As Natalie Tobin lamented, it is a year-round commitment where players must also squeeze in part- or full-time work, along with NPL.

“I had a break because of university and I felt I needed a break after playing for five years straight,” said Tobin.

“I thought I’d take a year off, do some travelling, have a bit more of a social life, and then reassess it from there.

“I wouldn’t regret the break because I did enjoy myself. I got to do a lot of new things I had previously never been able to do — little things like going away with my family over Christmas time.

“We were never really able to do that because in the W-League season you always train or play on Christmas Eve or Boxing Day, so you really only get Christmas Day off.”

This aforementioned work ethic goes unnoticed, and one often wonders whether female footballers’ sacrifices are duly recognised, considering their male counterparts receive a minimum income 400 percent higher.

Tobin said the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, which grants players a minimum of $10,000 per season, is a just reward for the work they put into their craft.

“When I started around 2012, not everyone was getting paid,” said Tobin.

“I think I got $1,000 for a season, which really didn’t matter because I was still in high school, living at home with everything provided for me by my parents.

“But as you get older — say 18, 19 — you need that money, which is why we need to give women as much of a chance as possible to make a career out of their football. We train and play as much as professional athletes, which makes it hard to work a 9-to-5 job — we have: morning sessions, afternoon session, night time games during the week, flights to Perth on a Friday which make us take a day off work.”

In spite of these hardships, Tobin insisted she was ready to return to the W-League and full-time football.

“I wanted to have a go at experiencing what my friends were experiencing. Now I’ve had it, and I can now go back to happily playing in the W-League — it’s just a matter of pursuing a club.”

It seems increased investment in the game over the years, combined with a rise in females’ interest, has risen the quality of female football in Australia.

Tobin asserted the standards of the NPL and W-League competitions had improved in the five years since she began her professional career.

“When I first started, there were quite a number of young girls who simply came through the football programs,” she said.

“Whereas now, the younger girls are better than we were at their age because they have the Football NSW Institute and Future Matildas programs. They train far more than us, and they’re all very quick and strong.

“I think the pace of the game has picked up … and the NSW NPL would be the best state league in the country because there are quite a few professionals travelling interstate to take part in it.”

 

Cool socks and cool hats for cool girls

A post shared by Natalie Tobin (@nattobin) on

Outside of football, Tobin is currently studying a Bachelor in Occupational Therapy at Australian Catholic University, North Sydney campus.

It was by no means her first choice, yet has evolved into something she is passionate about.

“I always wanted to go into healthcare, but I didn’t want to be a nurse because of the lifestyle with shift work and other demands,” she said.

“My Mum suggested occupational therapy; I didn’t know much about it, to be honest, but I had a couple of aunts who’ve done it and told me I’d enjoy it, so I thought, why not?”

“It’s been super challenging, but I’ve enjoyed it. It’s always good to have something to fall back on as a career option … but I do love football so much, so if were was a job there which could sustain me in the future, I’d look into it.”