Melbourne City FC can today confirm that captain Steph Catley will return to the Club ahead of the Westfield W-League 2019/20 season.
The 25-year-old joins the Club on a one-year loan deal from National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) side Seattle Reign FC.
Catley joins fellow Westfield Matildas, Lydia Williams, Emily van Egmond, Emma Checker, Ellie Carpenter and Kyah Simon to commit to the Club ahead of the upcoming season.
A fearless leader of the Club in recent seasons, Catley’s return provides a huge boost to the squad as the Club seeks a return to challenging for the title.
Speaking on Catley’s re-signing, Head Coach Rado Vidosic said: “We are delighted to welcome Steph back to the Club.”
“As our captain, Steph has shown her incredible leadership qualities both on and off the pitch. She’s a two-time championship-winning captain of our Club, and a leader that helps drive both the youngsters and senior players on our list – she’s a great role model that sets an example for her teammates in the locker room.
“Steph is a world-class fullback, with a winning mentality and a strong drive to succeed. Her distribution is up there with the best in the league, as is her ability to work tirelessly on the wings to assist both in defence and attack.”
Speaking on her return, Steph Catley said: “I’m extremely pleased to return to Melbourne City for another season.”
“We’ve assembled a really strong squad for the upcoming season, and as a team, we’re determined to return to playing finals football.
“I’m proud to wear the captain’s armband for another year and I believe that we can achieve something special this season.”
The Matildas vice-captain was handed City’s captaincy as a 22-year-old in the Club’s second season. An inaugural member of the team, Catley drove City’s title defence in her first season with the armband on and would go on to lead the Club to a historic championship three-peat.
From the beginning, Catley has been an integral leader and performer in the team that created history as the first side in either the Hyundai A-League or Westfield W-League to make it back-to-back-to-back championship wins.
The fullback returns to Melbourne following the completion of the NWSL where she had another strong campaign with Seattle. Despite suffering a hand injury at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, where she was one of Australia’s standout performers, the explosive left-back has continued her strong run of form throughout the season.
With 75 caps for the Australian national team and over 100 W-League appearances, the championship-winning captain will yet again bring great leadership and experience to the squad.
Melbourne City FC’s 2019/20 Westfield W-League squad to date: Lydia Williams, Melissa Barbieri, Lauren Barnes, Steph Catley, Emma Checker, Emily Van Egmond, Rhali Dobson, Ellie Carpenter, Chelsea Blissett, Sofia Sakalis, Nia Stamatopoulos, Tyla-Jay Vlajnic, Yukari Kinga, Kyah Simon.
