The Central Coast Mariners women are preparing for an A-League grand final showdown with Melbourne victory tomorrow afternoon. It is arguably the biggest football club taking on the smallest. But after a contentious semi-final win the mariners are confident of another upset in the season decider.
00:00The Mariners have only been back in the A-League women's competition for two seasons, but they've made an emphatic statement.
00:09I always had the belief in the players that I've picked that they can do something extraordinary, and they have done that.
00:15One of those players is 19-year-old local Anneliese Rasmussen, the first player signed when the club returned to the competition in 2023.
00:24Pretty crazy. I remember all throughout high school, me and my friends would go down to Gosford and watch the men's teams play.
00:29Obviously now I'm the one playing, and I think to play at Amy Park, it doesn't happen all the time, so it's pretty surreal.
00:37The team has drawn on youth and experience, with Taylor Ray looking to claim back-to-back titles after tasting glory with Sydney FC last year.
00:47I like to think I can bring a little bit more composure because I have that experience in the past,
00:52so if girls need to come speak to me with emotions being so high, it's like how can we bring them down and keep them level-headed?
00:59Just three months out from the AFLW season, Irish woman Sarah Rowe is juggling two codes as she prepares for the grand final and pre-season with Collingwood.
01:10Collingwood trained right beside Amy Stadium, so it does feel like I'm going home this weekend,
01:14and I've gotten so many messages from the girls throughout the week and a lot of them are coming to the game on Sunday.
01:19So yeah, it's an exciting time.
01:21The Mariners were part of the first W League season, but were forced out due to a lack of funding.
01:26In 2017, their bid to re-enter the competition were rejected due to the state of the change rooms here at the stadium,
01:33but now they're a force to be reckoned with.
01:36I just had this gut feeling that, you know, we were going to be back here training this week.
01:39Do I envision this with the trophy? Absolutely. You know, like I back these players all the way.
01:44The Mariners men claim the last two A-League titles, and the women will be hoping that trend continues
01:50when they take on Melbourne victory at Amy Stadium tomorrow afternoon.
01:55I would lose sight of somebody's
02:13to be prepared at Bill Walker's be big.
02:15That means that I know my granddaddy will have and for many reasons that look wouldn't limit
