Stephanie Catley ready for W-League Grand Final and Portland Thorns

PHOTO: The Melbourne captain heads to the NWSL champions | Credit: Sydney Low / syd-low.com

You could be forgiven for thinking that winning a W-League semi final match would be exciting enough, but Melbourne Victory’s young captain Steph Catley took it a step further and was announced as NWSL team Portland Thorn’s newest signing this week.

Steph’s rise through the W-League and the Matildas has been spectacular and full of individual awards.

Now Catley broadens her reach even further in what she described as “an amazing week so far”.

How did the Portland Thorns deal come about?

They actually got in contact with me pretty early, a long time ago. It has been building up and has been more about working out my schedule with the national team and stuff like that but I was always interested so when I got the offer it was always in the back of my mind.

It was more just trying to figure out the timing and if I was going to be able to go over there with a busy year with the national team. It ended up all working out.

How does it work with the national team commitments? Will they release you for Matildas commitments?

I’m going to be with the national team until the Asian Cup so I’m going to miss quite a bit of the season with Portland.

That’s just the way it has to work this year because we’ve got the Cyprus Cup and the Asian Cup.

"The National team is my first priority so I’ll be going over as soon as the Asian Cup is finished."

Did you follow the NWSL last season?

I followed it a little bit last year with Caitlin [Foord] and Sam [Kerr] going over, so it was pretty interesting to see how they were going.

Obviously Portland won it last year so I ended up watching a bit of that final because I actually got the offer to come over next season just before that final. I was pretty interested to see how they went.

So you will be over there playing against the likes of Jess Fishlock and Lauren Barnes. How will that influence you?

Obviously Jess Fishlock and “Barnsey” are teammates of mine so it will be awesome to have people I know over in the league and challenging to verse them.

They’re both great players. I think Seattle is only a couple of hours away from Portland so I might have to pay a visit to those two.

The average attendance of Portland Thorns home matches is 13,000+. That’s a huge difference versus W-League matches. Will that impact you in a positive or negative way?

I think that can only be positive in that I love the big crowds. That would be amazing. I’ve played against the US National team and their crowds are just amazing.

It really gives you a buzz even if you’re the opposition. To have all of those people going for the team you’re playing for will just be incredible.

Catley set to be teammates with one of the best strikers in the world Alex Morgan | Credit: TWG

Any particular learning objectives you have set yourself for when you play in the NWSL?

Looking at the players that are there, there’s just so many opportunities to learn. As a defender I will be practicing and training with the likes of Alex Morgan.

It will be incredible to play alongside those players who have so much experience on the massive stage of the World Cup. I’m just really excited to head over there.

Is there anyone in the team that you’re looking forward to playing with while you’re over there?

Jess McDonald, who played with Melbourne last season, has been signed over there. That’s amazing to have someone I know to help the settling in process. I’m looking forward to playing with all of them.

What do you know about the training regime at Portland and any comparisons to the W-League?

I got an email from the coach Paul [Riley] not that long ago outlining expectations. He sounds like a brilliant coach and demands excellence in all areas.

Basically we will train a couple of times a day on two occasions, once on all others. All sessions are to be really competitive and sharp. They’re not long sessions but they’re going to be all high intensity. It just sounded brilliant. I’m so excited.

Are you committing right now that you will be back for the W-League next season?

Yes I will definitely be back for the W-League. That’s part of our National team contract.

"I wouldn’t miss W-League for the world!"

How about your studies back here in Australia? How are you going to manage them with all the commitments of the Matildas and the NWSL season?

I’m doing a Bachelor of Education (Primary). I’ve organised an online course through Swinburne so all of my university will be done online. I’m very part time so I’m doing two subjects each semester.

I’ve done it in a way where it can be flexible with my schedule because it’s going to be such a crazy year obviously with the Matildas and travelling with them and the possibility of going overseas. There’s still a bit to figure out but that’s the plan.

On to the W-League then. The match on the weekend was significant but there’s a more important match coming up this week.  The results against Brisbane haven’t been amazing, but then again the results against Sydney hadn’t been amazing either. What are Victory going to do to move forward?

I don’t think we’re really going to pay much attention at all to the results in the past. I thought we played really well against them when we versed them a couple of weeks ago.

I thought we controlled the game and had the majority of the opportunities, which is the story of our season. Basically we just weren’t converting our chances.

We were able to do that against Sydney on the weekend so hopefully it’s all looking up. I believe that we’re going to go in really strong and be able to put up a good fight, no matter what the results have been in the past.

File photo | Credit: Emily Mogic / emilymogic.com

Brisbane are stacked with Matildas and you’ve trained and played with a number of them. Is that going to help you along the way?

They’re all quality players. Their midfield is so strong with Katrina Gorry and Elise Kellond-Knight controlling in there and Meeks (Tameka Butt) up a bit higher.

I suppose knowing them a little better than our internationals is a bit of an added bonus.

The final is being played at Lakeside Stadium where Melbourne Victory have had a couple of matches. It’s a great ground. Do you think that will give you an advantage?

It’s a great stadium. We’ve played well there and we’ve played pretty poorly there as well in the first round. We love it there though. The ground is amazing.

It’s a good atmosphere. Obviously the home advantage, playing at a ground we’re familiar with, it helps. Hopefully we get a really good crowd down.

There’s been a lot of change recently in the makeup of the team because of injuries and international duty. Do you think that has been a hinderance to the cohesiveness of the team?

I don’t think so. I think it has been really good at training to have lots of changes going on. The girls are training every single day almost not knowing if they’re going to play or not. They’re playing to the best of their ability and really pushing each other.

We’re getting the best out of everyone and everyone is ready. As soon as they’ve slotted into their role, we believe that every player in our squad can come in and play their part and they know exactly what they’re doing.

I don’t think it’s done anything to the team cohesion. I think it’s added to the strength of the team.

Do you think the match against Brisbane is going to be an attacking kind of match, or defensive? What can we look forward to?

I think both teams really value possession. It will be quite defensive. In saying that, both teams have massive threats in the front so it might be a mix of both.

Beattie Goad has been great in the last couple of matches and played all 90+ minutes against Sydney in the semi Final. What do you hope to see from someone so young in a final?

I have just loved watching Beattie all year. She has come so far from game to game.

From the nervous young teenager who came on against Adelaide for the first time and made a few good impacts in the game and now to playing a full 90 and continue to get better and better.

She’s great at training and puts in 100%. She’s definitely one to watch for the future. I’ve got massive hopes for her.