By: Jeremy Magan

Grace Field admits “falling out of love” with football after her Westfield W-League career but now she is ready to rediscover her passion for the game. 

The former Canberra United defender, who made 17 Westfield W-League appearances for the club, will return to the field this NPLW season when she reunites with old teammates Grace Gill, Krista Hagen and Alice Churchill at Canberra Croatia FC. 

Field said her decision to come back was motivated by the great culture at the Deakin club. 

"I think I fell out of love with football a little bit," she said. "It became a bit of a routine turning up to training, turning up to games and I didn't quite have that passion in me. 

"Back when I was at Canberra United, I had to juggle a part-time job, uni and my football. I needed to spend time getting my degree, doing my placements.

"Coming back again this year, it is really about having just loving the game again. I just want to enjoy my football again and have some fun and I think I'm at the right club to do that."

Make no mistake, Field did not stop playing. She just simply moved indoors.

“I love playing futsal, it is a really fun, fast game," she said. "It is a short sharp game, with lots of touches on the ball, which helped me keep fit." 

Field admits feeling a mixture of nerves and excitement about her comeback. 

"It has been a little while now since I have played 11-aside so I'm excited and really looking forward amongst those nerves," she said. 

“I want to perform for the team more than anything. There is such a great culture here." 

That culture and the team spirit showed during the unexpected break in March and April.

“We were disappointed about the temporary suspension of football but we had a bit of fun with it," Field shared.

"Grace [Gill] and Alice [Churchill] would send us individual training sessions and we had to take a selfie of our training or with our dog at the oval!

"Now that training has returned, Nik Brozinic squeezed four months of conditioning into one so we have had very sharp training sessions." 

Canberra Croatia FC reached the NPLW Grand Final last season before losing to Belconnen United in heartbreaking fashion. Field believes her new team can go one better this year. 

“The priority is to have fun with a great bunch of girls, and if we do that the results will follow," she said. "We have a lot of talent across the board.

"If we implement our style of play consistently against the stronger team in the competition, I can’t see why we can’t go one better this coming year." 

The objectives are clear: winning the NPLW, a competition Field is proud to be part of.

"The women’s game is growing amazingly," she said. "Big clubs in Canberra like Belconnen and CCFC are really taking the time to put together programs that support women’s football and gives us the support we really need to perform. 

"Football in Canberra is really moving in the right direction." 

The same is true nation-wide, with the FIFA Women’s World Cup set to be hosted by Australia and New Zealand in 2023.

“Such exciting news," Field said. “It will provide an amazing opportunity for the Australian people to have exposure to women’s football and to experience the passion of the game.

"I am excited to see how it inspires our young female footballers!"