After impressing for club and country across the year, Steph Catley has been named the women's Austraffic PFA Footballer of the Year for the second time in her career,
As well as helping us win the Women's League Cup last term and captaining her country in the 2023 World Cup and the Olympic Games, the 30-year-old topped the poll ahead of a star-studded line-up of nominees, including Matildas teammates Mackenzie Arnold, Ellie Carpenter, Caitlin Foord, Michelle Heyman, Clare Hunt and Mary Fowler.
Steph played 32 times for us in all competitions last term, and made a mark in her home World Cup by finding the net twice against the Republic of Ireland and Canada as the Matildas reached the semi-finals. She also scored twice at the Olympics in Paris as she passed the 125-cap mark for her nation.
She previously won the prize back in 2020, not long after first arriving in north London from Melbourne City.
Upon winning the award again, Steph said: “Receiving this award is a massive honour. I think it’s one of the greatest you can receive as a player because it is peer-voted. I feel like this award reflects my development mostly from looking back at last year, I think it was a big year for our team in general, but for me personally there were many new experiences and new challenges.
“Going into the World Cup, I was thrown into the captaincy and leading the team at the last minute, which was massive. It made me have to think about more things than just my performance and I think that elevated how I was playing, and the responsibility I was taking on the field.”
The award considers the performances of any professional playing in the A-Leagues and any Australian players plying their trade overseas between June 2023 and June 2024.
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