Wanderers confident despite crucial injury blow
Story: Nathanael Merchant
It was an injury blow that cruelled their 2019 season but Woden Weston Wanderers are adamant an ACL tear to their influential captain won’t stop their 2020 NPLW dream.
The Wanderers narrowly missed the final four last season, finishing in fifth and just a solitary point behind fourth-placed Gungahlin United. A win against Monaro Panthers in the last round would have put them into 2019 NPLW finals but their season ended in heartbreak.
“We were disappointed to miss out on finals last year given that we only had to win the last game against a team that we had beaten 5-0 in the first round,” Wanderers coach Mark Boyd recalled.
“We had just lost our captain to injury in our previous game against Wagga and I think we missed her leadership and intensity in such an important game.”
The loss of captain Cassia McGlashan due to an ACL tear suffered late last season will hit the Wanderers hard. Losing her leadership and scoring ability is a sting to the club’s hope of reaching the top four but Boyd has faith in his squad’s ability to produce goals.
“Cassia was our top goal scorer last year and she is a big loss,” Boyd said. “But we have players that can score throughout the squad. All three of our forwards scored in our last practice game.”
Woden Weston has been bolstered by the signings of Demi Nikias from Canberra United Academy, Lucy D'Arcy and Kate Thorton from Canberra Croatia FC and young Julia Stanton, who played last season with the U16 boys.
Boyd is confident that a mixture of fresh faces and the development of young talent will lead them to finals football.
“We also added some good players to our squad this year from other clubs and they have fitted in very well,” he said.
“Like most teams, we are aiming to make finals and then see how far we can go. Another goal this season is to develop some of our juniors and for them to gain more experience in first grade.”
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Woden Weston FC | Finished 5th on 2019 NPLW Ladder
Coach: Mark Boyd
Squad: Alice Johansson-Cranfield, Amy Abby, Anna Vandenbroucke ©, Briana Maguire, Cristina Esposito, Demi Nikias, Ellen Brown, Iesha Rebello de Andrade, Jemima Millar-Carton, Julia Stanton, Lucy D'Arcy, Samantha Briggs, Sarah Whitfield, Shaquille Chong & Kate Thorton
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