“I think it helps,” Catley said of the familiarity. “I mean, it also gives them the same sort of upper hand because they know us really, really well. So I think that makes it a little tricky, in that sense you kind of play mind games.”
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The match against England will also be another episode in the saga on who will be named Matildas captain now that Sam Kerr has returned to the squad. With Hayley Raso given the armband for her 100th Matildas match against Wales on the weekend, Kerr missed out. But Catley, who was vice captain before Kerr’s ACL injury and captain for the two years that Kerr was sidelined, said the striker’s reappointment was inevitable.
“The way I see it is Sam’s always been our captain. I am the vice captain, and she’s been out for two years. It does seem to be a point of interest but not so much within our camp. It’s not something that Sam and I have sat and discussed at all. I think it’s something that has just sort of felt like a given,” Catley said.
“And now she’s back, she’s stepping back into the captaincy role as she should, and we all support her through all of that, and I’ll always be her number one supporter and her vice captain working with her to get the most out of our team.”
