Above: Sally James speaks to the press on her return to Canberra. Image: Canberra United.
By Ryan Miller-Woods (10/11/24).
When Sally James was announced as Antoni Jagarinec’s first signing as Canberra United Head Coach for the upcoming A-League Women’s season back in August, returning where it all began for her in the league, it was a signing that both parties knew was going to happen the moment that Jagarinec was appointed.
James, who has made 21 appearances in the A-League Women, made her Canberra debut back in 2020, as well as having had stints with Melbourne City and Perth Glory. She’ll most importantly be looking for regular game time this season, something that she wasn’t able to get with Glory last season where she was up against Morgan Aquino, and only made two appearances for Perth as a result.
Being back in Canberra should allow James to showcase exactly what’s she made of and have the opportunity to really shine between the sticks.
When asked what is it about getting to play under Jagarinec that excites James, she said, “to be honest, when I first had Ant as my coach, I was pretty close to quitting football. I was going to trade it for the ‘Sherrin’, I was going to play AFL and I moved to Belco (Belconnen United) and he revitalised my love for the game and I feel like you have to repay someone who helps you do that. So, it was a no-brainer.”
With the return to Canberra for James three years on from the last time she was with United, she’ll be utilising what she learnt at both City and Glory to her advantage this season.
Reflecting on her progress since last being at the club, the goalkeeper said: “I think when I left, I was 17 or 18, I was quite young, I was quite shy. I’d like to think I’ve come out of my shell a little bit more than now.
“I think I’ve learnt a lot of lessons from the different places I’ve been, that’s something I’m super excited to bring into the season this year.
“I just want to play football with my friends, boiling it down to just the simple things. I think when you overcomplicate it, sometimes you try and set too many goals. You can get yourself into a bit of trouble because it can feel like you’re falling short if you don’t reach them. Just keeping it simple, have fun, play football, help the team win.”
Despite Canberra going into the new campaign on the back of a challenging off-season, their transfers and re-signings during have to be highly commended. There has been the retention of club legend and all-time leading A-League Women’s goalscorer Michelle Heyman, new signings such as Liz Anton, Maja Markovski, Emma Robers, and Jynaya dos Santos, as well as players that had previously been with the club returning like Bethany Gordon and James.
Jagarinec was clear that bringing James back to the club was a priority. “Working with her before, I understand and appreciate her work rate, her level of commitment, her professionalism and from a personal point of view want to help her grow even further.
“She’s got ambitions herself like all the players do and I want to be a part of that process with her.”
Something that has been apparent with Canberra over the last couple of seasons is that when they attack, they make it count. For instance, last season they had the fourth most goals scored in the regular season with 39.
Conversely, their defence has been their undoing after conceding the second most goals with 47 last term (only Adelaide United conceded more goals with 56).
Reflecting on the need to balance potent attack with strong defence, Jagarinec said, “We had a good base obviously with Michelle (Heyman). We had players (that) were always going to be able to attack, but there was a heavy focus on what we can do when we don’t have the ball and to stop conceding goals.
“Ultimately, we don’t concede a goal this season but if that’s not the reality, we need to make sure we concede a lot less than we did.”
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