
One group of players are continuing to promote female football in Dubbo after years of dominance on the pitch.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$1/
(min cost $8)
Login or signup to continue reading
A crop of Macquarie United Football Club's female juniors have been dominating the sport for almost five years now and are ready to take the next step.
Long-time coach Troy Brien said the team consist of 14-17-year-olds who have been together for half a decade already.
"They are a good bunch of kids," he said.
"All of the families are good mates, it's actually turned into a big thing where all of our families go away together for soccer stuff."
Recently returning from the Great Lakes Viking Challenge at Forster, the group made it all the way to the grand final before going down 1-0 to an experienced Manly Vale side.
Back in 2020, a few members of the group went on to play in the National Premier League (NPL) 2 for Western FC before COVID-19 shattered a few dreams for the players.
While 2020 was a tough year, Brien believes the girls came out the other side of the tough period a lot stronger.
"They all went down to play in the NPL in Sydney, they played all through there and against some good teams," he said.
"They all started to get a bit more in-depth with their training so they actually went really well.
"A few started knocking on the door for the Western team and went through want they call the TSP (talent support program).
"They were all playing in games against Northern region and Southern region, I think a couple made the NSW Country squad in the end.
"It was a great result for a bunch of girls from Dubbo."
READ ALSO:
Playing in the local summer competition at MUFC Young Guns, the group has now begun to step into first and second grade during the winter season for Macquarie United, a club which has dominated the last few seasons.
"They've all pulled up playing juniors because a lot of them now are getting to that age where they start to work," Brien said.
"They are starting to work and because most of them play in the women's first grade anyway so they just play on Sunday now.
"A couple are still running around in the juniors but I think at 17 years old the boys start to get a bit more physical."
With the women's first grade being together for several years now, Brien believes this new crop of players can step into the fold over the next couple of seasons.
"The first grade women's squad has been strong for years but they are getting a bit long in the tooth," he said.
"The new girls are knocking on the door. It's good for our club that we have the young girls coming through but in saying that it wouldn't be bad to have a few girls at other clubs so the competition is still fairly tight."
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News