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Who is Australia’s Greatest EVER Footballer?

April 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Julie Murray at today's launch

Today the Johnny Warren Football Foundation announced an initiative to find Australia’s greatest ever footballer.

The aim of the project is to recognise the games great players and their inspiring stories while providing an opportunity to educate people about the games history and how it has evolved in Australia.

While the focus is predominantly on the men, you do have to opportunity to vote for the best woman in the game and sure, the numbers are fewer but their achievements and stories are certainly just as inspiring.

Chances are you may not have even heard of some of these players, so over the next few weeks, we’ll bring you interviews with all the nominees:

Ex-Matilda and nominee Julie Murray was there to help launch the event and talk about the players who inspired her,  “there wasn’t much TV back then so just going from my playing experience, Julie Dolan and Cindy Haydon, Kim Lembryk were my idols and still to this day Julie Dolan is still one of the greatest female football players ever.”

Over the years there’s been a marked improvement in the women’s game and “the opportunities for women’s football have grown exponentially since having greater exposure from the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and from the 99 World Cup in the US and all the faces of the girl were on TV and I think that’s the creates impact for women’s football.

“It’s a bit hard to follower a player or a team when you don’t see their faces on TV or in the papers so I think the greatest impact has not only been where we’ve played it’s been the exposure we’ve had.

“The ABC have been incredible. We get a greater number of people watching the women’s football on the ABC than the netball on Foxtel. That’s a pretty good indication of where women’s football is at this stage.”

Head over to greatesteveraustralianfootballer.com and cast your vote.

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Heather Garriock joins the Illawarra Stingrays

February 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

 

Heather Garriock. Photo: Joseph Mayers

Heather Garriock, one of Australia’s most accomplished international footballers, has been unveiled as the Illawarra Stingrays star signing for the 2012 NSW Premier League.

With quite a few of the Matildas headed overseas for 2012, Heather decided to keep it local, “It’s important I play games competitively and this year and my partner Mat needs to stay in Australia because he has applied for permanent residency; he’s French.

“Given we didn’t qualify for the Olympics it’s crucial to keep ticking over, I want to play in the next Olympics and World Cup and in the meantime keep working on improving my game. I don’t believe I have hit my peak yet.”

In a bit of a blast from the past, I dug up this interview from after the 2007 World Cup where Heather talks about the need for a W-League competition in Australia.

After four years of successful competition, I asked her to reflect on the changes in the Australian footballing landscape:

Has the W-League been what you’d hoped?

“Yes it has been a success especially this season although I would like to see more games in the season.”

What’s the best thing to come out of the W-League?

“The best thing is the amount of players that get the opportunity for national team selection which allows all players to fight for positions.”

What would you like to see improve?

“Longer season, more coverage and another team or two.”

The W-League, along with the Matildas’ performance in the World Cup has enabled overseas clubs to get a better look at our players and we’re seeing several of them, including Sally Shipard and Lydia Williams, taking up contracts in the European Leagues.

“The girls that are going overseas will gain a lot of great experiences and being out of your comfort zone in a different environment is always a positive too. They will love it.”

It’s great to see some of our best players stay on shore, make sure you catch Heather in action with the Illawarra Stingrays.

New coach Steve Marsh has pulled off a major coup by securing the midfielder to spearhead the Stingrays’ bid for a fourth consecutive title.

Garriock is a dual Olympian and World Cup player, having represented Australia more than 100 times since making her debut as a 16-year-old in 1999.

The 29-year-old’s decorated career also includes stints in Denmark and with United States women’s league club Chicago Red Stars, as well as Sydney FC.

The signing is a major step in Marsh’s plan to attract star quality to the team as well as develop emerging players into the NSW Premier League.

Read the rest at the Illawarra Mercury.

 

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Sydney FC’s Epic Win

December 5, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Servet Uzunlar

Have you heard about Sydney FC’s record breaking win over Perth Glory this weekend? The sky blues handed the women from the west an 11-0 drubbing at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday night. I was at the game and could barely keep up with my tweeting when the goals started coming thick and fast in the second half.

There was a hat trick of hat tricks; Leena Khamis, Kylie Ledbrook and Renee Rollason all scored three goals with Kyah Simon and Heather Garriock also knocking home one a piece.

After the match, Ann from The Women’s Game and I had a chat to a couple of the Matildas on the Sydney team. Here’s what Heather and Leena had to say about the win:

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“Exciting times coming up” – Garriock

November 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Heather Garriock

Sydney FC’s W League side rose to second place with a 4-1 win over Newcastle Jets at Adamstown Oval.

