Since winning the W-League Premiership for the 2016-17 season, Canberra United has missed the playoffs each of the last two seasons. 

They have a heavy rotation of players coming and going, but with head coach Heather Garriock entering her third season at the helm, Canberra feels like they have finally established their identity. 

In their history, Canberra has qualified for the playoffs the third most among W-League teams. With the squad they have constructed for the upcoming campaign the club feels like they can right the ship and get back to their winning ways.

Last year’s sub .500 finish may have been just the realization Canberra needed to make changes in personnel to put together a competitive W-League team.

WHAT DID WE LEARN FROM LAST SEASON?

Canberra started last season strong and held a top position in the ladder until week seven when they dropped out of the top four teams. The second half of the season saw Canberra only earn one win and net just three goals. 

They scored the second fewest goals of any W-League team last year, but gave up the third fewest goals. 

 

Defence and the goal stopping ability of goalkeeper, Shamiran Khamis was not the issue for Canberra. Seven of their games were decided by one goal or less. If Canberra’s offense could have stepped up like their defence, last season would have been a completely different story.

Garriock and company understand their lack of offense from a season ago and have signed high level forwards that might have the defence looking like the lesser side for Canberra this season.

There is urgency this season for Canberra and no one feels that urgency more than Garriock.

“It’s really important that we have a solid season this season for Canberra United, not just for the club but for our fans as well,” she says.

Another sub .500 performance will not be good enough for Canberra and they believe they have the team in place to be a club the rest of the W-League is chasing.

THE STRENGTHS

Defence was the strength of Canberra last season and they return a good portion of their defenders from a year ago. Teams had trouble scoring on Canberra last season and it does not look like it will be any easier.

Not only are they returning S. Khamis in goal, but they added Young Matildas goalkeeper, Analee Grove, to their team as well. No matter who is guarding the goal, Canberra is in safe hands.

Thankfully, they will have three new forwards who will be able to put them on the winning side of close games.  They have signed Norwegian veteran Elise Thorsnes, W-League star Leena Khamis and well experienced American Katie Stengel. 

The trio have accounted for 65 W-League goals in 142 appearances. All of them are proven W-League scorers who will make Canbera one of the most well-balanced teams this season.

The midfield will be no slouch either with both Karly Roestbakken and Olivia Price back for Canberra. They know the system at the club and can integrate the new forwards to their style of play.

Talent is all over Canberra and these pieces, according to Garriock, will fall into place with hard work.

“I’m going to stay off ambitions because I speak about ambitions every year… I just think it’s important to be solid and work really hard in preseason and training, and the results will take care of themselves.”

THE CHALLENGES

All of the new forwards are proven to be goal scorers but getting three players on the same page along with the other eight on the pitch is another story. 

The short W-League season combined with the short preseason may not be enough time for Canberra to figure out how to use all of their offensive weapons. 

As a former W-League player and now coach, Garriock knows this issue in the W-League and sees it as a possible problem for her team.

“We had ambitions of starting on the 1st of October but unfortunately due to the SPC we weren’t able to start until the 13th of October. While there are a lot of positives towards the SPC, there also becomes negatives as well, and a shorter pre-season is one of them – especially for Canberra United being such a small club.”

Since this problem is not new Garriock looked to try and make sure Canberra had as much time together as possible and added, “In an attempt to try and get some sort of edge I had my playing group ready to start on the 1st of October.”

WHAT GARRIOCK SAID

“It’s really important to highlight the fact that the W-League has come leaps and bounds.

“For a club like Canberra United, it’s important for us to keep up, especially when other clubs are spending a lot of money on recruitment.

“It’s really important for us to try to build the most competitive team possible … because the W-League is vastly different, especially since the standard player contracts are coming through the PFA.”

KEY PLAYERS

Leena Khamis

One of the most capped players in W-League history, L. Khamis will use her experience to steady Canberra’s offense. Being one of the most capped players has also led to L. Khamis to being one of the league’s top scorers, with 40 goals.

Entering her 12th season L. Khamis is looking to maximize her second time lining up alongside her sister. The two last played together with Sydney FC and they are hoping they can have even more success this year with Canberra. 

If L. Khamis can climb the ranks for total goals in the W-League, Canberra may be able to match their offense with their strong defence from a season ago. 

 

Elise Thorsnes

Khamis is not the only player lacing up for Canberra with a wealth of experience. Thorsnes may have only played one season in the W-League, but her over 100 appearances in Norway’s league will surely come in handy this year. 

Her lone W-League season in 2017-18 saw Thorsnes play nine games but in that short time she scored six goals. The perfect blend of experience and efficiency. 

Additionally, she has been a force for Norway’s national team. Thorsnes has competed for her country since 2006 appearing in three World Cups. 

The amount of knowledge that will be passed between L. Khamis and Thorsnes will have unbelievable impact for Canberra this season.

 

Karly Roestbakken

A young player that will be able to learn from her veteran teammates is Roestbakken. One of the top up and coming players in Australia in her own right, Roestbakken has not even touched her full potential. 

She was on the Matildas roster for the 2019 World Cup where she saw action in two games, one of them being a start against Jamaica. At just 18 years old, Roestbakken has already accomplished more than most will ever be able to do in the entirety of their career. 

The 2020 Olympics are looming and Roestbakken has been called into the Matildas camp for their two friendlies against Chile. Her play there will have an impact on if she is called into the team for Olympic qualifications, but her play this season could play as much of a role. Look for her to make quite an impact this season.

 

ONE TO WATCH

Katie Stengel

The third player on Canberra's front line is Stengel. W-League fans will remember her time with both the Western Sydney Wanderers and the Newcastle Jets. She is on loan from the NWSL side, the Utah Royals.

The Royals finished right in the middle of the league standings and had an underwhelming ending to the season with a four game losing streak. Stengel only produce two goals for the Royals in her 24 appearances.

Rejoining the W-League may be just the spark Stengel needs to regain her goal-scoring prowess she had with the Jets in 2017, scoring 13 goals in 18 matches.