Women’s Asian Cup: Matildas defender Winonah Heatley one of several Aussies to bloom post-Women’s World Cup

To the untrained eye of the casual fan, Matildas centre-back Winonah Heatley may have sprung from nowhere. But the AS Roma defender is one of several Australians whose careers have blossomed in the aftermath of the Matildas’ Women’s World Cup exploits. Heatley, who coach Joe Montemurro hailed “as becoming a world-class defender” in November, is pushing for a start in the Matildas’ Women’s Asian Cup opener against The Philippines on Sunday. For all the star-power Australia possess in the form of Sam Kerr, Mary Fowler, Caitlin Foord, Steph Catley et al., Heatley is one of four players with less than 35 caps to their name who could potentially find their way into Montemurro’s starting 11. “There’s not much chat in the group about old and new to be honest,” Heatley told reporters on Thursday. “There’s a good gel in the group and a good group of players, and we’re all getting along well, so we’re more focused on that and the cohesion and hopefully that shows on the pitch.” Indeed, it is the strides some of their lesser-known players have taken since the World Cup which could make a difference at the Asian Cup. While Clare Hunt and Steph Catley are options at centre-back, Heatley appears right in the mix after her impressive performances for Italian giants Roma, having played 19 times for the Serie A Women league-leaders. “You have to be outside your comfort zone to grow,” Heatley said. “Moving to Roma has certainly done that for me, and moving anywhere does that for you — being in an uncertain situation, new coaches, new players to get used to. It definitely helped me as a player to grow.” The most-experienced of the aforementioned quartet is midfielder Clare Wheeler, who has 34 caps to her name. She did not see a minute of action at the World Cup, but is close to 100 games for Everton over the past three years. With Kyra Cooney-Cross still building her fitness, the energetic Wheeler’s tidy distribution would make her a perfect fit alongside Katrina Gorry in midfield. Further up the field, Amy Sayer’s class shone through during Montemurro’s first games in charge last year in Perth and her ability to operate as a central attacking midfielder or out wide is significantly useful. The technically-savvy Sayer missed out on the Women’s World Cup, but the 24 year-old has gone from strength-to-strength in the competitive Swedish Damallsvenskan since then. Like Sayer, Kaitlyn Torpey’s versatility has made her a favourite of Montemurro’s, with the wide utility’s speed and ability to operate as a full-back, wing-back or winger coming in handy. While Torpey trained at right-back on Wednesday and plays there for club side Newcastle United. But she can also play on the left and if Catley shifts to centre-back, she could contend for the other full-back role, while Montemurro could also deploy her on the wing.