Whyman in Wanderland after training with Matildas

WANDERERS goalie and St Johns Park local Jada Whyman’s talent and potential have been recognised at a Matilda’s preselection camp last week.

WANDERERS goalie and St Johns Park local Jada Whyman’s talent and potential have been recognised at a Matilda’s preselection camp last week.

Along with Western Sydney teammates Ellie Carpenter, Casey Dumont and captain Caitlin Cooper, Whyman attended the camp in Canberra last week.

The teenager, 17, is one of three uncapped players named in the squad, which also features five players aged 18 years or younger.

Jada Whyman of the Western Sydney Wanderers W-League. Picture: Brett Costello

“It was an incredible experience to train with the girls who I’ve looked up to as idols since I was a kid,” Whyman said.

The squad met for the three-day training camp at the AIS, as head coach Alen Stajcic begins to build and mould a squad that will take the Matildas into the next phase of major tournaments.

“I didn’t make the Matildas team unfortunately, but they gave me some great feedback that I can take away with me,” Whyman said. “The fact they even thought of asking me was amazing enough.”

Jada Whyman plays for Western Sydney Wanderers Women's football team. Picture: Melvyn Knipe

Stajcic said the players chosen for the camp were picked for their form in the W-League but also for performances at under-age national level.

“For the majority it is about what they showed in the W-League but others have done well at Young Matildas camps and in the under-17 national team, so it could have been on any major arena that we watched them play on,” Stajcic said.

A second Matildas training camp is currently under way ahead of the Algarve Cup in Portugal.