It is third-versus-second in Round 16 of the NPLWA – Women’s competition as Fremantle City and Perth SC look to maintain their respective pursuit of leaders Perth RedStar.
RedStar’s 2-1 win over Fremantle in last weekend’s top-of-the-table clash means they have opened a five-point lead at the summit with a game in hand on both chasers. It means the losers of Sunday’s fixture at Hilton Park will have to focus on securing their top-four spot.
City defender Tash Rigby said: “We’ve had a strong season and it’s been exciting to play in this young team. We’ve spoken about that sense of belief at training, having that in one another, knowing what we are capable of, and that we can do it.
“We have it in us. It just comes down to consistency, keeping our heads up and maintaining that control within games. We’ve let it get away from us a little bit recently in terms of the composure on the ball, but we’re 100% still in it.
“It’s going to be a really good game against Perth, it always is. They have a strong attacking group, so we definitely need to be on our game. We’re focused on moving on from that last result and the gravity of how important this game is has really sunk in, so we will be on our A-game.”
Rigby is very busy as the moment as she juggles playing and training at Fremantle with her Female Football Legacy Ambassador role for Football West.
Last week, she was also announced as captain of Glory’s A-League Women’s side for a fifth season and believes it’s an exciting time for the women’s game in Western Australia, particularly with the announcement of Hyundai NTC’s Georgia Cassidy, Grace Johnston and Tanika Lala as A-League signings next season.
“I think Alex (Glory head coach Alex Epakis) is building something really special and we’ve seen that over the last few years with what he’s been able to bring to the club,” she said.
“We work really well together and have an amazing, aspiring young team, which includes Georgia, Grace and Tanika being signed from NTC.
“It’s great to see them being part of the squad and that the development pathway is working. It’s incredible to have the young players coming through because they have worked so hard and are performing so well.
“To see them get the opportunity reminds me of when I got my first opportunity. And the fact the locals can get on board and follow their journey is going to be really exciting.”
Sunday’s match with Perth also marks the introduction of Fremantle City’s inaugural ‘pride round’ in which both the U21 and First Team NPLW sides will wear a special kit for the occasion. The initiative was driven by U21s player Ginger Cain.
“It’s something which rings really true to our values and what we want to support in terms of that visibility around the pride community, and being able to celebrate and support them in any way we can,” Rigby said.
Both Fremantle and Perth SC will hope Murdoch University Melville can do them a favour on Friday night when they start the round against leaders RedStar at Besteam Stadium.
Having advanced to the Hyundai Women’s State Cup Final a week ago, MUM FC missed a chance to go fourth on Sunday after suffering a dramatic late 3-2 loss to Subiaco. David Biancuzzo’s team will aim to avoid a fourth league loss on the spin, while RedStar are aiming to make it 14 games unbeaten in 2023.
Also on Friday, Subiaco goes to Curtin University looking to build on last week’s win at Rosalie Park. Victory would keep outside hopes of a top-four finish alive for Greg Farrell’s team, while Curtin will look at this as an opportunity to take their first points of a tough season against their closest rival on the table.
Finally, there is a potentially important game at E&D Litis Stadium in the race for the top four when Hyundai NTC host Balcatta Etna on Sunday afternoon.
The youngsters have missed the last fortnight of league action due to NTC challenge duties but remain two points clear of Etna and MUM FC in fourth place despite their absence. The onus will be on Yash Pratap’s side to apply pressure on Ben Anderton’s team, given the game in hand their rivals have on them.
