Katrina Gorry is weaving through the middle of Marvel Stadium, casually slaloming past French defenders like a skiier on an unstoppable run.
Key points:
- Australia’s World Cup campaign kicks-off at 8pm on July 20, with the Matildas playing Ireland in Sydney
- The Matildas are grouped with Ireland, Nigeria and Canada and need to finish top two to advance
- The ABC will be broadcasting all matches live via ABC Sport digital and the Listen app, on top of daily live blogs
She’s making it look easy — but things haven’t always been this simple. And Gorry is far from a downhill skier.
The Matildas’ midfield dynamo has pondered giving football away more than once throughout her difficult journey.
Gorry’s rise included leaving Brisbane for Melbourne for game time at a young age, returning to the Roar, then becoming the AFC player of the year as a 22-year-old in 2014.
But in following years, Gorry dealt with fluctuating form and injuries, and later disclosed she had been in a running battle with eating disorders.
After fighting back from injury to play at the 2019 Women’s World Cup, Gorry started to fall out of love with the game.
“It was really tough. I was emotionally and physically in a pretty bad place,” Gorry said.
“I was pretty ready to hang up the boots.
“It was a bit of a rollercoaster — some days I loved it, some days I hated it. I started to resent it a little bit, just being away from my family all the time and things like that.
“When COVID hit and I got to spend a lot of time with my family and then moved over to Norway, I just felt that there was a missing piece to me.
“That’s when I started really thinking about having a baby and yeah, look at me now.”
For context, “now” is life as the happy mum to beaming toddler Harper, after undertaking IVF in Europe as a solo parent in 2020.
Gorry, 30, gave birth in 2021 and it’s all been on the up from there.
“Nothing could have gone better for me. I think it happened at a perfect time,” she said.
“It gave me time to fall back in love with the game. My priorities really shifted a lot and now I feel like I just do it because I love it.
“It’s nothing other than that, really for me, and we get to have a pretty incredible journey together now as well.”
Gorry plays for her family now.
That purpose has taken the weight of the world from her shoulders.
“The relationship with my body changed massively after I had Harper,” she said.
“The appreciation that I had just made me realise how amazing our bodies are and what I put it through for the couple of years before that.
“When I reflect on those times, to see how much I’ve changed, I don’t even feel like the same person really.
“When I’m on the field, a massive thing for me was just being in my head and I don’t find myself much in my head anymore at all.
“I just try and play with a smile on my face and just enjoy every moment I’m out there — because I was ready to hang up my boots.”
There’s been a big change on the field, too.
When Gorry returned to the fray last year, Tony Gustavsson told her she wouldn’t be the Matildas number 10.
Instead, Gorry would play as the deeper-lying number six.
It’s proved a revelation, with the diminutive, strong and clever midfielder providing the perfect counterbalance for explosive, skilful young gun Kyra Cooney-Cross.
“I’ve definitely enjoyed it,” Gorry said.
“My first thought was like, ‘I’m a bit of a risky player and I can’t really be a bit risky when I’m sitting in a six role’ but I think that adds to my six role. I do play a little bit risky as well, but when it pays off, it really pays off.
“As a midfielder I love defending. Midfielders usually love defending or love attacking but I really enjoy both. You can’t really make me pick between the two.
“I really enjoy being in the six — I get to be on the ball a lot, I get to make tackles and try and create things.”
Gorry has become Australia’s linchpin and will be crucial to their fortunes in Thursday’s World Cup opener against Ireland.
“I’ve been so in awe of her since she’s come back from her pregnancy,” vice-captain Steph Catley said.
“I’ve known her a long, long time ever since I was young playing at Melbourne Victory and the transformation is insane.
“I’ve always thought the world of her as a footballer, I’ve always thought she’s incredible, but she came back from her pregnancy levels and levels ahead of the player she was before — you just don’t ever expect that to happen.
“But the way she’s handled it, the way she is as a mum, that comes out on the field and she’s just this little warrior who is so technical, so smart.
“I don’t know how we ever played without her.”
The Women’s World Cup starts on July 20 with New Zealand v Norway at 5pm AEST, before Australia v Ireland at 8pm. The ABC will be live blogging each day of play and broadcasting every game live.
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