Star player Jess Fishlock ready to defend Melbourne City's title

Welsh international football player Jess Fishlock has returned to Melbourne City for the season with one clear intent - retaining the W-League title.

Jess Fishlock

Melbourne City marquee player Jess Fishlock. Source: SBS News

Returning to the Melbourne City pitch, in-demand Welsh international Jess Fishlock says she has the team, the support and the drive to win back to back W-League titles.

Fresh from the National Women's Soccer League season in the US, Fishlock has spent the best part of a decade representing teams across the UK, US, Australia and Europe.

She said her success was self-made.

"When I was growing up there was no pathways there was no way to be successful you just had to learn the game yourself and learn it the best ways you could," she told SBS News.

After debuting for Cardiff as a 16 year old - scoring 19 times in 23 appearances - she went on to the Bristol Academy where she was poached by Dutch Champions AZ Alkmaar, becoming the first overseas player in the Netherlands women's league.
Jess Fishlock at Melbourne City
Jess Fishlock is ready to help defend Melbourne City's title. Source: SBS
Since then, she's represented teams in Australia, the US, Scotland and Germany, as well as recording more than 80 international caps for Wales.

Fishlock also returns to City as an assistant coach, shouldering more duties this season than last, and the club has a lot to live up to following a record-setting debut in the 2015-16 season.

The club finished the season unbeaten and took home the title.
Two rounds into the current season, the team is still yet to lose a game in club history, but Fishlock said it would happen.

"It is inevitable," she said.

"Are City going to be unbeaten for their whole history? No, it's not going to happen I think if you actually believed that you'd put pressure on yourself."

The club attributes much of its success to the close alignment of the men's and women's teams, which sees the A-League and W-League share the same elite facilities and support staff.

Fishlock said this was one of the factors that attracted her to the club.

"The facilities we do have are great and initially that was the lure for me to come here, that I knew I'd be in good hands," she said.

"I'm solely here to defend the title, there's no doubt about that."

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2 min read

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By Abby Dinham



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