The squad for Melbourne Victory’s W-League 2013/14 was officially unveiled today by head coach Dave Edmondson, who picked a mix of youth and experience to make up his list of 20 players.
Speaking at the launch event, Edmondson was positive about his squad’s chances of going one step further this season, and that the circumstances at the start of this season are completely different to last year.
“I think that’s quite a nice blend of both youth, experience, local players, interstate players and international players,” Edmondson said.
“I think this time last year there was quite a bit of uncertainty about the team with the initial coach stepping down a couple weeks before the season, and things being maybe a little last minute and cobbled together, certainly not as organised as we have been this year.
“The first day that I got the group together that reputation, name, age really means nothing. It’s how you perform during the week in training so leading into Sydney, the best 11 performers during the week in training will start against Sydney.
“I’m very positive about the team and hope that we start off nice and strong against Sydney and go on that one step further than the girls did last year.”
Lisa De Vanna is certainly set to be a huge part of this revamped and hopefully stronger Victory outfit. The Matildas striker has previously played for Brisbane, Newcastle and most recently Perth, and has enjoyed a successful stint in the USA with Sky Blue FC.
Edmondson has praised the whole package she brings to the club, setting the standards in and around the training ground.
“The bit that people don’t get, or people don’t see is Lisa’s influence with the rest of the squad,” he said.
“Her professionalism, her approach to training is something that whatever value we get out of Lisa on a weekend in the 90 minutes that she plays is minimal compared to the effect we get in training.
“I first started to want to sign Lisa [in the] middle of this year when she came down to train with our NTC squad.
“She came down to Melbourne for a couple of weeks and she just asked if she could train and her attitude with the younger players, and her approach to training is just a step above of what is seen locally.
“I think it’s a real testament to her professionalism and her level of football that the other girls, now they’re just starting to see that, and they’re starting to adapt.”
Melbourne Victory Football Operations Manager Paul Trimboli who was also present at the launch compared the signing of de Vanna to the likes of Mark Milligan in the men’s side, with everything she brings to the club.
“It’s a philosophy that we have all through the club that we’ve had some high profile players at Melbourne Victory since its inception, and I think that it’s something that a big club always wants to do, is to bring exciting big profile players who can perform in front of the crowds,” Trimboli said.
“We also value a lot the other side of the person. How they are in the dressing room, their character and what they bring to the club as a whole so I think that’s the same sort of philosophy we have with the men’s team.
“At the moment we’ve got some pretty good personalities and strong characters as well. Mark Milligan who’s a current Socceroo brings that to the men’s game at the moment and I think that’s the sort of person Dave will be looking to Lisa to bring to the women’s team.”
Apart from de Vanna, the new look squad also see the signing of two new international players. One of them is 25 year old New Zealand international Katie Hoyle. The midfielder brings a wealth of international experience to the squad, having been two World Cups and two Olympic Games.
Jessica Samuelsson is the other new international signing, while not a name that many people will know, she has broken into the senior Swedish national team and is a regular for Linköpings FC, her club in Sweden.
Guest star of last season Jess Fishlock also returns, this time for a full season to round out the international quota, and Edmondson is excited to have all three internationals in his squad for the upcoming season.
“I wanted to make sure that the international players that we signed filled gaps that for what we [haven’t] got locally,” Edmondson said.
“It’s a local club, so we want to promote local players wherever possible but the internationals for me were the best fit to plug the gaps that we didn’t fill locally.
“Jess Fishlock returning was a no brainer after her performances last year and continued performances over in Seattle.
“Katie Hoyle, New Zealand international, relatively young still, mid 20s, masses of experience through the New Zealand with World Cups and Olympic Games and a real good fit for what we want.
“Jess Samuelsson, young player, forced her way into the Swedish National Team as a regular starting fullback now, very strong, very athletic, technically good player and really fits into the way I want to play and the way the team want to play so I think she’ll be a great addition.”
While the squad sees some more familiar faces return, notably the likes of Bundoora United trio Enza Barilla, Caitlin Friend and Gulcan Koca, two surprises of the squad were Victorian Women’s Premier League young guns Beattie Goad and Emily Hulbert, who played for the EAP and Box Hill United respectively.
Despite their tender age, Edmondson was adamant that they were given their spots on merit, and are not just there to make up the numbers.
“I wouldn’t have picked those two if I didn’t think they could play a part this year,” he said.
“There will be no pressure on the likes of Beattie and Emily to be there and play 90 minutes from day one. But they’re both competitive girls, they’re both ambitious girls and they will be the same as anybody else. They’ll be trying to force themselves into the starting eleven.
“If anyone’s watched WPL this year they will testify that [Goad] was one of the best players in the league. They’re selected with a little bit of an eye to the future but I wouldn’t waste two spots in a squad of 20 if I didn’t think they were going to play a part this year.”
This year’s team will be captained by none other than full back Stephanie Catley. Despite her own tender age, Edmondson felt the decision to pick the 19-year-old was a straightforward one, even with the likes of De Vanna and Fishlock in the squad.
“To be honest I think it was a pretty easy decision,” he said.
“She shown great leadership qualities throughout the year when she’s been involved with our NTC squads and training in preparation for Victory. Obviously she’s a local player as well. She has got those leadership qualities, great player in her own right.
“She’s a bit of a stalwart even though she’s still young and a number of seasons now for Victory and I think it’s also a real look to the future as well. Steph’s captaincy potential and leadership potential both at Victory and beyond I think it’s there for everyone to see.”
Her first chance to lead the Victory will be against a WPL All Stars side on Saturday, in Melbourne Victory’s one and only friendly before the season gets underway in just under a fortnight.
The clash will allow Edmondson to put the finishing touches on his squad, and he is looking to implement an attacking style at Melbourne Victory, beginning with this clash.
“If you look at the squad, we’re going to be an attacking side, so we will play positive football. I expect us to score lots of goals, we’ll take risks to do that, we’ll play very positively,” he said.
“Our girls will be on the back of a pretty heavy week of training and it’s there as a development tool for us, so we’ll look to do what we’re doing in training and obviously in a competitive game.
“But it’s there to gain an extra little bit of fitness for us as well. So we will obviously try and put our game plan into action and it’s probably the first realistic chance to do that.”
Having disappointed a few players in the WPL All Stars side by not handing them a place in the squad, he also feels that there will be a bit of feeling involved in the contest.
“There’s a number of girls in the WPL All Stars team that obviously would love to play for Victory, so I’m sure they’ll have a point to prove,” he said.
“People that will come and watch hopefully will see an exciting game with a little bit of spice to it and we’ll try and play the way that we want to play during the season – it should be exciting, there should be plenty of goals, and hopefully it’ll be an enjoyable day out.”
The match takes place at John Cain Memorial Stadium on Saturday, with kickoff at 2pm. The W-League commences the following week, as Melbourne Victory kick start their season at Lakeside Stadium against Sydney FC.
The squad list:
1. Brianna DAVEY [GK]
2. Rebekah STOTT
3. Jessica HUMBLE
4. Katie HOYLE
5. Laura SPIRANOVIC
6. Cindy LAY
7. Stephanie CATLEY(c)
8. Ashley BROWN
9. Caitlin FRIEND
10. Jessica FISHLOCK
11. Lisa DE VANNA
12. Jessica SAMUELSSON
13. Tiffany ELIADIS
14. Enza BARILLA
15. Emma CHECKER
16. Beattie GOAD
17. Gulcan KOCA
18. Emily HULBERT
19. Alex NATOLI
20. Cassandra DIMOVSKI [GK]