The blooding of youth players by the Western Sydney Wanderers on their way to their maiden finals series captivated the footballing landscape and young goalkeeper Courtney Newbon admits it was thrilling to be a part of it. 

“I’m very stoked to have got a run, it is definitely not something that I expected,” she said. “It makes me hungrier and more excited to get back on the pitch and work hard to hopefully start and play in more games next season.”

The Wanderers under the ownership of Paul Lederer and headed by CEO John Tsatsimas have worked hard at creating a one-club mentality at Rooty Hill, and Newbon admits the culture at Wanderland was an important ingredient to their success.

“Western Sydney has a very big ‘one club’ atmosphere so to have the support of the men's team and everyone else there through all the ups and downs of the season was really good,” she said.

The ladies made the finals after a thrilling last round 3-2 win in Perth before going down to eventual champions Melbourne City in the semi-final, with Newbon being an unused substitute. While an early finals exit was disappointing, the 19-year-old Newbon admits she learned a lot during the season and enjoyed every moment of what was a history-making season for the club.

“As a team we continually pushed each other hard in training and off the field which made it a very good environment for growth as a player.

“Having broke so many records for the club this season, you can definitely say it was a very memorable six months.

“From the club’s longest unbeaten streak to our first appearance in the W-League finals series. These were all massive highlights. It was definitely was a history making season for the club.”

While Newbon and many of her team mates were looking at playing in the NSW NPLW this season, this has been put on hold as COVID19 is managed.

However, once everything is back to normal rest assured that Newbon and her teammates will be looking to go a few steps further in 2020/21.