Live stream: The Matildas who started journey at the Bill Turner Cup championships
The Bill Turner School Football championships can lay claim to laying the first bricks of the Matildas quest for World Cup glory on home soil. SEE WHICH PLAYERS WERE STARS AS KIDS.
Football Live Stream
Don't miss out on the headlines from Football Live Stream. Followed categories will be added to My News.
If you want to know the impact the Bill Turner School Football tournament has had on Australian football, you only need to look as far as the Matildas World Cup squad.
Six current Matildas, preparing to defend home soil in the biggest tournament in world football, played a crucial role for their school sides in the Bill Turner Trophy finals.
While the tournament’s impact on Australian football is clearly evident, what excites BTSF organiser Greg Danvers is the impact that will come back the other way in 2023.
SCROLL DOWN TO READ ABOUT OUR MATILDAS IN THE BILL TURNER TROPHY
KommunityTV will exclusively live stream three regional finals events, which act as the Round of 32 and Round of 16 of the national knockout tournament, before also broadcasting the National Finals from Lake Macquarie in September.
Danvers believes having the World Cup on Australian shores this year will help grow the game at every level and the school’s knockout won’t be immune.
Already the Bill Turner School Football tournament has experienced about 10 per cent growth in the number of registrations across both Cup and Trophy, and he believes the impact could go beyond registered numbers.
“It will have a big impact, especially in the women’s space,” Danvers said.
“It is such a good thing because women have been fighting for better acceptance in the sporting landscape for quite some time.
“To have this tournament on home soil, it will showcase how good the ladies are and how good the women’s game can be.
“I would hope (watching the World Cup) will have an impact on the players. They get a chance to watch the national teams and then the next day they are playing the same game.
“There is a lot to like about what is happening in the world of Australian football.”
MEET THE MATILDAS WHO STARTED IN BTSF
Ellie Carpenter
Westfields Sports High School
2013: Runners-up. Lost to Hunter Sports High on pens in final.
2014: Third Place
2015: Winners - Defeated Holy Spirit College Bellambi 7-0 in final
2015 Player of the Final: Ellie Carpenter
The defender has made a name for herself for her tenacious, never-say-die attitude on the international pitch, but she was doing it will before she pulled on green and gold. Carpenter was a key piece of the Westfields Sports High side in their run to the 2015 Trophy after finishing as runners-up two years prior.
Courtney Nevin
Westfields Sports High School
2014: Third Place
2015: Winners - Won against Holy Spirit College Bellambi in final
Carpenter wasn’t the only future Matilda to star in the backline for Westfields Sports High in their 2015 triumph. Is it little wonder they kept Holy Spirit College, Bellambi to 0 in the final while blasting home seven at the other end. The Leicester City fullback will be part of the Matildas squad for the World Cup.
Alanna Kennedy
Westfields Sports High School
2008: Winners - Defeated Hunter Sports High 2-1 in final
2009: Winners - Defeated Illawarra Sports High 1-0 in final
2010: Winners Defeated Cavendish Road State High 4-1 in final
2010 Player of the Series: Alanna Kennedy
The champion defender has made a timely return to the Matildas line-up ahead of the World Cup adding more than 100 games of experience into the backline. She was a key part of Westfields Sports High’s Bill Turner Trophy dynasty in the late 2000s, wining player of the series honours during their title run in 2010 - her last year in the Under-15 tournament.
Clare Wheeler
Hunter Sports High School
2011: Winners - Defeated Westfields Sports High 2-1 in final
2012: Fourth place
2013: Winners - Defeated Westfields Sports High on pens in final
Matildas midfielder Clare Wheeler made an impressive impact on the Bill Turner Trophy during her years at Hunter Sports High, helping bring an end to Westfields run of dominance in 2011. Wheeler won two titles in her three years playing for the school side, defeating future Matildas teammate Ellie Carpenter in a gripping penalty shootout in 2013.
Caitlin Foord
Illawara Sports High School
2008: Fourth
2009: Runners up - Lost to Westfields Sports High 1-0 in final
2009 Player of the Series: Caitlin Foord
One of the Matildas biggest names, Caitlin Foord has made a habit of picking apart the best defences in world football for more than a decade. But she was doing it much earlier than that, steering Illawarra Sports High to back-to-back national finals appearances. While she lost to Matildas teammate Alanna Kennedy in the 2009 final, she had the last laugh being named player of the series. Less than two years later she played her first game for the national side.
Katrina Gorry
Cavendish Road State High School
2005: Third place
2007: Third place
The oldest player on this list, Gorry has been a great servant of the Matildas for the better part of a decade and will go close to bringing up 100 caps for the national team during the World Cup. Gorry played for Cavendish Road State High in their run to the semi-finals of the Bill Turner Trophy in 2005 and captained the side to third place in 2007.
Originally published as Live stream: The Matildas who started journey at the Bill Turner Cup championships
Live stream: FA Girls National Youth Champs, Field 1, Day 5
NSW Metro, Northern NSW, Victoria and Queensland are left standing as the FA National Youth Girls Championships head towards an exciting climax. Catch four games LIVE from 9.55am.
REPLAYS: FA Girls U15, U16 National Youth Champs, Field 5, Day 4
They may not have made the quarterfinals, but that didn’t stop these eight U15 and U16 teams from putting quite a show on Field 5 on Saturday. Check out all the REPLAYS of the four matches.