Article: Jeremy Magan

Her dreams of representing Australia were shattered by the pandemic, but now Jade Brown is putting her heartbreak behind her to chase the NPLW title.

The Gungahlin United youngster’s performance in 2019 had earned her a spot in the Australian Schoolgirls national team to play at the Dallas International Girls Cup in April, but a global pandemic caused organisers to cancel the event.

The range of emotions she felt when she understood there would be no trip to the USA is still fresh in her mind.

“I was disappointed, angry, sad, upset,” Brown said. “It could have been a really good opportunity, it felt like a big setback at first.

“We were told we should have our positions for next year, if it goes ahead. Hopefully, I will get to go overseas, but if not, I will just focus on first grade football!”

It took going back to pre-season, after almost three months without football, for Brown to really get her mind off the missed opportunity.

“I told myself, I got to go back to playing first grade now. I have to keep training,” she said.

She unfortunately missed three weeks of training and the first two games due to illness.

“It was hard. It’s only eight games so it’s a short season,” she said. “I am slowly getting back into it and I am getting more time on the field.

“Now I am fighting for that starting line-up spot.”

The Gunners have enjoyed 2020 so far, still unbeaten, even after travelling to Belconnen. And if Brown has not scored yet, she recorded her first assist of the season against Tuggeranong last weekend.

“Scoring and assisting are equally important,” she said. “It is always good to score your own goal, but getting an assist, knowing I took part directly in our victory, is very rewarding, a confident boost.”

The young striker scored 3 goals in 2019 but is yet to find the back of the net this season. She misses the feeling.

 “Scoring goals is the best!” she said with a smile. “I like setting up the plays, don’t get me wrong, but the best thing is to score goals. That’s what I want to do.”

The NPLW season 2020 has been an exciting show of talents so far, with more than half the teams counting players with Westfield W-League experience in their squad.

“Seeing these players shows how much of a step there is between our league and the top tier,” remarks the 16-year-old. “It shows me how far I have to go, how committed I have to be.

“My goal is to play in W-League one day, even higher if I get the opportunity!”

The high level of competition does not scare Diego Iglesias’ squad, who fancy their chances at getting some silverware in September.

“All the girls believe we can do it,” Brown said. “After the Belconnen game, we had a ‘we can actually win this’ moment.

“We just focus on every game, on playing our best football. We all have to work hard together, play well and be in the right mindset.

“We definitely think we can win it.”