Football Federation Victoria (FFV) is pleased to announce that a record number of Victorian’s have been identified as potential future Matildas with three selected for a Young Matildas camp this month and a further five identified as future prospects.

The girls were identified at the annual Talent Identification competition, the National Youth Championships (NYC) in Sydney last month.

Mayka Ruyter-Hooley, Amy Jackson and Meaghan Archer were picked by a panel of selectors and will now be tested by National coach Tom Sermani in a selection camp later this month.

National Training Centre (NTC) coach Harry Chalkitis says the fact that three Victorian’s were selected is great news for the sport in this state.
“We have never had any players selected for camp as a result of their performance in the NYCs and the fact that we got three players identified speaks for itself,” said Chalkitis.

“The girls will now have to work hard to ensure they take the next step and keep improving,” added Chalkitis.

A further five Victorian U-16 players were also targeted as future prospects and although there are no International competitions relevant to their age group they are in line as the next Young Matildas.

Annabelle Gibney, Rita Mankowska, Melanie Camilleri, Katie Neville and Michaela Hutchinson have all been flagged as potential Australian representatives and will need to keep improving keep up to the competition.

“The Under-16s are all very talented and were very successful for the second year in a row, which says something about the talent coming through the ranks,” added Chalkitis.

The selected Under-18 girls will go into camp at the end of the month.

U-18 Selected Victorians:
Mayka Ruyter-Hooley (Bendigo)
Amy Jackson (Altona Medows)
Meghan Archer (Balwyn)
U-16 Identified Victorians:
Annabelle Gibney (South Caulfield)
Rita Makowska (Clifton Hill)
Melanie Camilleri (St Albans)
Katie Neville (Bell Park)
Michaela Hutchinson (Morwell)