WA State Girls progress encourages Ord

Football West News 1754371388,1754374303

WA’s performances at the recent CommBank Emerging Matildas Championships brought instant recognition with Sakura Leong joining Theo Mouithys in the latest Junior Matildas squad.

The Hyundai Football West Academy pair were confirmed in head coach Michael Cooper’s 23-player squad for the ASEAN U16 Girls' Championship 2025 to be held in Indonesia between 18-29 August.

While Mouithys was named for a Junior Matildas camp in April, Leong’s call-up comes after her displays in Sydney with the State U16s.

Football West Football Development Officer Andrew Ord congratulated both players and looked forward to more staking their claims.

Theo Mouithys is also in the junior Matildas squad. Photo by Football Australia/Ann Odong

Ord, who was assistant to U15s head coach Courtney Owen at the championships, said: “If you take my time over the years with the boys, I have always known our better players are good enough to be in contention for Junior National Teams.

“I feel those who stay hungry instead of being content to be a big fish in a small pond are the ones who can make that leap. You need to stand out when it counts and the program this year has focused on getting players out of their comfort zones and being used to a level of pressure.

“This process has now become a new normal, so we will be looking at ways to elevate this in our environment in the coming months. A big part of my job as Program Lead is to make sure our best players get into the national set-ups and that the FA coaches like what we are producing, so they get repeat call-ups.”

WA State Team U15s — The WA Girls State U15s. Photo by Football Australia/Ann Odong

Aside from the selections for Mouithys and Leong, Ord said there were other positives to take from the Emerging Matildas Championships.

“At times we showed we can mix it with the best,” Ord said.

“The training plan that has been implemented shows plenty of encouraging signs, but the key is to keep striving to be better. That must come from Football West, the coaches, the players and even the parents to a certain degree; we all have a role to play.

“It was noticeable that the standard of the competition was higher than just one year ago, especially the quality of the goalkeepers.

“We certainly have some players that are very competitive at that level, so the challenge for us is to have a deeper pool of quality to choose from.”

WA State Team U16s — The WA Girls State U16s. Photo by Football Australia/Ann Odong

While neither the WA U15s nor U16s made their respective semi-finals, Ord said the feedback from national scouts was encouraging.

“Two things were commented on. Firstly, how well organised our teams were. We attacked as a team and defended as a team, which is modern football.

“Also, it became clear as the week went on how we physically were able to cope with the repeated games, which is a credit to the players and staff, as that has been one of the focuses since pre-season.

“The next step for us is to consistently have more quality actions on the ball. Our first touch needs to be tighter, an ability to play well struck aerial passes over a medium distance along with crossing and finishing are areas that will get a lot of attention before the next edition.

“Overall, I am content with the progress made and the aim, as always, is to keep improving.”