As the literal and metaphorical noise rose each day the Matildas captivated a nation with their skill and spirit at the Women’s World Cup, the calls from the football community were clear: come to the A-League.
The interest in the Olympic qualifiers in Perth this month is one positive sign that many remain on the bandwagon. But the real test of a lasting impact will be how much engagement there is with the A-League Women, and how long it lasts.
Every player in the Matildas World Cup squad came through the ALW (or the W-League as it was called when it first started in 2008). With the addition of the Central Coast Mariners this year as the 12th club, the ALW will move to a 12-round full home-and-away season followed by a finals series.
The overarching message from the Matildas already playing in or returning to Australia has been that the experience of a home World Cup made them want to contribute to football in the country. When Matildas penalty shootout winner Cortnee Vine announced she was staying put at Sydney FC, where she has played since 2020, for another season, she said she could feel the passion ignited in Australia by the tournament.
“We are heading into an exciting new era for Australian football and I’m incredibly happy to be a part of it,” she said.
Many thought after Vine’s meteoric rise with the senior national team – and after top-scoring for Sydney to help secure a third-straight premiership – the winger would be drowning in offers from clubs overseas. Vine indicated there had been interest but ultimately decided to stay at home, where she can not only continue to wreak havoc on the wing but also provide her club with the ultimate marketing tool leading into the new season.
Brisbane Roar will also benefit from signing a World Cup player, with Tameka Yallop returning to the club for the third time in her career. The Matildas veteran has played in Canada, Germany, Sweden, Japan, Norway and England but now returns to her home town and the club where she became a professional footballer. Yallop said she was excited to be home and hoped to be a role model for younger players in the Roar squad.
“Having a World Cup at home just brings the nostalgia back to returning to Brisbane Roar as well, where I did a fair chunk of my youth football,” she said. “I have a lot to offer for younger players coming through and balancing out the team. Having a range in the age group really shapes the team so I’m looking forward to providing that experience.”
Another Matilda returning to the scene of her professional debut is striker Kyah Simon. In what was probably the most high-profile signing after the World Cup, the Central Coast Mariners, back in the ALW after a 13-year hiatus, announced they had signed Simon on the league’s first full-time 12-month contract. Simon said the move represented a “full circle moment” for her and one reason for her return was the desire to play for as long as she can.
Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams will bring experience between the posts for Melbourne Victory, who lost ALW goalkeeper of the year Casey Dumont to the AFLW this year. Before Williams’s latest stint in Europe with Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Brighton, the 35-year-old had made 120 appearances in the ALW, won four championships and was named goalkeeper of the year four times.
Joining her at Victory is injured Matilda Emily Gielnik, who has returned to Australia from Aston Villa, and Elise Kellond-Knight, who has been at the club since 2022 but is yet to play through injury. Fellow World Cup pundit Chloe Logarzo will hope to be on the field again for Western United after missing last season with an ACL injury.
One of the newer Matildas faces who won’t be seen in the ALW this season is defender Clare Hunt. After seven injury-riddled years in the competition, the 24-year-old was signed by French powerhouse PSG after the World Cup and made her debut for them this week.
But while the likes of big guns Sam Kerr, Caitlin Foord and Ellie Carpenter continue to ply their trade in Europe, the ALW is full of Matildas in the making.
At the other end of the pitch from Vine will be her Sydney FC teammate Jada Whyman. The 23-year-old keeper is yet to make her Matildas debut but has featured in the national youth programs at multiple levels and shares the record for longest run of clean sheets in the ALW with Melissa Barbieri (Melbourne City). Whyman was part of the Matildas’ extended World Cup squad but did not make the final list and will making her case to be included alongside Mackenzie Arnold and Teagan Micah for future camps.
Other young players to watch include City’s Holly McNamara, who has made three appearances for the Matildas but is yet to break into the regular squad after dealing with an ACL injury. Seventeen-year-old Young Matilda Daniela Galic, also at City, is considered one of the most exciting emerging midfielders in the country.
The 2023-24 season kicks off on Saturday when the Central Coast Mariners play the Newcastle Jets at 5pm AEDT, followed by a marquee match between rivals Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers at Allianz Stadium at 7.45pm AEDT.
