I really think we are gonna miss Grace Jale.
ex-Nix: Where/what are they now? [ALW Edition]
I really think we are gonna miss Grace Jale.
Guess she has opted not to go the US College route then?
Director of football Shaun Gill said she was presented with numerous options for next season, including a multi-year profession contract, but informed the club last month that she would not be returning.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/fifa-womens-world-cup-2023/132527234/football-ferns-rising-star-milly-clegg-not-returning-to-wellington-phoenix
Milly Ibrahimovich? Milly doesn’t do trials…
Is it better to see our best at the Nix or to have more Kiwis playing?
Hopefully on both sides of the club we can do a bit more of both!
So she has moved purely for footballing reasons, not financial.
The Wanderers coach Kat Smith must have promised her she could play in her preferred position, which the Nix wouldn't.
Who knows? Maybe she has family in Sydney.
Charlotte Lancaster running around up front for Eastern Suburbs as well.
I see, she is in familiar territory. With Lewes currently sitting bottom of the Championship after 5 games.
Now WSW have changed their coach, 10 days out from the season
Western Sydney Wanderers replace their head coach 10 days out from the start of the new season. https://t.co/g6x5P0E26L
— Phillip Rollo (@ByPhillipRollo) October 4, 2023
I see, she is in familiar territory. With Lewes currently sitting bottom of the Championship after 5 games.
Overrated. Not worth the Investment NZF made in getting her badged up
Even Darije Kalezić still gets mentioned here from time to time.
Now WSW have changed their coach, 10 days out from the season
JALE GOES BANG 💥
— Paramount+ Australia (@ParamountPlusAU) October 14, 2023
An unstoppable strike from the @NZ_Football Fern on her @PerthGloryFC debut 🤯
Watch #PERvWUN live on Paramount+ 📺 pic.twitter.com/ZdM0EsGHmf
Now WSW have changed their coach, 10 days out from the season
Had been wondering why Milly Clegg didn’t play, turns out it was a technicality in the rules 🤷♂️
— The Niche Cache (@thenichecache) October 15, 2023
Btw this won’t affect Ruby Nathan at Canberra Utd as she turned 18 last week https://t.co/CiDQpqL3Vc
Williams and Nash both miss out from injuries picked up last week. Courtney Newbon makes her first Victory start while Geo Candy joins the Club as an injury replacement goalkeeper.
— Melbourne Victory (@gomvfc) January 12, 2024
She competed at the 2023 World Cup, and now this 18-year-old New Zealand international is the youngest-ever signing for #RacingLou! 🇳🇿
— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) January 22, 2024
Welcome, Milly Clegg!
Makes the move stateside to Racing Louisville.
So much for being injured I guess. 🙃
*Edit - See she's still injured, but will continue her recovery at home and in the US before the season gets underway over there.
She competed at the 2023 World Cup, and now this 18-year-old New Zealand international is the youngest-ever signing for #RacingLou! 🇳🇿
— Racing Louisville FC (@RacingLouFC) January 22, 2024
Welcome, Milly Clegg!
Makes the move stateside to Racing Louisville.
So much for being injured I guess. 🙃
*Edit - See she's still injured, but will continue her recovery at home and in the US before the season gets underway over there.
Nice gig for someone injured.
It's going to be a weakened squad in Samoa (outside FIFA window). She would be picked if fit, and Racing Louisville okay it. But given it's such a big opportunity for her stateside, probably best to just bypass Apia - Ferns will cruise through tourney and qualify for Paris anyway.
Couple of thoughts on this.
1. Just goes to show if you want to be a pro and you are good enough you don't need to go through the US College system and spend 4 years playing amateur youth football.
2. Wonder if she will actually get much game time. Aussie, Alex Chidiac (won Julie Dolan medal last year as best ALW player) played for them last season. Didn't get much game time and has now returned to ALW.
Either way. Fantastic move for an 18 year old. She just needs a few lucky breaks to go her way after a torrid time at WSW.
A first Liberty A-League goal for Isabel Gomez, and what a goal is was! 🤯#CCMFC #BeOurMate pic.twitter.com/dJkWokQqH3
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners) January 23, 2024
And now with the Nix ALW team, soon to be Auckland womens pro team, plus most Aussie ALW teams having at least one NZer - there are sound local pathways to pro football if you are good enough.
So if football is more a focus than education, then nowadays best avoid taking the US College route. I imagine a lot of the younger Nix girls are doing part time (if not free) study at Vic Uni anyway. From memory Whinham & Clegg did initially sign amateur deals with the Nix, so keeping the US College path there as an option in need.
Could be soon, that it's young girls the next level down who either don't make national age group teams, or struggle to get game time at age group WCs - who are those who end up going to a US College, ie decide to focus more on the free quality education than the football.
https://theniche-cache.com/football/2024/1/10/looking-back-at-new-zealands-u17-world-cup-bronze-medallists-five-years-later
Gabi Rennie (Arizona State/Indiana), Genevieve Ryan (Rider U), and Maggie Jenkins (Central Florida) have gone the distance (at US Colleges), while Blair Currie (Spring Arbor) and Amelia Abbott (U of Texas) each have one more year. As does Aniela Jensen (UC Pacific) while Rylee Godbold (Wofford) has two more – both of them were standby members of this squad.
.............Obviously Maya Hahn is no longer eligible for NZ having moved to Germany to chase that dream instead. Hahn has had a busy time of things since embracing her Germanity. In her three years at Oregon, she made 41 appearances albeit only 8 of them were starts. Three goals and an assist. Amongst that she popped back over to Germany to play at SV Meppen for a handful of Bundesliga games (playing in one of the best leagues in the world yet unable to get regular college starts... there’s another one for you in The Case Against the NCAA).
https://play-images-prod-cms.tech.tvnz.co.nz/shows/seven-sharp/clips/football-ferns-heart-surgery-success-story
During Girls and Women’s Month, Ford Football Fern Emma Rolston visited a MILO Fantails Festival at Māngere Centre Park hosted by Northern Region Football. #GirlsInFootball #FutureFootballFerns #MILO #MILOFantails pic.twitter.com/VOs9DBOLil
— New Zealand Football 🇳🇿 (@NZ_Football) March 26, 2024