Aoife Colvill: She Cairns Do Anything

Douglas Adams wrote in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy the number 42 was the “Answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything”.

While Canberra United Academy’s Aoife Colvill was born decades after Adams’ aphorism, it still rings true — the 17-year-old sits atop Capital Football’s Premier League scoring charts with 42 goals, double the amount of her nearest competitor.

Even more intriguingly, Colvill spent most of her life in Cairns. She only moved to Canberra a few years ago to pursue a professional pathway in football.

“My family and I came down to Canberra and had a couple of training sessions around Christmas time, but we didn’t really think anything would happen,” said Colvill.

“Dad came home from work one day as I was heading out to training, and he told us he got six months of leave with half pay.

“So he asked me ‘do you want to move to Canberra?’ and I was just shocked — like, woah”.

You would think someone who’s scoring 42 league goals in a season — with 2 fixtures remaining — would have played striker all her life.

However, Colvill’s journey to the No.9 role was as unorthodox as the one from Cairns to Canberra.

“I used to be in the midfield when I was in Cairns. Then when I moved to Canberra I was pushed out to the wing,” said Colvill.

“And only in the last year or so have I been pushed up to No.9 — and even then, in the W-League, I was playing left-back!

“So, yeah, I’ve been thrown all over the place, but anywhere’s good.”

Colvill most likely developed this unperturbed outlook during her initial months in Canberra. By her own admission, the move was not without its tribulations — such an upheaval would be difficult for anyone, let alone for someone so young.

But, much like on the pitch, Colvill took her chances.

“The first year was tough — I didn’t know many people, I was just making friends through football,” said Colvill.

“I had to repeat Year 10, so that was difficult, but I think things have worked out really well.”

So well, in fact, Colvill made six appearances in her maiden W-League season as Canberra United finished fifth.

Colvill’s eyes were fixed primarily on the current PL season, though.

Her team are on track for finishing second behind Premiers, Belconnen United, and are striving to become Champions.

“It’s been a good year — the team’s gelled really well this year.

“I think we’ve made a lot of progress since last year, and we’ve become really competitive towards the end of the season, which is great to see.”

So what does the future hold for someone as young as Colvill? Well, the opportunities are boundless.

“Obviously being a Matilda is a dream,” said Colvill.

“I’ve got a lot of short-term goals I want to accomplish locally in Australia, and then see what I can achieve.”

And what about a post-football career?