THE Women's Northern League A Grade competition has had a disruptive start to the year, with extreme weather events postponing the season.
This has seen everyone forced to adjust, and for the Macleay Valley Rangers, player-coach Heidi Tamblyn says her team has just started to find their feet again.
"Usually we have a few pre-games before the season starts to iron out the kinks and figure out where everyone plays best," Tamblyn said.
"This year has been a bit different, but I think we are starting to gain a bit of rhythm and will only get better as the season continues.
"There have been flashes in previous games of what the team is capable of, and if we can play to that potential, the best football we are capable of, I think we will be very competitive this season."
Nothing illustrated this point more than their 2 to 1 win over the Port United Vipers, traditionally one of the tougher teams in the league.
"Last year, we had a massive run-in with them," Tamblyn said.
When a team is down, to come back and win 2-1 against a very strong side, I think it shows excellent character, and I'm very proud of the girls for stepping up like that.
- Heidi Tamblyn
"For our first game this year, we knew it was going to challenging; we came out flying, but Port managed to get a goal, so then, we had to work hard and claw our way back.
"When a team is down, to come back and win 2-1 against a very strong side, I think it shows excellent character, and I'm very proud of the girls for stepping up like that."
After a delayed season start, the competition is only a few rounds in, and while it's still very early days, Tamblyn is happy with how everything is unfolding so far.
The Rangers are currently third on the ladder, just behind the Port United Vipers, and the Kempsey Saints.
"It's still early days, but the crew have already played the teams who are traditionally the toughest, and we have just the one loss," she said,
"It's a pretty tight ladder; all the leaders have one loss each, the only difference is goals. At this point, we are just going to get out there and do our thing."
The Women's Northern League was on hiatus due to the long weekend, but when it resumes on June 19, the Rangers have the BYE and will spend one more week on the sidelines.
Also making the news:
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark our website
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @macleayargus
- Follow us on Instagram: @macleayargus
