Samone Dinnery never had the opportunity to play soccer growing up.
She played netball and basketball instead.
But the 49-year-old high school maths teacher and mother of five from New Lambton is poised to become part of the next generation of female footballers taking up the game.
An over-30 generation.
Two of Dinnery's daughters - Kalani, 12, and Jordie, 11 - are in Adamstown Rosebud Junior Football Club's premier youth league girls program, and now a host of players' mothers have joined forces to give the sport a try.
They will play for Adamstown in an inaugural over-30 women's competition, which is being offered by Newcastle, Macquarie and Hunter Valley associations with a view to continue growing the female game as Australia prepares to co-host the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup.
"It was a case of all of the mums decided to start a team and we've managed to get there," Dinnery told the Newcastle Herald.
"I believe only one person in our team has actually played soccer in the past."
While the experience and expectations may be low, motivation is high with the club's operations manager Kerry Conquest saying the over-30 players were all "keen as mustard".
"Some have never kicked a ball in their lives but they want to have a go and they want to have a bit of fun, and that's the way we've approached it," Conquest said.
"It's not Manchester United and we're not expecting you to go out there and be Ronaldinho or Sam Kerr. I honestly didn't think we'd get a team, but we've got 16 of them ready to go."
Dinnery sustained a major knee injury before Kalani was born and said neither of the girls had seen her play sport, other than mucking around in the backyard.
"[For the mums] it's more about being able to have that connection with their daughters, as most of the girls have had their dads play and most of the girls still see it as a men's game," Dinnery said.
"By having the mums play the girls see that the game is for anyone."
The Dinnery family will be front and centre when a firing Matildas team take on Jamaica in their final Cup of Nations match at McDonald Jones Stadium on Wednesday night.
The Australian women's football team have become one of nation's most popular and inspirational sporting teams in recent years, not just for their on-field displays but also their off-field behaviour.
"When I grew up, you went to netball. That was it. The girls had that," Dinnery said.
"It's awesome for girls now. You see so many young girls going to the Matildas games. Then every game, regardless of the result, the players go around and sign for hours. They're playing a big role to get more girls into the game."
Thornton's Cassie Niszczot hopes to one day play for the Matildas and will be in what is expected to be a healthy crowd of around 10,000 on Wednesday night.
The All Saints College, St Peters Campus year seven student has signed up for her fourth season of soccer, this year playing for Maitland in their premier youth league girls program.
The 12-year-old loves soccer so much that in the off-season she "was looking for something to do" and gave futsal a go at Maitland Basketball Stadium.
It has led to an invitation to tour Barcelona in November with an Australian under-13 futsal team, an opportunity for Niszczot to experience international football herself.
"I'm excited to play against various teams, gain new skills and to play for Australia," Niszczot said.
But first she plans to soak up the atmosphere at McDonald Jones Stadium, where the Matildas will close their Cup of Nations campaign against Jamaica (7.10pm) after world No.7 Spain take on Czech Republic (2.30pm).
The Matildas, who feature Newcastle players Emily van Egmond and Clare Wheeler, are unbeaten in the four-nation invitational tournament. They defeated Czechia 4-0 at Gosford on Thursday night then downed Spain 3-2 in Sydney on Sunday.
Northern NSW Football Legacy Fund manager Annelise Rosnell said the sporting body hopes to leverage the buzz around the FIFA Women's World Cup, starting July 20, to increase participation and keep rising talents like Nizszcot as well as mature newcomers such as Dinnery enjoying their experience in the game.
"We're looking at all angles of the game to build on this excitement and show that football is such a wonderful thing to be part of," Rosnell said.
"Given that we don't have a World Cup game in Newcastle, it's going to be so good to have the Matildas here one last time before the tournament."
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