her,” Hunter recalls. “Then I got to play against her in the NPL and I hadn’t known her before. You know, obviously, I’m competitive, so I’m wanting to show what I can do against her – putting some tackles in, maybe some late tackles, whatever.
“We had a bit of a scuffle on the pitch… but since I came to Sydney and she announced her retirement (after getting pregnant), she’s been giving some nice words.
“She’s a really nice person and still sends messages congratulating us for different things. She’s something that someone I look up to, you know, on and off the pitch as well.”
Polias remembers that first meeting well: “She absolutely smashed me!” she recalls with a note of admiration from one midfielder to another. “I hadn’t told anyone I was pregnant which is maybe why I reacted so strongly.
“But the confidence Sarah has for someone so young is brilliant to see, I wished I’d had it at that age. She is going to go on to achieve massive things at this rate, I have so much respect for her.I’d like to see her play even further up the field, she’s a goalscorer too.”
Certainly Hunter is a student of the game, soaking up footage of the midfielders she admires from Germany’s Joshua Kimmich to Barcelona’s tyro stars Pedri and Gavi, and you can understand why she wants to learn as widely and as quickly as possible.
At 11 she had to undergo emergency surgery to have a screw implanted in her hip to ensure the top of her leg attached correctly to the hip socket – after six months of rehab, she returned to sport for another six months only to learn the other hip also needed the same operation.
A broken ankle and a ruptured ACL followed in her teenage years. The setbacks were numerous, and though Hunter is keen that she isn’t defined by injuries suffered years ago, she can see how they have helped instil a remarkable sense of drive.
“I don’t even think about it any more, it’s been a few years now,” she says. “But then I was sort of like, I can’t catch a break. I was even a little embarrassed because I was like, I’m gonna be known as this person that’s injured every few months.
“I am sort of grateful for it now because I realise how important your body is, the gym work. I came back from that time off really motivated, really determined, to focus on my body.
“I think having lots of long term injuries can put you in doubt on your future and how far you’re going to go. I didn’t know if I would ever get to the elite level. The injuries really put things into perspective, having extended amounts of time on the sideline creates that determination, competitiveness, that you don’t ever want to let it go.”
It’s funny how that word ‘competitive’ comes up again. Her Sydney teammates attest to her abhorrence of losing any contest; Hunter says she just can’t help it.
“My teammates actually make fun of me for how competitive I am but I tried to explain, I don’t choose to be competitive!” she says. “It’s just sort of within me, I don’t know how to explain it.
“I think it’s definitely from having brothers. It’s just like that deep down feeling, like I’m burning and I have to win. I don’t know why. It’s in different situations as well, like I’m playing soccer tennis, and it’s like, I’m gonna die if I don’t win.
“I try to try to relax off the pitch but sometimes even in card games, I have to win everything.
“We’re playing Melbourne City on Saturday which means we’re playing Bryleeh (Henry) and Tish (McKenna). Bryleeh I’m super competitive with because we’ve sort of grown up together, we were at the Wanderers and the Young Matildas.
“We definitely clash because she’s super competitive as well. But I love being competitive. I love being completely focused and immersed in exactly what I’m doing.
“Being in the moment, and just working towards that one thing, whether it’s a tackle or a goal or just the whole game. I love getting into that complete zone. I may not be the biggest or the best but I have that willingness to win.”
