By Tara Murray
Spring Hills is excited for the new challenge that awaits in the National Premier League Women’s competition.
After progressing through the ranks, Spring Hills will play in the state’s top flight for the first time this year. They are the top western suburbs team this year.
Coach Tom Markovski said the club was excited ahead of its first game on Friday night against Preston Lions.
“We’re excited and nervous,” he said. “We’re looking at it as a step up and make sure the girls are up to it
“We’re looking forward to it.”
Markovski said they had strengthened their squad, adding about seven players to the mix.
He said they needed to add some more depth to the squad as they progressed up the ranks.
“There’s no really big names,” he said. “All players that will play a role.
“We almost got in a big name but she has moved off to Norway to play.”
Julia Budiongo, Cristina Sousa, Bella Stringfellow, Olivia De La Plaza-Sanchez, Sophie Papalia, Olivia Anderson and Rachel Gillies are among the signings.
Markovski has continued to press through the youth at the club, which has been a focus since day one.
“We have got a few youngsters playing there,” he said. “We want to blend in the experience and hopefully it does well into the season.”
Despite being their first season in the top flight, Markovski said they still had high expectations on what they could achieve.
“In the first three rounds we play teams that were top four teams last season,” he said. “It’ll be good to see where we are at.
“We can set things up. We will try and win every game and ideally aiming for the top four and see what happens.
“If you make the top four, you play finals and that is where we want to be.”
Across the female program, Markovski said things were going well.
The club was one of six clubs in August awarded junior girls NPL licenses for 2025.
The club was selected for its outstanding commitment to developing young female talent and its ability to provide a clear pathway for players to progress within the sport.
“It’s really good to have the girls in the NPL as well,” Markovski said. “The under-15s have played six games and had just one loss.
“We’ve got under-17s and under-13s as well. They’re coming up from a community club and it is a challenge to get the girls to this stage. It has been good.”
Markovski said they had more teams again this season and had outgrown their current facilities.
He said he knew seven to 10 years ago that they would continue to grow and get to that stage.
“We’ve come a long way.”
