This week’s episode of A-Leagues All Access centres on Canberra United midfielder Grace Maher. Watch it below.
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The 13-year-old ball kid felt her wrist buckle as she raised her hand to meet a wayward strike flying over the crossbar.
She was warned before the game not to interfere with any errant shots sailing over the fence – but in the moment, her instincts told her otherwise.
The Majura Football Club junior relished every opportunity she was given to collect balls for Canberra United in what was, at that time in 2012, called the W-League, but this particular occasion ended with a trip to the hospital.
Little did she know, just two years later, she’d be on the other side of the fence.
“It was Caitlin Muñoz’s shot, left foot, went way above, missed the goal,” remembers Grace Maher, now 23 and a star of the Liberty A-League for Canberra.
“I stuck my hand up to stop it – and snapped my wrist.”
Naturally, Maher opted for a bright green cast.
“Lo and behold, a few weeks later I was at Canberra United training, getting my cast signed by Michelle Heyman, Caitlin Muñoz, Ellie Brush, Grace Gill,” says Maher.
“Two years later, I was signed for the team.”
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Grace Maher is the star of this week’s A-Leagues All Access, in an episode titled No Simple Path. It follows Maher’s preparation for her side’s Liberty A-League clash with Adelaide United, while shining a light on her upbringing in a supportive family, her special connection to her Liberty A-League club, and a truly unique debut story.
Maher marked a surreal rise from ball kid to Canberra starlet on October 19, 2014, debuting as the club’s youngest ever player in a 2-3 loss to Adelaide United at just 15 years of age.
Retelling the story of her debut, Maher can’t help but recall the afternoon at McKellar Park when Munoz’s wayward put her in that fluorescent green cast.
“RIght before I was about to make my debut as a 15-year-old, they said: ‘Do you remember that ball girl that broke her hand?’” says Maher.
She was met with blank faces around the change room.
“I was just sitting there going: ‘They’ve got to be joking, right? They know it’s me’ – and I told them.
“I had to bring in the cast for proof as well!”
The Canberra squad may not have remembered her then – but it wouldn’t be long before Maher made sure hers was a face her teammates would not soon forget.
In December of 2014, just two months after Maher’s debut, Canberra reached the W-League grand final. They travelled to HBF Park to face Perth Glory in the decider.
A 15-year-old Maher made her starting debut in the grand final, assisting a goal in a 3-1 win as Canberra were crowned champions.
Aside from two spells at Melbourne Victory and a brief sojourn into Icelandic football, Maher has been Canberra United through and through since that remarkable debut season.
The 23-year-old wishes that championship came later into her career; it’s arguably her greatest achievement to date with the club, but eight years on, Maher is yet to get near to the summit again.
“I didn’t appreciate winning a championship,” Maher explains, “because it was like: first one, done.
“To make the grand final and start as a 15-year-old, I actually took the record off Caitlin Foord who was playing in the game.
“I’ve never been to a grand final since. I actually get emotional thinking about getting that opportunity again, because it would mean so much more after so many losses.”
Watch A-Leagues All Access Episode 17 | No Simple Path
Produced by KEEPUP Studios and JAMTV, each new episode of the docuseries will debut on Thursday at 7:30pm AEDT on 10 Play, KEEPUP.COM.AU, the KEEPUP app. It will be available on Australia’s fastest growing streaming service, Paramount+, and will then be broadcast on 10 Bold at 2:00pm AEDT on Sunday afternoons as an appetiser for the evening’s Isuzu UTE A-League Men game on the same channel.
