Jets teammates Tara Andrews and Georgia Yeoman-Dale, both 21, are intent on making this Westfield W-League season one to remember as they push for Olympic selection with the Matildas.
The pair have just returned from two international tours to Asia (China and Korea Republic) with the Australian women’s national team.
For Novocastrian Andrews —Â who has been with the Jets since 2009 and is their longest-serving player —Â the first tour to China signalled a coming of age.
The tall striker was given her senior debut with a 15-minute stint against China. It made her want more.
“I have been working towards that [Matildas senior squad] for a while and I definitely want to go to a World Cup or Olympics,” Andrews said.
“There are a lot of camps coming up before the Olympic qualifiers and a massive thing [Matildas Head Coach] Alen Stajcic looks at is performances in the W-League.”
Andrews earned her call-up to the senior national squad after a breakthrough year playing in the US second-tier W-league for Colorado Pride. The attacker scored 18 goals and was named the league’s golden boot and MVP.
Yeoman-Dale hails from Canberra and relocated to Newcastle to play with the Jets last year. It was a move that proved fruitful as she cemented herself as a W-League starting player and in the process earned the attention of Stajcic and a recall to the Matildas after a three-year absence.
The athletic defender made her Matildas debut in 2012 but until this year she had been unable to break back into the senior squad. She started in both matches in China and was encouraged by the experience.
“I felt there was a lot to take away from it and things I need to work on as well,” Yeoman-Dale said. “It’s a brutal game … I have constantly got to be working hard and will be using Jets training and games to do that.”
Jets coach Craig Deans was full of praise for the pair.
“They are both young and still have a long way to go in their careers,” Deans said.
“Tara has got a lot of natural ability and good goal-scoring instincts, which is what you need in a striker. Along with that she is tall and quite athletic, so can cause the defenders problems.
“Georgia is super-fast and super-athletic and powerful. She gets forward and creates things in attack. She’s energetic and she is good in the team. She has good leadership qualities, which is something we needed after losing some senior players from last season,” Deans concluded.
Newcastle Jets vs. Melbourne City – Hyundai A-League 2015/16 Round 10 & Westfield W-League 2015/16 Round 9
When: Sunday 13 December 2015
Where: Hunter Stadium, Newcastle
Westfield W-League: 2:00pm
Hyundai A-League: 5:00pm
Tickets: Please click here to purchase match tickets
Social media: Use #NEWvMCY to join both match conversations
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