Rollason: “Mariners women a real shot for Westfield W-League title”

 a biOne year and three weeks on, the Mariners? attacking midfielder is still playing a pivotal role for the Central Coast with her neat passing, strong physical presence, and lethal right foot in-front of goal.
The Central Coast Mariners women enter the penultimate round of W-League season 2 in first spot with a one-point lead over defending champions Brisbane Roar.
With only one loss against the Mariners? name ? against Brisbane Roar in Round 3 ? Stephen Roche?s side has made the Roar pay for their three draws this season to overtake the ?Matildas filled? Brisbane line-up, two weeks out from finals football.
?It has been a great season by all the team, though there is still much to be done,? commented 20-year-old Rollason.
?We have a wonderful team environment, all the girls get along really well, and we have managed to show this in our performances.?
Rollason?s impressive displays in 2008 failed to steer the side into finals football in season 1, though a much more experienced group in 2009 has made right of the wrongs in 2008.
?We, the girls that were part of last season?s team, did really well, though perhaps we just lacked experience at certain times which saw us miss out on the finals.
?This season, with the addition of Kelly (Golebiowski) and our three American imports (Jillian Loyden, Kendall Fletcher and Lydia Vandenbergh) we have that extra experience that has added what we lacked last time around,? added Rollason.
Rollason & Co. secured finals football for 2009 with an impressive 2-0 defeat of Melbourne Victory last weekend. The basis of the victory revolved around another strong defensive showing, made possible by a strong midfield performance via the feet of Rollason, Fletcher and Golebiowski, and realised by some world class finishing by Michelle Heyman.
?As I said, we are all enjoying ourselves at the moment; every single player is performing exceptionally well on match day, in training. It has really become difficult for the coach (Stephen Roche) each week as he can only select eleven starters and four players to go onto the bench; we are really making it hard for him.
?Our approach won?t change, and we?ll continue to challenge with the belief that we can win the title this season.?
Round 9 sees the Mariners women return to Bluetongue Stadium, for the second ?F3 derby? of the season against Newcastle Jets.
?They (Newcastle Jets) sit at the bottom of the table, and they will be eager to get some points to move out of last-spot; we certainly cannot underestimate their ability.
?Even though we scored a good win against them last time around, we really want to finish first on the ladder to give ourselves a strong edge going into the finals.?
Rollason, who has vested the Matildas colours on six occasions, has her attentions solely fixed on the Mariners for the time being, though with a big 2010 on the ?fixture list? for Tom Sermanni and the Matildas, this young Mariner is eager to give it her all for a look-in.
?Most definitely, I want to be playing in the Matildas squad,? said Rollason.
?At the moment, I am concentrating on the W-League, though next year will be a big year for the Matildas with a lot of fixtures to be played. I hope to get a look in, to be called into some of the squads and then give it my all,? ended Rollason.
The Central Coast Mariners return to Bluetongue Stadium for Round 9 W-League action this Friday evening, 27 November, 2009, against Newcastle Jets. Kick-off is set for 5:15 pm, preceding the A-League clash between Central Coast Mariners and Perth Glory.
-By Joseph Carlucci