Can jokes and a good soundtrack play a role in winning a Premiership? You bet, explains Sydney FC’s Mackenzie Hawkesby ahead of Sunday’s Liberty A-League Grand Final.
You can do all the tactical analysis you want, but I’m pretty sure any opposition scouts would struggle to identify the secret ingredient that has made Sydney FC successful.
Yes we have a game plan, yes we have brilliant individual talents, and yes we have an unbelievable coach in Ante Juric. But the intangible factor is pretty funny… no, literally. It’s laughter.
I’m not sure Ante set out to recruit a squad with so many comedians, or whether that was part of one of his coaching courses, but it’s what happened. Laughter has been the oil in our engine this season, and it’s why we are so confident about Sunday’s Grand Final – that and the music. The comedy and the tunes have helped us build something special inside the Sydney FC dressing room.
When our beloved captain, Teresa Polias, decided to have a year out, I wasn’t sure how anyone could replace her. The smart answer is that no one tried to. T’s combination of leadership, consistency and caring was unique.
Into the role stepped Natalie Tobin, who is a centreback by day and could be a stand-up comedian by night. I’m genuinely glad she’s on my team, and not a defender I have to face, but most of all I love being in the vicinity for her one-liners.
It’s crazy to think she was meant to be leaving and moving to Perth because of work outside football. I never thought I’d say this, but thank goodness for COVID. The border closures meant she stayed, and now she’s a Premiership-winning captain.
She does, to be fair, take the responsibilities of captaincy seriously, beyond just the stage it gives her for the jokes. A couple of times this season, she and Charlotte McLean at centreback have got mad in a game and I’ve never seen anything like it before. You see why I’m glad she’s on my team?
In truth I’m glad we’re all on this team, I love these girls. This is the best season I’ve had from a personal point of view, and it speaks to the culture that Ante has built. Most of us have been here for a while and the sense of family is overwhelming.
Read: everything you need to know about the Grand Final
That’s where the music comes in. At the start of the season, Ally Green compiled a playlist for the team, and invited every player to submit two songs. It’s long on the pop and the rap, some old-school tunes and a lot of new stuff. What do you expect from a team that’s got an average age of 22?
But music is the cue for more laughter. Princess Ibini – Prini to us all – sets the standard, she is by some way the coolest person in our squad. Her dance moves should be professional; she can literally do it all. It makes me laugh when she’s so reserved in interviews. We get to see the real Prini.
It’s a funny place, our dressing room, even while we’re vying for the spot in our mirror. I’ll hold my hand up and confess to liberal use of the hairspray before a game.
But don’t think this stuff is trivial. Look at our numbers. This season we’ve had five players score five or more goals. We’ve had four players with four or more assists. We win as a team, we create as a team, we score goals as a team.
That fun we have off the pitch informs what we do on it. It’s fun playing in this team, and we celebrate each other’s successes.
The smiles on our faces you’ll see on Sunday could be because Jada Whyman or Remy Siemsen has just cracked a joke, following Nat’s lead; or it could be because we’ve scored.
Or it could be because there is nothing better than playing football in this team.
