By Emma Burke 3/5/24
Melbourne City’s attack has looked unstoppable in recent weeks. Dangerous wingback Bryleeh Henry talks to Impetus Football about her change in position and season so far.
According to Bryleeh Henry, the result of Saturday’s A-League Women’s Grand Final between Melbourne City and Sydney FC will make for either “the best or the worst 21st ever,” as she celebrates her birthday the day after.
“It would be the best 21st birthday present ever, but I guess no matter if my birthday was the next day or not it’d be the same, I just really want to win that game,” she said.
Having won their two-legged semi-finals against Newcastle Jets with a six goal aggregate, Henry and her Melbourne City go into the Championship game as firm favourites. Henry’s pace and attacking ability were crucial to the win despite having played the game as a right back, a new position for her.
Playing in the right back slot under Dario Vidosic, City’s head coach, has allowed Henry to play with a new kind of freedom, one where she defends, but isn’t ruled out of joining the attack.
Luckily, while also being very good at it, the position change is something that Henry enjoys, having called it, “the best of both worlds.”
“I don’t really know how it started,” said Henry, who usually played in a midfield position and was previously used as a striker by her former club of Western Sydney Wanderers.
“Dario put me in right back at the end of that game [Against Brisbane Roar] and it sort of went okay, so then the next game he started me there.
“Since then it’s sort of stayed the same because it worked and that’s all that’s really to it I guess.”
Henry’s season is ending in complete opposition to the way it started. She partially tore her Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) in a training session only two weeks in, leaving her sidelined for two months.
“A couple of seasons ago, six games would have been the majority of the season. So you don’t really have time to make that comeback,” said Henry.
“The longer season really helped me out,” she said, as this is the first time ever that the A-League women have had a full home-and-away season.”
Henry credits her teammates’ competitiveness as a reason behind her recovery and progression as a player, having to fight to make her way back into the starting line-up on game days.
“At City, the facilities and the staff we have around us have been really good, so my rehab is probably one of the best I’ve done with my injuries so I was really lucky in that aspect.
“I’ve had to push myself and now it’s been good to be back and playing with a little bit more confidence as well.”
Back and seemingly better than ever, Henry played a full 90 minutes when City won the Premiers’ Plate against Perth Glory in the final game of the regular season.
“It’s the best feeling to get to the end of a long season and lift that trophy,” she said.
“We were really proud of ourselves, but I think our focus shifted really quickly to wanting to win the Grand Final.
“As a team it was really good and personally it was great. Some people don’t ever win a trophy in their whole career so I feel really privileged to be part of the team.”
Winning Saturday’s Grand Final would put a second piece of silverware in Henry’s trophy cabinet, one that she’s sure her team will be able to secure.
“It would be amazing, it’d be the icing on the cake I guess.
“The Premiership is obviously a big one because it shows throughout the season who’s been consistent. I think the Championship is really the big one, it’s the finals series there’s so much hype around it and it’s such a massive game so that would be amazing.”
When she looks at her future in football, her focus lies on doing what she needs to do to return to the senior national team.
“I really want to get back into the Matildas Squad. That would be, you know, a dream come true again,” she said, the ‘again,’ referring to her already having one senior cap already, when she appeared with the Matildas in a game against Brazil in 2020.
“I would love to go overseas as well and play. I think England would be the dream, but anywhere else overseas that is a really good league would be a dream come true as well.”
Henry has plenty of time to make playing overseas and for the Matildas happen, after all, she’s still only 20, for a few more days at least.
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