Perth Glory Women striker Kate Gill is top of the charts and aiming even higher.
Gill’s 12 goals this season earned her the Westfield W-League Golden Boot for the second time in her career but she is more interested in helping the team to Grand Final success than picking up personal accolades.
“I’m happy that I’ve won it but we’ve got finals coming up and that’s the most important thing,” Gill said. “Winning the Golden Boot is great, but not just for me. It’s an achievement for the whole team and the way we’ve played all season.”
She will line-up for Glory in Sunday’s semi-final against Sydney FC at nib Stadium without her usual strike partner Samantha Kerr, who suffered a cruel knee injury that has ended her season.
Kerr, who scored 11 goals this season, will be sidelined for up to three months but is expected to be back in plenty of time to ensure her inclusion in the Australian national team for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada.
Glory’s success this season has prompted plenty of speculation about the number of Perth players likely to feature in Alen Stajcic’s Matildas squad next year.
Scoring more goals than any other player in the league is one way to go about booking a ticket to Canada but Gill is taking nothing for granted.
“My whole career I’ve had to prove myself to get in the national team,” she said. “I’ve always had to score a lot of goals to get in there.
“There’s a lot of competition for places in the Matildas and the success of Perth Glory this season has been great for us as a club and for all the girls who want to be involved in the World Cup next year.”
With Gill and Kerr in such prolific form up front, the likes of Collette McCallum and Marianna Tabain dominating the midfield and a rock-solid defence, Glory have smashed club and league records alike.
A best-ever start, most goals in a season and highest points tally have emphasised the quality through the Glory ranks. On a personal level, Gill’s five goals in a game against Western Sydney Wanderers was the most scored by a player in a single match since the competition started in 2008.
Of course, Grand Final success is the ultimate accolade and Glory remain focused on the task ahead.
“We set out to do as well as possible and to see if we can win the competition but we didn’t go out to achieve all these milestones along the way,” Gill said. “It’s fantastic that we’ve made history for the club but the job isn’t finished.”
Westfield W-League semi-final
Perth Glory Women v Sydney Women
Sunday, December 14
Kick-off 12pm
www.ticketmaster.com.au
