ABCTV on the ball

Brantz gears up for her first W-League season | (Credit: ABC TV)

As the Westfield W-League kicks off this weekend so does ABC TV's coverage of the women's game.

Be it the W-League or watching the Matildas in action, its fantastic to see women's football on free to air TV.

This season's coverage has a new look and feel to it with the hosting and commentary positions revamped. Joining the crew, to our delight, will be sports presenter Stephanie Brantz. The Matildas commentary team of Peter Wilkins and Alicia Ferguson now be involved in the domestic competition as they provide match commentary for the 12 week season with the 'game of the week' airing every Saturday at 3pm on ABC1.

Brantz has considerable football knowledge after hosting "On the Ball" with Les Murray on SBS and heading up the broadcast of the 2006 World Cup in Germany. She spends much of her spare time involved in the game; be it watching international leagues, the Socceroos, the A-League games or just watching her son's club matches. We caught up with her ahead of tomorrow's season opener.

Stephanie, you must be excited about the third season of the W-League and speaking with all the coaches it looks set to be the best one yet?

I think it will be. I mean it was disappointing that Central Coast had to bow out but that has actually concentrated the talent between the teams.

In particular Canberra has gone out and recruited so very well and they are going to give Brisbane and Sydney a real run for their money.

The W-League is fast becoming one of the premier competitions in Australian women's sport. It must be great to be getting involved at this juncture?

Oh it certainly is. I am thrilled to bits. Talk about walking in at the perfect time, which I feel a little bit bad about, but I have been very, very fortunate to step in now.

The W-League has formed an amazing elite pathway for the girls to through to national representation and look what has done for the Matildas. Not that they weren't always talented but winning the Asian Cup was just a sensational performance. Something that the guys haven't managed to do!

What a way to lead off the season with the Grand Final replay between Brisbane and Sydney.

What a way to start with the grand final replay. That's just superb.

Ballymore is great for women's football so it will be wonderful. Brisbane's got 6 Matildas of the current squad but Sydney has their own Leena Khamis, Kyah Simon, Teigen Allen and the like.

What a fantastic game to start with. A brilliant way to kick off the season.

Speaking to the girls how are they feeling about the influx of international players this season?

For starters to have a dedicated elite competition is fantastic. What started off as a really good opportunity has turned into something where they gain a huge amount of experience.

I don’t think you can discount what the overseas girls bring because football is such a huge sport particularly in the European countries. The European girls just bring a wealth of experience. They are used to playing in countries where football is everything and they just bring a wonderful mindset and dedication to the sport.

It's really good for the Aussie girls to be able to learn from that, especially ones who haven't played outside the country.

Stephanie, what are you looking forward to this season in women's football?

I am actually looking forward to just being a part of it. I used to host for events for the A-League teams and traditionally they were on at the same time or an hour later than the girls. I didn't make it out to that many W-League games so I am thrilled that my job involves my hobby so I am looking forward to watching the girls perform.

What I love about the W-League is that the girls and the coaching staff are so accessible. They are open, frank and girls just good speaks, I am just excited to be a part of it all.

Finally, what kind of a coverage can we expect to see from the ABC?

We are doing the match of the week again and that will involve plenty of chat with the girls.

Potentially we will be able to do some profiles. There are some really interesting stories about the girls away from football and what they bring to the competition.

There will be plenty of interviews with players and coaches and half time we will be able to bring you highlights from the preceding round.

It's going to be wonderful and the team are all ecstatic about the W-League competition and we can’t wait for it to start.

It all kicks off tomorrow with Brisbane Roar v Sydney FC at 3pm on ABC1