After putting in her best defensive shift for the season, young Melbourne Victory centre-back Emma Checker has acknowledged the strength within the spine of the side, which has started to come into its own in recent weeks.
Leading the charge further afield during Sunday’s 4-0 win over Adelaide United were midfielders Christine Nairn and Amy Jackson, both of whom were not with the side in season 2013-14.
It’s a returning player that’s had the biggest impact on Checker in recent weeks, her defensive partner Lauren Barnes, who we saw play a more advanced role in midfield during her guest stint last season.
“I think [Barnes] has definitely taught me a lot and having her experience next to me is really helping me play as well,” Checker said in the aftermath of their victory at Lakeside.
“Having her help me hold the line and just being a really good communicator on the field, I couldn’t ask for anyone better next to me.”
The defender reserved plenty of praise for the aforementioned Nairn and Jackson, who between them contributed all four goals.
“Having AJ [Amy Jackson] back [on Sunday] was amazing. She’s shown some really good performances in the past 4-5 games now,” she said.
“Christine [Nairn’s] had a massive influence on the team and she’s definitely a really good impact player. We’re really enjoying having both of them of the field.”
Checker was a little more modest in her assessment of her personal performance, stressing that while the first clean sheet for the season was important, there’s still plenty to work on.
“It’s always a goal as a defensive unit to keep a clean sheet and I think it reflects on the performance [against Adelaide] which was really good. Obviously it was a step up from the past few weeks.
“I think I did alright. There are still things I need to work on and obviously one of my aims was a clean-sheet so I’ve ticked that off. But I’ve got to go back and work on a couple of other things this week.”
With just over half a season still left to play, one eye is firmly on the finals series, and the aim within the camp is a simple one, go back-to-back with the W-League championship.
“It’s hard to say but our goal is to back it up and do what we did last year.
“So if we can keep playing how we are at the moment, I don’t see any reason why that can’t happen.”