Central Coast Mariners star Jessika Nash is back on the Coast after her second and third Matildas appearances last week, and is raring to go again in the Ninja A-League.
The Mariners return to action this weekend, taking on Brisbane Roar away from home, before returning to Our Paradise next week to host Western United.
Emily Husband’s side remain unbeaten, with Nash an ever-present in the heart of our defence earning herself a second Matildas call-up.
The 19-year-old defender arrived on the Coast ahead of the 2024/25 season with ambitions of progressing her game to the next level and pushing towards Matildas selection again, and she achieved that after just two months with the club.
On international duty last week, Nash was introduced in the 87th minute against Chinese Taipei as the Matildas won 3-1, her first international appearance since her Matildas debut as a 17-year-old.
She then got a 30-minute run out against the same opposition as the Matildas ran out 6-0 winners, replacing retiring legend Clare Polkinghorne.
Nash reflected on a ‘special’ experience and how valuable minutes at the top level are, as she continues her learning and development:
“It’s always an honour to represent your national team, but to step up into the senior women’s national team is special for me to be back in that place.” Nash said.
“I know that’s where I’ll do a lot of learning so I took a lot of information from there and hopefully I can bring it back to the A-League and portray why I should be in that team in the first place,” she added.
After returning back from Matildas duty, Nash will be on her travels again with the Mariners this weekend for another tough match as we take on Brisbane:
“They look like a great team, they like to play possession based football but for us we’ll be reflecting on our performance against Canberra and what we can do better, when we put our best performance in on the day we can beat any team.” Nash said.
“Working under Em and with these girls has been incredible it’s been like a second family, to show up every day and love what I do, it’s easy, so credit to them. It’s been an incredible season so far and I hope we just keep building.”
Head to our official YouTube channel for more from Jess ahead of our trip to Brisbane Roar. She reflects on our previous win against Canberra United, discusses her relationship at the back with Ash Irwin and explains more about our preparation to face Brisbane.
Emily Husband: “It’s exciting for us as a club”
Husband said how important it is for the league to be represented on the international stage and how proud the whole club is to see Jess in the Matildas.
“It’s good to have our players in the A-League given those opportunities on the international stage, you put the opportunity in their hand and it’s up to them to take it.” Husband said.
“It’s great for Nashy to get her second and third appearances, we want to continue to push our players towards that path and it’s something exciting for her as an individual and for us as a club.”
Hear more from Emily as she gives an honest assessment of our unbeaten start to the season and discusses the team’s confidence in the build-up to Brisbane.
