Matildas defender Winonah Heatley blazing a trail for future
The chance to captain Australia’s U23s is one Winonah Heatley hopes will pave the way to more leadership opportunities in her future. And the defender is part of a group blazing a trail for the next generation of Matildas
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THE opportunity to captain Australia’s under-23 team is one Mossman product Winonah Heatley hopes will pave the way to greater leadership opportunities in her future.
And the defender is part of a group blazing a trail for the next generation of Matildas.
Heatley wore the captain’s armband for Sunday night’s clash, scoring her first goal for Australia in a 4-1 win against Singapore at the AFF Women’s Championship.
“The experience has been great, it’s the first time an under-23 side has got together and it’s been special to be part of,” Heatley said.
“Especially to be able to wear the captain’s armband was an honour and a goal to top it off wasn’t bad.
“It was an honour, and I felt very privileged.
“It’s something that is definitely one of my goals, to move into leadership roles and yeah … it was definitely a big moment for me.”
It was a career night for Heatley, who has been part of two Matildas training squads but is yet to earn a senior cap, and captaining the under-23s could lead to bigger things.
While the Olyroos form an under-23s opportunity for the best of Australia’s male football players, there is currently no equivalent for women, who jump from the under-20s straight to the senior side.
Fixing that is partly why Australia recently handed opportunities to young players.
Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson selected a fresh squad featuring a cohort of fringe or future national team players for the recent friendlies against Spain and Portugal, while Melissa Andreatta is leading an under-23 team at the AFF Women’s Championship in the Philippines.
There is hope that this team’s experience can grow into a fully-fledged program which would benefit future female football players.
Heatley said it had been a challenge, with the team having just one training session before starting the tournament with a 1-0 loss to the Philippines, led by former Matildas coach Alen Stajcic.
“It’s been a challenge,” she said. “We hadn’t played together as a team before that game, and had one training session, so to come out on the field and put together performances is really great.
“It’s been tough coming in and not playing any games together and not having some of the prep that other teams have had, but we’ve done really well to adapt to that.
“We’ve been building into the tournament and getting better at playing as a team.”
Arguably the best export of Cairns State High School’s women’s football program, Heatley started her career at the Brisbane Roar, playing 16 games from 2019 to 2021.
The 21-year-old defender most recently played for Melbourne City in the A-Leagues after returning from a stint with Sweden’s Vaxjo, but has recently signed for Danish club Nordsjælland.
The three-goal win against Singapore improved Australia’s record at this tournament to 2-1-1 with one game left in the group stage.
Australia will face Malaysia in their final group match on Tuesday night, but need the stars to align to progress out of the pool stage.
They have to beat Malaysia and Philippines must beat Thailand by enough goals to overcome the five-goal gap in the points differential.
matthew.mcinerney1@news.com.au
Originally published as Matildas defender Winonah Heatley blazing a trail for future
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