How are things going in preseason at the Jets?

It’s been good, it’s good to have pretty much the full squad here with a few weeks to go until we start the season. That’s the best way to prepare, by being able to play or train with all the girls each week and getting use to playing with each other and learning off each other as well. It’s been a good preseason and probably one of the best we’ve had. Just having the players here is a big thing for us and hopefully it will lead to a good start.

Two key pieces of last year’s squad were Arin Gilliland and Tori Huster. How big of an impact do you think their loss will be?

Obviously it’s a shame to lose those girls because they’re awesome people as well as good players, but that’s football and that’s what happens, you get new players and you lose players, but I think the recruitment we’ve done this year is awesome and having Larissa [Crummer] and Taylor [Smith] come into the squad is a big boost for us.

What are your goals for this upcoming season at the Jets?

We’d like to get the premiership, Minor and Major. It’s something we’d like to achieve, and Newcastle hasn’t achieved it before so we’d like to be the first ones to do that.
Last season, losing in the semi-final was disappointing, but I was also proud of the girls. We know how hard we can fight, even being down to 10 players, we can still score goals and still be competitive. So I think we have that spirit in our team, and Deansy drives it a lot in us that you have to believe in yourself and do what you do best, and good things will come.

What do you think about the team playing the majority of their home games out of No. 2 Sportsground this season?

I think the move is great for us. A lot of the girls actually said we’d like to play some more games there because when we played there against Canberra [last season] we just felt a different vibe. You could feel the crowd and that made us want to fight more and it just gives you that buzz. It’s our training facility as well so that’s also a positive for us. Although we love playing at the [McDonald Jones] stadium, I think the mix up of four games at No. 2 and two at the stadium is the perfect amount for the girls. I think with the stadium being so big, you don’t really feel like there are 2,000-3,000 people there, but at No. 2 you actually feel that and everyone is closer to you, and it’s a whole different vibe which we really enjoyed.

We just want to create that culture, we want people to come and support us, and have our own fan base and I think that’s going to be a positive move for the team and Newcastle as a community, with people backing us, the W-league team and the A-league team.

Who do you think is the player to watch for the Jets this season?

I’m going to say Clare Wheeler. She’s one that people don’t normally talk about, but she’s a young girl and she just does her job and people sometimes don’t recognise people like that. She never gives up, she works super hard and you need someone like that in midfield as well. She’s always does the dirty work in the games, runs her heart out and she’s definitely a key player for us this year.

What are you most excited about this season?

I’m just keen to get back out there, it’s been a while since the last W-league season ended and it’s a bit of a wait, so I’m just keen to get on the field and hopefully show Newcastle what our team can do. That’s probably a big thing for me, you just can’t wait to get that winning feeling back.