Ben Gilby continues his series profiling our Glory A-League Women’s squad with a feature on club skipper, Izzy Dalton.
For co-captain Izzy Dalton, it’s been a season of mixed emotions which saw Glory having to deal with a seemingly never-ending injury list and yet somehow manage to remain in the Finals race until the last two weeks of the campaign.
“When you put the season into context of what we have had to deal with on an injury front,” she said, “there have been many positives that we can reflect on and be proud of.
“In saying that, we are aware there is work that needs to be done for us to be more competitive.
“All season long, Stephen [Peters, Head Coach] didn’t get a single opportunity to pick from a fully fit squad.
“Unfortunately, so many of the injuries we had were three or four weeks or longer and it was one player after the next, so it derailed any momentum and continuity that we could get.”
But for Dalton, those frustrations are mixed with a sense of pride in the way a large number of young players, many of them locally produced, seized their chance to impress at senior level.
“A lot of our younger players have been given opportunity and responsibility and a lot of them have thrived within that,” she said.
“That probably speaks to the willingness of these young players who want to learn and develop and I think if that continues, these girls will be the future of this club.
“I think one of the biggest eye openers for me since joining Glory has been the pool of talent that is in this younger age group of local Perth girls.
“Being out west, I am a firm believer that these girls are being overlooked on the national youth teams front for the quality they possess and it’s a shame.
“Off the pitch, I couldn’t speak highly enough of all of them; they are humble and kind girls.”
It was another local, albeit one who has been a major part of the scene in the state for much longer, who provided Dalton with a takeaway moment from the campaign.
“My highlight of the season was actually Caitlin Doeglas’ return to the Glory,” she said.
“I didn’t know her personally before this season, but I think everyone could see how much it meant to her to put the Glory shirt back on.
“And to come up with goals and hit her 50th appearance, whilst doing it was the cherry on top.”
At a personal level, this was the midfielder’s first campaign as the club captain and it has been an experience that she looks back on with pride.
“I feel I have developed my game a lot this year on the defensive side of getting stuck in and trying to lead by example through hard work,” she said.
“In terms of being captain, it has been very rewarding as I am very proud to put on a Glory shirt alone, so to lead the girls and be the captain of this club makes it even more special.”
One challenge Glory were ultimately unable to overcome this year was replicating their relatively strong home form on the road and Dalton finds it hard to explain the disparity in results.
“I’m not entirely sure as to the exact reasoning,” she said.
“Of course, there are the factors of travel, time differences and so on which really do take their toll and potentially contribute to some of those away defeats.
“I know our staff put a lot of effort into trying to make away trips run as smoothly as possible, so finding those 1% differences that can take some of the load off the travel will continue to help.
“I do believe a large part also falls to a mind-set shift to start believing that we are capable of winning on the road.”
There were many times this season, particularly at home, when this Glory side showed what potential they have.
With time now for reflection and looking at priorities to ensure that this potential is realised next season, the skipper offered her own thoughts on aspects to focus on.
“We have lost games by small margins this year,” she said, “so I think becoming more cohesive will allow us to stay in games for longer, play a more structured style and pick up more results.
“Of course, scoring more goals and conceding less is necessary, but I think getting the team healthy and fit will allow for some more consistency, which I believe will help get us into the top six.”
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