Tara Andrews: Making Newcastle proud

The first and only game we were up against Canberra this season sure was a good one. We played on Saturday, a day after the very disappointing effort from the men’s Jets the night before. I guess it was up to us women to make Newcastle proud.

The week leading up to the game was expected to be mentally and physically challenging after our loss to Perth. It is getting to the pointy end of the season and no team is guaranteed a spot in the finals except Perth who secured to minor premiership on the weekend.

Training is getting more intense and critical for everything we do. This is the time for fine tuning so we can get as many points as possible to try and make the semis.


At the start of the season, every team generally has the same desire to get into the top four and win the Grand Final because let’s be honest, that’s the main reasons we play, isn't it? We all long to get the success of winning a competition and the higher the level the more we want it and the more it means because you’ve worked that much harder to get there.

We don’t train nearly every day and stay in tip top shape to lose and I’ve never met anyone who likes to lose. People might have ulterior motives for playing such as staying fit or playing with friends but there will always be that craving to win in the back of everyone’s mind.

Obviously some people have a more competitive streak about them and that fuels the urge the constantly improve so you can win. Very few people back down with the chance to compete and gain power over your opponents.

Anything can happen on game day if you have more belief and the will to win than the other team, you may just overpower them even if they have a more talented team who are expected to win. Winning is never guaranteed.

So I know my team won’t back down in our remaining games. We will do anything we can to win and that is our ultimate goal.

Our game against Canberra proved that we aren’t just going to go through the paces but we will challenge and fight to stay in contention for a chance to makes the semis. We scored first with a bomb of a goal from our American midfielder Angela Salem but it was a short lived with Canberra getting a goal from a deflection off us not long after.

The scoreboard at half time was 2-1 to Canberra so the second half was sure to be a good battle; we fought back twice in the second half. They scored in the 87th minute to make it 3-2 but then I scored a header in the 89th minute to secure a 3-3 draw. It would have been a great game to watch and I heard some comments off people saying it was better to watch us than it was the men’s Jets the night before.


Tara Andrews is a long-time striker and current vice-captain for the Newcastle Jets, despite only being 20 years old, who recently spent time with the Colorado Pride and has represented Australia internationally with the Young Matildas. She previously held the record for the most goals scored in a W-League match with four against Adelaide United. Keep up with Tara's weekly blogs throughout the 2014/15 Westfield W-League season here.