by Ben Gilby (16/1/25)
Above: Caitlin Doeglas speaking to the media earlier today. Image: Perth Glory.
It was the stuff of fairytales. Coming back to the A-League Women with Perth Glory after three years away. Making a 50th appearance. Scoring a goal. Caitlin Doeglas did it all last Friday.
Reflecting on her comeback game in a purple shirt after coming in on an injury replacement contract against Sydney FC, attacker Caitlin Doeglas was full of smiles.
“I was never expecting it. For it to be my 50th (W/A-League Women appearance) and then score – I was so happy with how it went.”
The attacker had been training with the squad for several weeks before injuries struck the Western Australian side’s front line. Sarah O’Donoghue and Kelli Brown were both struck down, and Doeglas was offered a contract to replace the latter player.
“I was just training with the girls, they have such a great environment down here. Having a lot of fun, and really relaxed. Obviously, it wasn’t under the best of circumstances with all the injuries, but I’m happy to step up.
“I was purely in shock. I think I just said ‘Oh wow!’ and then didn’t say anything for a little while! Then I rang my mum and the tears came. I’ve worked so, so hard for this – it was just the best feeling.”
The 28-year-old’s return to Perth Glory came after a tough three years. Doeglas injured her ACL for the second time. Her determination to prove herself once again shone throughout.
“I always knew I would come back better and stronger because I did so much rehab. I worked really really hard on that. The season after, I went to the NPL in Sydney and played there. They have one of the best leagues in Australia.
“I did well there, I really surprised myself and proved to myself that I can still stick it to some of the best young players in Australia. I knew I could possibly still be part of an A-League team, but to get a call-up and for everything to fall into place, has just been the best.”
The attacker then returned to her hometown to play a prominent part in Perth RedStar’s NPLW WA side last season which won the championship and the Top Four Cup Final. Doeglas was in sparkling form throughout and was clearly loving every minute of it. However, starring in the NPLW is one thing, but hitting the back of the net in the A-League Women is quite another.
“It’s definitely been an adjustment. Now it’s a full-time gig. When I was last here, it was just training in the afternoons and you did your day job…Now it’s more full-time which is great. It shows the league is growing and we’re getting closer to where we want it to be.
“The facilities – it’s so nice (now). In the morning we can have our field session and have showers and ice baths. We have a gym here. That’s the biggest difference for us. Previously, we only had the field sessions and that was as far as it went, so it shows how just in three years how big a jump the league has had, and it’s only going to go up from here.”
Doeglas really hit the ground running against Sydney last week, offering Perth the sort of outlet and deadly finishing that had been missing since the injuries struck. She also has the experience of being part of several Glory sides who have won at Victory. Something she is aiming to achieve once more on Saturday.
“Melbourne Victory have been really consistent through the years…they’ve done some really good recruiting, they have (Emily) Gielnik back in and it’s going to be a really tough encounter. We’re going to give it our best shot, and that’s all we can do.
“They’re tactically very strong, physically very strong. The training we’ve done this week has been really, really good, we’ve got some good momentum going into this game. I think we did really well against Sydney and with a few minor tweaks we can give Victory a really good run for their money…I hope I can bring a bit of that ‘beating Victory’ experience along!”
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