Kyah Simon – the crown jewel in women ’ s football
with Matt “ Duck Man ” Austin
As the A League women ’ s competition has recently kicked off for its 16th season , I could feel a vibe that I have never felt before in women ’ s football . Fresh off the back of the highly successful women ’ s football world cup , or soccer as most people know it in Australia , the A League women ’ s competition now has a strong , legitimate competition comprising 12 teams and two full home and away rounds of matches .
Kyah Simon is the girl from Quakers Hill Juniors where she started in the under 8s back in 1999 . Kyah fell in love with the game and must be feeling a sense of irony or ‘ déjà vu .’ She was part of the Central Coast Mariners squad back in their first season , in the first edition of the A League W which is now the A League women ’ s competition .
She was young and extremely talented
Kyah Simon . Credit : Central Coast Mariners .
on her first foray into the world of professional football at 17 years of age .
Kyah is an enormously proud Indigenous woman and comes from a family of four who grew up playing rugby league ; she was introduced to soccer by her neighbours and the kids in the street .
She attended Hills Sports High School where her head coach was Alen Stajcic . He also ended up being her national coach for the Matildas and forged a career as a professional club coach himself with the Central Coast Mariners and now with Perth Glory in the men ’ s A league .
Kyah also played at Hills Brumbies in the rep program before moving to Penrith Nepean Utd , and then at 16 she made her full international debut for the Australian Women ’ s national team , the Matildas .
That was in 2007 ; so , let ’ s fast forward to now .
Kyah was recently in the women ’ s
world cup squad for the Matildas in Australia and has now racked up a phenomenal record of 111 matches for the Matildas . She became the first Indigenous player to receive 100 caps for the Australian national team which is absolutely no mean feat on its own .
She also holds the honour of being the first Indigenous player , male or female , to score a goal for Australia in the world cup finals .
After her first season in the A League W with the Mariners , she went on to have an outstanding professional career . She spent two years with Sydney FC , winning the championship in 2010 / 11 and also received the Julie Dolan Medal for the A League W Player of the Year .
Kyah has had two stints with Sydney FC , had a crack at Melbourne City and played with Boston Breakers in the professional American leagues along with Houston Dash .
She also spent time in Holland playing with PSV , and most recently played with Tottenham Hotspur in the Women ’ s Super League . This is the same club that Ange Postecoglou is at , coaching the men ’ s team in the EPL , leading the competition . Kyah Simon has certainly had an esteemed career to date and will now be hoping to bring all of this experience to
Kyah Simon signing autographs . Credit : Central
Coast Mariners . the newly formed Mariners team , where many young aspiring girls are hoping to emulate the pathway that she has taken .
Kyah has played 208 professional club matches , scoring 78 goals in club football , made 15 appearances for Australia ’ s U20s women scoring 10 goals and the remarkable achievement of 111 full international matches and 29 goals for the Matildas .
She is absolutely no doubt the crown jewel of the Central Coast Mariners for this A League Women ’ s season .
Rooty Hill RSL Hockey Club – champions at last with Matt “ Duck Man ” Austin
Nobody plays competitive sport to go out there and lose . It ’ s in our nature to get out there and have a crack and do your best . I ’ ve spoken to plenty of very passionate sports people over my near 40- year involvement in sports , but I haven ’ t met too many who are more passionate than this next guy .
Troy Baxter is the absolute ultimate weekend warrior . He lives for the weekend and getting out on the hockey field and tearing it ! He takes no prisoners , and he isn ’ t afraid to tell you . Troy is the head coach and player of Rooty Hill RSL ’ s man ’ s first grade premiership winning side .
This is the first time the club have ever won this premiership , and Troy has been there for 25 years .
He gets the old white line fever happening and turns the dial all the way up to 11 . But he ’ s not just happy with one gig . He lives and breathes hockey like Chuck Norris does round house kicks in Walker Texas Ranger . He coached the women ’ s second grade side also to a premiership this year which is outstanding for the club and for Troy .
Rooty Hill are a family club and the cheapest club for registration in the district . They need to be to attract players and help keep the interest in an area that is in a low socio-economic background and finding $ 200-300 for yourself or a few of your kids to play sports is a tough chop .
The club do a lot of work to help the broader community . They run on volunteers and have some fantastic sponsors , such as Rooty Hill RSL HQ who
Rooty Hill RSL Women ’ s championship Div 2 , 2023 .
actively help the club with grants and support on a regular basis .
I asked Troy how he got the club to where they are .
How did they beat the Panthers Hockey Club who have won the last 11 premierships ? Troy said he got the boys fit . They also adopted a style of good fast hockey ; played very tactical and adopted an argy bargy physical approach to the game . It ’ s the old school way of getting the job done that young people don ’ t resonate with today .
Troy said that he loves the new generation of hockey players coming through . They like to play a high possession , high tempo game with speed in the ball movement and moving the ball by anticipating where the play is heading next . Troy said that this premiership has been a 3-year work in progress to take the boys to a very successful club campaign this season .
Some shrewd acquisitions in the offseason including NSW under 21s player Cody Stone has seen the club put together an extremely competitive formidable line up this season . The side went through a difficult period in the middle of the season , playing with the bare bones of 11 players regularly being available against the heavyweights of the competition such as Panthers and Emu Plains .
The club are achieving massive results and working very hard to make sure that they continue the development pathway for young hockey players in the Rooty Hill , Mt Druitt and Blacktown areas .
Rooty Hill RSL Premiership winning team 2023 .
Troy would like to see Blacktown Council develop three hockey fields that can be used to help host state championships , that will benefit the whole area .
It would see the area become a hockey hub in NSW in an area where there is projected population growth from the current population of 426,729 up to 625,207 in 2041 .
Australia is currently ranked number six in the world for men ’ s hockey and number two in women ’ s .
Maybe one day we will see some players from Rooty Hill RSL Hockey Club make it to the Kookaburras and the Hockeyroos . With Troy ’ s dedication and meticulous approach to planning , there is no doubt that is a reality .
28 ISSUE 32 // NOVEMBER 2023 theindependentmagazine . com . au BLACKTOWN CITY INDEPENDENT