Western United’s Aimee Medwin says having time away from the game last year after a serious knee injury proved to be a blessing in disguise.
Medwin got back and managed to get eight games at the back end of the season and it led into her first ever first A-League women’s pre-season.
She said having a full pre-season makes a massive difference.
“I took a lot out of it,” she said. “There are a lot of new players and it’s been really great for us.
“It’s something you value as a player. It gives you time to settle into different formations and the last few years I’ve changed positions.
“You can solidify knowledge in that area.”
Medwin said while missing the first part of last season with an ACL injury was hard, she was able to refresh.
She picked up where she had left off the year before.
“Coming back from a long term injury like an ACL, it’s a common theme where you feel really good,” she said.
“The time away was a blessing in disguise for me. The rehab process was as good as it was and I got back into the swing of things and played eight games at the end of the season.”
This season Medwin has taken on a more attacking role in the team.
It was a challenge she was loving and allowed her to show different sides of her game.
“It has been a bit of learning and training in a new attacking style,” she said. “I’m coming in and trying to be as aggressive and calm at the same time.
“It has been good. I enjoy the more attacking role. I’ve been a defender the last few years after being an attacker as a kid.
“Going forward I want to be a lot more creative and use my athletic traits and my strengths against the opposition and not have to defend an opponent as much.”
From a team perspective, Medwin said things had been going really well with a number of new faces.
She they had a good group of girls who were really supported.
Western has started the season with a win and a draw. It is set to face Melbourne Victory on Sunday.
Medwin said they had been happy with how things had been going.
“Against Central Coast it was a bit frustrating as we thought we could have scored and won the match,” she said.
“Against Wellington Phoenix we were happy. We’ve had some good performance and some good learning along the way.”
Medwin said for the next period it would be continuing to take the learnings out of it as they settle into the season.
“We want to keep the momentum rolling forward,” she said. “We want to keep the energy high and try new things.
“The coaches want us to try things and make mistakes as we go, the ethos of how we want to play.
“The opening rounds we are still figuring things out. We’ve got some bit matches coming up.”
