AS a diehard Liverpool supporter, Christine Cottrell notes the bright orange of the Nichols Point Soccer Club kit is slightly different to her beloved Reds.
Growing up in a city bathed in football folklore, it was hard not to fall in love with the world game.
The sense of of community and belonging the sport her adopted club brings is worth its weight in gold, and some on field success has also helped.
Nichols Point’s senior women’s S-League side shocked many with their 2-0 victory over Mildura City in the 2022 grand final.
Goalkeeper Cottrell, who was named best on ground, believed everything aligned on that September day.
The Pointers aim to build on that momentum ahead of the 2023 season beginning on Sunday, April 30.
“We had a few mature players and then a group of really young players who had come up from under 16s,” Cottrell said.
“I think through the season, being teenagers, they obviously grew physically but they also grew in confidence and their skills got better, and the grand final was probably the first time we actually had a full team available with everyone fit and firing.
“Our coach David Inglis believed in us, said ‘it’s a one-off game and I believe we can do it’, and we probably played the best that everyone had played for the whole season.”
That confidence in each other has only built over the off-season as despite the departure of some talented young players, another crop is coming through.
Cottrell added another year playing against women would do the teenage talents at the club the world of good.
“They’ve had that year of playing women’s football, knowing what it’s all about and getting up to speed with the game as not only is it faster than juniors but it’s also more technical as well,” the Pointers custodian said.
“We have lost a few players because they’ve been picked up elsewhere to play at a higher level, but we’ve got another group of youngsters coming through so we’re confident that we can have another good season.
“What we all say and what the coach tells us is just have fun and enjoy it, that’s the main thing. If you don’t enjoy yourself, what’s the point?”
Despite being a football fanatic from a young age, Cottrell initially played and starred in hockey as the world game was less available for girls at the time.
The Liverpudlian came to Australia at age 21, initially on a working visa and after making Melbourne her home she pulled on the football boots for both Monash and South Yarra as the women’s game began to blossom.
Cottrell had retired from the game when she moved to Mildura with partner Rachel and daughter Molly in 2018.
Following the pandemic restrictions, she was convinced to join training with Nichols Point.
Her leadership and knowledge of the game have been a huge asset for the club ever since, even resulting a nomination for Master Athlete of the Year in the 2022 Northern Mallee Sports Awards.
“I played a little bit at the end of the 2021 season when we were still in and out of COVID and then played the full season last year,” she said.
“There was an opportunity to play in goals, which I hadn’t always played, and I really had a lot of fun.
“From a community point of view, Nichols Point have really great at inviting me in and just allowing me to make friends and it’s been a really easy transition.”
Cottrell also praised the quality of the S-League women’s competition, believing sides in Sunraysia could give some in Melbourne “a run for their money”.
