by Ben Gilby (5/12/24)
Above: Casey Dumont talking to the media this week. Image: Perth Glory.
Perth Glory’s Casey Dumont is preparing to make history this weekend, when she becomes the first goalkeeper to play 150 games in the history of the W/A-League Women.
The 32-year-old has been part of the league since its inaugural season in 2008, and has played for Brisbane Roar, Sydney FC, Western Sydney Wanderers, Melbourne Victory and Central Coast Mariners prior to moving to Western Australia for this season.
It’s fitting that her milestone appearance will come against a Melbourne Victory side that she played over a third of those games for, winning two Premierships in the process.
Reflecting on her achievement, Dumont said: “I think I will be the first goalkeeper to hit that milestone, and that makes me very proud…to have that moment will be awesome. I think I will have that breather and actually accept it once the game has finished because we have a job and that job is to match (Melbourne) Victory and come away with the points.
“It’s really nice to know that the young 15-year-old Casey who started out many years ago is finally hitting one of the biggest milestones that will ever happen in women’s football in Australia.”
Dumont has been one of a select handful of players who played in the first season of the competition and is still going strong. In terms of the differences from the very first campaign 16 years ago to now, the Matildas capped keeper said: “It’s chalk and cheese.
“It’s a massive difference. I think back then we were still classed as amateurs. We had contracts, but they weren’t really classed as contracts as you were playing because you loved it. There was no salary, if you couldn’t make training because you had work, it was understandable.
“Also, the very first season was only 10 games, then you had two Finals. That was it. Twelve games in total compared to now, we’re up to 23 which is huge…there’s still a lot more growing to happen and it needs to happen very quickly because other codes have started to overtake massively.
“From the beginning to now, I’m very thankful that I’ve been able to watch the people come through and retire, but also these young ones having that experience and have that dream of ‘I can be a professional soccer player and I can be in my home rather than going international.’
“Now we have clubs saying ‘we’re doing this’ and other clubs are, like, ‘ooh, we need to step up now’.”
Dumont’s 150th match will coincide with just her second game for Perth Glory. Having signed in pre-season, the goalkeeper was unable to join up with the Western Australian side until the recent Unite Round due to her AFLW (women’s Australian Rules Football) commitments with Hawthorn, who went two weeks into Finals football. This led to a rather ‘in the deep end’ baptism to life at the Glory, as she revealed with a smile
“So I flew in on the Thursday, trained the Friday and Saturday, and then flew with the team (to Sydney) on Saturday and played on Sunday.”
“I think it’s quite unique, there’s not many people who have to deal with this scenario, of Hawthorn and Perth, and then (I had) the experience with Central Coast (last season), so I knew what I had to do to make sure I wasn’t rusty, as well as Hawthorn are awesome…and that my body was maintained well and I was able to do both codes. I’m very lucky in being a goalkeeper, it helps with AFL with the hand and eye coordination.”
It meant that the Sydney-born shot-stopper was still coming up to speed with the identity of her new teammates – and it came with some comic moments. “I do the homework beforehand – making sure I matched the faces to the names, but things like the nicknames were hard – when people are saying the nicknames, or the last names, I’m, like, ‘who…is…that…?!'”
Perth go into Sunday’s game, their first at their new home of the Sam Kerr Football Centre on the back of a positive performance against Canberra United. They have, though, only recorded one win this season, and will have to be at their best against a Victory side who have taken seven points from a possible 12 so far.
Looking ahead to the game, Dumont said: “We just need to focus on our game plan. If we do that, then we’ll be very pleased with our performance…we’ve had glimpses (so far this season) when it’s been amazing and had moments where we’ve just switched off a little, or go passive. If we stick to what we’ve been told to do, then we’ll come away with what we need to come away with.
“We need to make sure we’re switched on and ready for them because they are a bit of a surprise package. They come up with combinations that you didn’t think they were planning for…rest defence is going to be important, but I think our attacks can be lethal when we have all our attackers working in trios…it can be anyone’s game.”
Follow Impetus on social media –
Twitter (X): @impetusfootball TikTok: @impetusfootball
Instagram: @impetusfootball : @impetusfootball
impetusfootball.org 