Gold Coast teen Shelby McMahon lands Melbourne City contract
A 15-year-old Gold Coast teen who honed her skills playing against boys in the state’s premier football competition has landed a contract with an A-Leagues club.
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Shelby McMahon, a 15-year-old Gold Coast teen who has honed her skills playing in the NPL boys’ competition, has landed a contract with A-Leagues powerhouse club Melbourne City.
The Junior Matildas captain travelled to Melbourne during the recent school holidays for a train-on week with the Melbourne outfit and coach Dario Vidosic was left very impressed.
With the transfer window closed City could only offer McMahon a replacement player contract for injured forward Holly McNamara.
“We were aware of her talent and after the week she spent with us I wanted to bring her in. I spoke to her mum and dad about that and she had enjoyed the time so much she had been nagging her mum and dad if she could join,” Vidosic said.
“We are very happy to have a talented player like herself join us for the remainder of the season and hopefully for years to come as well.”
Traditionally, naturally talented girls skip age-level NPL football and play in the women’s competition but Knights Football Director Jimmy Gotis fought to get a special exemption for McMahon to play boys NPL with her correct age group.
“She is a generational talent,” Gotis said.
“She’s extraordinarily naturally gifted but on top of that she works ever so hard in all aspects of her game. She’s an unbelievable, intelligent young lady who takes all information on board and can deliver that in real game time.
“She’s the only girl in the last three or four years who has played continuously in the highest league in Queensland against the boys.
“Because of her talents we thought it was the best opportunity for her to play with the boys because she is probably in the top 5 per cent.
“She has developed really well and become the Junior Matildas captain.”
McMahon initially preferred to played right back when she joined the Knights NPL side as an Under-11s player. But Gotis said he knew she had more potential in the midfield. McMahon, who first started playing football as a six-year-old, said she wouldn’t be the player she was today if she hadn’t played in the boys’ competition.
“I think playing in the NPL boys has been amazing for my development and has been such a big part in why I am the player I am,” she said.
“The speed and physicality of the training and games set me up for the level of the women’s game.
“I was part of such a great group of boys who supported and included me with everything, so I am very lucky and appreciative of that.”
The teen was “stoked” when given the chance to play for City for the remainder of the season – even if it meant moving interstate and leaving her dad, siblings and friends behind.
“It was definitely a tough decision moving away from home, but we decided to give it a go and see what happens,” McMahon said.
“My mum moved with me, but my siblings and dad are still home and will come down as much as they can.
“They are so supportive and always want me to do the best I can.
“I’m currently doing my education online through my school at home which is good because I’ll be able to go back at the end of the season.”
McMahon said it has taken a little bit of time but she had finally settled into the new high-performance environment.
“I’m loving every minute and I’m just stoked to be playing football with this great team.”
The 15-year-old isn’t the youngest in the A-Leagues women’s competition – with 14-year-old Ischia Brooking, from Western Sydney Wanderers, setting a new record as the youngest to play when she made her debut earlier this season.
City have a good track record of turning talented teenage players into stars – like Daniela Galic. The 17-year-old has scored five goals for City this season. Galic, from Sydney, has also left school and her family behind to move to Melbourne to chase her football dream with City.
Vidosic said there was an art to working with young players and he didn’t plan to throw McMahon on the field until he was certain she was ready to deal with the pressure.
“It’s about giving them exposure, but also at the right time,” Vidosic said.
“You don’t want to just throw them out there so they can get their debut – you don’t want to expose them too much.
“We want to be smart and develop them. It’s about finding the right opportunities.
“It’s an opportunity for them to learn and to push and when the right opportunity comes we have no doubt they can deliver even at their tender age.”
If done right Vidosic said he had no doubt McMahon would be a household name in the future.
“It’s really a marathon instead of a sprint,” he said.
“She is a very exciting talent and sooner rather than later she will be someone that Australian football fans are excited to watch and that they’re talking about. I see a big future for her.”
McMahon said her goal at the moment was to just adapt to the City style of play, and get into peak shape – especially with the Junior Matildas set to play at the Asian Cup in May.
“I’ll be working towards playing games but for now I’m just focusing on learning the City way and cementing myself in. Any time I can get on the pitch will be a bonus,” McMahon said.
“My ultimate football goals are to play for the Matildas and get to play in Europe against the best players in the world. Playing for the Matildas’ is every young Aussie girl’s dream and it’s something we work towards every day.”
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