Capped 125 times by the Matildas, midfielder Heather Garriock is a crucial cog in the Sydney FC system and integral to Sky Blue ambitions of finishing atop the table come seasons end.

Garriock was very pleased by the win, especially after the defeat by Canberra United the week previous.

Drawing comparisons, Garriock said, “It was a completely different game. Canberra outplayed us in the first half, as did Newcastle last weekend. We’re definitely struggling with out first half performances.”

“But in both games, we’ve totally outplayed them in the second half. The biggest difference was that this week we finished our chances, whereas we didn’t against Canberra,” she added.

Garriock, along with Sarah Walsh, Thea Slatyer and Caitlin Foord, was on the scoresheet against Newcastle, but she says there is still plenty to come in terms of her own personal performance.

“I’ve had a slow start to the season. I was coming back from injury, which made things difficult. Every week can get better, I’m not playing my best football but I will hopefully be back at my peak soon”, she admitted.

Garriock has, however, been impressed by a number of her teammates. “Caitlin Foord is having a huge impact off the bench. Estelle Johnson was outstanding last week and our goalkeeper Allison Lipsher has really kept us in some games,” she commented.

The mood in the camp is positive, despite a mixed start to the season. Garriock credits this to the coaching of Alen Stajic.

“It’s been really positive, even if we’ve lost. Alen (Stajic) thought the match against Canberra had been our best so far, even though we went down,” she said.

“There are some exciting times coming up. Leena Khamis is back from Denmark today, Caitlin Foord will probably get a few starts in the coming weeks and Kyah Simon will also be back,” she added.

The W League side have the weekend off, with their next fixture against Adelaide United on November 26. Garriock said that it would be a good chance to refresh the bodies and minds of the squad.

“It’s nice to have a bit of a rest. It’s a chance to regroup and refocus and kick on for the rest of the season,” she said.

It is a season that promises much for the W League squad and the experienced Garriock is central to their hopes.

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Heather Garriock Appointed FFA Community Ambassador

November 6, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Heather Garriock

Matilda Heather Garriock has been appointed as on of the FFA’s inaugural Community Football Ambassador as another part of FFA’s Strategic Plan to connect the grassroots to the game’s elite and professional tiers.

Garriock will promote a range of community programs and activities across Australia, including;

·         MyFootballClub national online community football registration
·         Community player registration drive in 2012
·         Community coaching courses
·         Hyundai A-League Community Rounds and Westfield W-League feature matches 

Garriock, 28, who plays for Sydney FC in the Westfield W-League, started her football career with the Leppington Lions, who were also in the Macarthur Association at the time, and also believes that playing football from a young age is a great way for kids to get active and make lifelong friends.

“Football has given me amazing opportunities and experiences in life,” Garriock said. 

“For me it all started with my local football club and the fun I had playing the game at young age has stuck with me all through my career.

“Being an ambassador allows me to give back to the kids who hopefully one day will also be able to achieve their dreams.” 

FFA CEO Ben Buckley on Heather’s appointment:

“Heather has also been a fantastic success story for Women’s football in Australia and her talent and dedication have taken her around the world.

“Making her international debut at 16 was the start of an amazing football journey through 125 games so far and three FIFA Women’s World Cups, two AFC Women’s Asian Cups and two Olympic Games.

“On top of that she is a championship winning player with Sydney FC and has also played in professional leagues in the USA, Denmark and Sweden. Any youngster with stars in their eyes would be dazzled by Heather’s story.”

An abridged version of a Football Australia press release. Read the full article.

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Matildas Selected in WPS Draft – Soccer

September 25, 2008 By Leave a Comment

Sarah Walsh, Heather Garriock and Lisa De Vanna have all been selected in the Women’s Professional Soccer (WPS) 2009 international draft held in the U.S yesterday.

Each team in the U.S is allocated up to 5 international players as well as 3 players from the U.S. Women’s National Team.

This selection does not reflect and actually commitment on behalf of the players, rather it’s the beginning of negations of a contract.

You can read more about the U.S. draft over at the WPS blog.

The season in the U.S kicks off in April 2009 – well after the completion of the W-League here in Australia… so we won’t be missing out on seeing our Matildas in action on home soil.

Other international players seleced include Brazil’s Marta and Cristiane.

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