A Mini Century – Rhianna Pollicina

Even with a nickname of ‘Mini’ it’s unwise to underestimate Inner West Magic spearhead Rhianna Pollicina – she’s the first female player to crack 100 goals in Australia’s toughest futsal competition.

Currently on 106 goals in the open women’s NSW Premier League, Pollicina has scored 31 goals more than next-best, team-mate Ceyda Cambaz and seems to be getting better with every new season.

She’s netted the most four-goal hauls of any player over the past eight years (5) – only five other players have done this over the same time frame – to go with six hat-tricks and 13 braces, most finals goals (8), and scored in the most number of games (64).

[Ed: for the record, best or next-best in these categories are – four-goal hauls Tamires Souza (2), hat-tricks Mariel Hecher (6), braces Cambaz (15) and Rachel Perrins (13), finals-goals Jodie Bain (6) and scoring games Cambaz (53).]

She’s certainly a big reason why Inner West averages the highest goal-tally per game (3.1), with Pollicina scoring almost a third of the team’s total 391 goals over the past eight years, and Magic winning 64% of its matches (Dural’s 53% the next highest success rate).

It was certainly a meteoric rise since Pollicina’s Magic open women’s debut in 2012… at the age of just 14!

She scored twice that summer and just three terms later tallied 17 for them, rising to 23 goals the following year. This season Pollicina’s bagged 23 goals, three short of Ashlie Crofts’ summer-high 26 set last year – Crofts now plays in the W-League.

“It’s a great achievement but I really couldn’t have done it without my teammates and support from the club – a lot of my goals have been from distance but I can’t go past some of them being back-post tap-ins, and that’s credit to the unselfishness of the other players,” the 22-year-old said.

“And [women’s mastermind Maiorana] Matteo’s been an amazing coach throughout my years. I’ve had him for over seven years and wouldn’t be the player I am today without his guidance.”

Pollicina – who earned the nickname Mini from her Marconi days where there were two Rhianna’s in the side and she was the smallest player – remembers a smooth transition into Magic’s open team.

“I was straight into it because I was training alongside the senior girls all the time and playing just became a regular occurrence,” she said.

“I had the ability, Matteo trusted me, and the senior players took me under their wing; they didn’t yell at me, they guided me to make me a better player.”

The reward for Pollicina’s scoring prowess is a swag full of trophies – four Premierships, two Championships, two Futsal Cups and three Golden Boots – and her secret is simple, and something she’s passing on to Inner West juniors as coach of the 13s and 15s sides.

“I think I’m just clinical in front of goal; I’m always looking where the keeper is and what she’s covering and not covering, so I have an idea where to place the shot before I receive the ball,” she said.

“I’m passing on what I know to the young players, and that includes being a great person on and off the pitch, to work hard, and just be dangerous, be a player that always requires attention.

“What we’ve achieved is massive and good for the younger players in the club to look up to.

“Our bond off the pitch is why we’re so successful on it; we do have our arguments but always come together for the match, and whatever I achieve as an individual is a result of the team’s work,” Pollicina continued.

“There’s lots of young talent playing the game from all the clubs, so definitely someone will overtake me in the future, but they have to catch me first – I still have a few more years ahead of me, so I won’t be giving it up any time soon.

Maiorana appreciates the quality he’s had in his all-conquering women’s side but said credit had to go where it’s due.

“Mini’s become the leader of the team and I still have to put her in the best position on the court to ensure we have the best chance of success,” he said. “Having fantastic team-mates is always helpful, but on her own she’s an all-round futsal player.”

“From an early stage I saw she had the talent so I thought why not give her the opportunity, and she’s turned into one of the best players in Australia.

“Now she’s passing on that information and knowledge to the junior players and that allows the club to take the same sort of system from younger teams to the senior teams – others have told me that when they see Mini coach they say it’s ‘Matteo with hair’,” Maiorana laughed (and possibly sighed too).

Away from the individual praise though, Pollicina pointed to the rise in competition as a huge motivator for Inner West’s own improvements.

“Full credit to the teams who outplayed us this year,” she said. “There’s been no standout side and anyone can beat anyone on a good day, and that’s good for the competition because you’re not going to beat an opponent just by stepping on the court, you have to be hungry to win.”

“But I really want to thank Inner West Magic, Matteo, and all the supporters who come out and watch us every week, and a special mention to my parents (Jodi and Michael) who never miss my games and drove me everywhere when I was younger,” she added.

The 2019/20 NSW Premier League summer draws to a close this weekend with semi-finals taking place at Sydney Olympic Park Sports Halls on Saturday.

In the women’s it’s Inner West Magic against Mascot Vipers and Campbelltown Quake versus Eastern Suburbs Hakoah (3.30pm kickoffs), and in the men’s it’s Mascot Vipers against Eastern Suburbs Hakoah and UTS Northside versus Inner West Magic (5pm kickoffs).

The Futsal family salutes you, Mini, what a remarkable achievement! Add your messages of congratulations in the comments section, and don’t forget to Like & Share.