Plenty of storylines emerged from the Liberty A-League this past weekend.
Should injured players earn a spot in the Matildas squad? Abby Erceg called it quits on her
international career ahead of a home FIFA Women’s World Cup and the one element that separates the United States women’s team from the rest of the pack.
Here are the major Dub Zone talking points.
‘She’s the best since a 15-year-old Sam Kerr’
The FIFA Women’s World Cup is fast approaching and debate around who should be included in the Matildas squad is already underway.
The Cup of Nations tournament in February presents a golden opportunity for head coach Tony Gustavsson to focus on building consistency and cohesion among the team, as well as experimenting with new personnel.
However, there are question marks hanging over some names who only have a few match minutes under their belt due to injuries and Holly McNamara is one of them.
The Melbourne City forward’s breakout campaign in 2021-22 came to an abrupt ending when she raptured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), but may still be on the radar having earned a call-up to the Matildas squad for the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup and picking up four goals in eight games prior to the injury setback.
Network 10 commentator and Dub Zone expert Teo Pellizzeri went as far to say McNamara’s ability matches, if not surpasses that of a burgeoning Sam Kerr.
“There’s only one injured Matilda or fringe Matilda that I would be totally OK with calling into the Cup of Nations team and that’s Holly McNamara,” he said.
“(It’ll be) one year since she tore her ACL on the 20th of February with these matches falling on the weekend of the 18th-19th of February and I don’t expect that Holly McNamara gets on the pitch, but I just think to integrate her back into the national team environment.
“We know she is going to have a very short runway to get into the Matildas when she comes
back to Melbourne City, but it’s a longer runway than what she got from the start of last season to the Asian Cup and she absolutely blew us away.
I think (she’s) still the best, (that was the) most enlightening piece of play, that little stretch, from a breakout player in this competition since 15-year-old Sam Kerr – if not as good as 15-year-old Sam Kerr back in the early days of the W-League.
“So I think that’s the only one I’m making an exception for, I know there’s a desire to bring in an injured (Alanna) Kennedy, an injured (Steph) Catley, an injured Kyah Simon.
“But really I think McNamara is the only one you make that exception for and I would really
rather that everyone else is fit to go.”
Another player whose selection chances have been dented is Chloe Lorgazo who also tore her ACL.
The 28-year-old returned to action in October 2022, but has been in and out of the squad as a means to steadily build up full fitness.
Lorgarzo still managed to show off her attacking prowess in the five cameos she made off the bench for Western United this term by notching three goals.
However, Pellizzeri has his reservations over whether Lorgarzo is in serious contention to be
picked considering she’s been nursing the injury for an extended period of time.
“The injury is not improving to the point that she can’t come back and give serious match
minutes to Western United,” he said.
“I think the real question is how tight-knit and how inside the square are the Matildas thinking that they’re going to be calling injured players into camp, rather than looking at potential alternatives.
“Are they still working on an assumption that they’re going to manage Chloe Lorgarzo and she’ll be there for them when the World Cup kicks off in July even if we’re not seeing the evidence now that the minutes are building?”
Pellizzeri continued: “When she has been on the pitch – she’s been at Matilda’s level. She’s
been a game changer, I think you can single-handedly credit her with beating Melbourne City and Perth Glory.
“It’s just a question of (whether) the lack of minutes (is) worth the trade-off of someone who is an immense talent?”
Lorgarzo is scheduled to return to National Women’s Soccer League outfit Kansas City when her loan deal at Western concludes, but former Matilda Cath Cannuli suggested that staying in the Liberty A-League may be a more suitable option for her to play a full 90-minute game than stepping into the NWSL.
A ‘sad’ international ending for Football Ferns legend
Abby Erceg called time on her international playing career ahead of the Women’s World Cup in which New Zealand will be co-hosting with Australia.
The announcement serves a massive blow for the Football Ferns who will have to make do without Erceg’s wealth of experience on the international stage having featured in the last four World Cup and Olympic Games.
The Dub Zone panel weighed in on the 33-year-old’s decision to retire from international football and Cannuli admitted Erceg will be sorely missed at the showpiece event.
“To not have someone with the experience and career Abby Erceg has had, to not see her
feature at the World Cup, to me that’s sad,” she said.
“You grow up playing this game to want to compete in a World Cup, then to have it in your home country and not be part of it – it’s actually really sad.
“To see someone like Abbey Erceg, who I think over the years playing against her in Youth
World Cups, (has gone) from strength to strength.
“You see her play in the NWSL, I know from girls who played with her at the Courage – she is the ultimate athlete. She is the hardest worker. You can see just by her physique on the pitch and how well she looks out for herself. She is a massive loss for that New Zealand team.”
While Erceg has wrapped up her storied international career which saw her rack up 147 caps for New Zealand, she continues to dazzle at club level having captained the North Carolina Courage to two titles in the NWSL.
Perhaps her time playing in the Liberty A-League for Adelaide United in 2011 won’t be
remembered as fondly as she struggled to add steel to a defence that conceded 50 goals in 10 matches.
However, Cannuli praised Erceg for her turnaround to still establish herself as a valuable commodity in the NWSL.
“Abby Erceg I think is one of those players that has also improved her game,” she said.
“Erceg is someone who said – ‘I know I don’t have the resources obviously coming from New
Zealand, but I’m going to take this opportunity to be the best version of myself’ and once she does get into that NWSL, it’s something that we see in this competition.
“I’ve seen it in my time as a player and as a coach – when the (players from America) come to our league, they bring another level of professionalism.
“You get to train, you see them in the gym, they’re doing their recovery and their workouts. They are the ultimate professional when it comes to this competition and I love having them around our girls because it actually helps our girls see what it’s like in these other competitions and what they actually bring to our competition to grow it.”
Time will only tell if New Zealand’s head coach Jitka Klimkova can steer her side to win their first match ever at a World Cup without one of her most experienced central defenders.
‘Our b-team would win the World Cup!’
The United States have established themselves as the most dominant force in the women’s game having built an illustrious trophy cabinet that shelves four Olympic gold medals and four World Cup titles.
It’s unsurprising Vlatko Andonovski’s USA are widely being labelled the firm favourites for the upcoming tournament and Cannuli points to one driving factor behind their success, recalling a conversation she had with American great Megan Rapinoe during her short stint in the Liberty A-League with Sydney FC in 2011.
“(Competitiveness) is why the USA have been at the top of the game for such a long time
because if you’re not performing, you’re out – there’s another person knocking at the door,”
Cannuli said.
I remember years ago when Megan Rapinoe was playing in our competition, she turned around to me and said ‘Our B-team would win the World Cup!
“The arrogance, they know they’ve got the quality there. I was a bit taken aback, but after spending so much time in and around the national team and seeing where the international game has gone, you see the teams that are actually progressing and staying ahead of the game are the ones who got the depth where you’re actually saying to the players that are there – ‘your spot isn’t secure because I’m here and I want that.’”
That intense level of competition between players vying for a spot in the national squad is
missing from the Matildas as while the likes of Sam Kerr, Steph Catley, Alanna Kennedy and
Caitlin Foord are mainstays, there’s no reason why Gustavsson can’t introduce surprise
packages to challenge for other spots.
“You need to start bringing players in that can start knocking on the door of these other players because our competition creates that environment and the competition is what creates the team to be able to succeed,” said Cannuli.
“We know at the moment that we don’t have the greatest of depth in the Matilda squad. If we
don’t give (others) the opportunity, how do we allow them the right to stand up and say ‘hey I
can actually do this too.’”
Charlotte Grant, Clare Hunt, Larissa Crummer, Kristy Fenton and Casey Dumont are some of the standout bolters the Dub Zone crew believe could be a useful addition to the squad to create some much-needed depth.
