Not many people break records at the age of 14, but that’s what Talia Younis did in October last year.
In the second half of a game against the Wellington Phoenix, Younis – at 14 years, and 361 days old, she became the youngest player to appear in the A-League Women’s competition, breaking the record set by Sam Kerr.
Whilst Younis’ record was broken just two weeks later by teammate Ischia Brooking, it was still a fantastic achievement for such a talented youngster who came through the youth setup at the Wanderers.
“It was an honour to make my debut for this club,” Younis said.
“I’ve been here since I was 13, I’m very grateful for the coaches giving me this opportunity, whether it was starting or coming on [as a substitute].”
Younis got plenty of chances to impress last season, playing 15 times in the A-League Women’s season as the Wander Women fell agonisingly short of reaching a first finals campaign since 2020.
It was still a highly positive season for the club – especially considering coach Robbie Hooker only came into the role days before the season began – as they broke their points and goalscoring record, and had striker Sophie Harding win the Julie Dolan Medal for player of the year.
It could have been a daunting experience for such a young player like Younis to embed herself into an established squad of older players, but she says she was welcomed with open arms by the squad.
“It wasn’t too hard to settle with the team,” she said.
“[It’s a great bunch of girls, they’re top players, so it’s easier to play with high quality players.
“Pretty much everyone I got along with, and it was easy to do so because they’re all nice and they all welcomed me into the team, and they didn’t treat me any differently.”
She has done her best to absorb as much information from the experienced players around her, and singles out some players in particular as being helpful in her first ever season in the
A-League squad, with the adjustment being a tough one for some.
“It was definitely a big change,” she said, “but I adjusted and had to move the ball quicker.
“It was a good challenge for me and it helped me grow as a player and mentally as well.
“I think Amy Harrison was a key part of that, she told me a few things that I can improve, and she was always there for me especially when I started for the first time.
“She was always there, told me things that I should take into consideration when playing.”
For Younis, who has a season of A-League under her belt and has also already represented Australia’s U17s team, the world is her oyster in many aspects, and she still has lots of time to improve and refine her game.
“I want to improve lots of parts of my game, especially my strength and vision,” she said.
“Just little things like that I can tweak and improve, and hopefully I’ll become a better player.
She also wants to add goal contributions to her game as she gains more confidence playing higher up the pitch, and wants to help lead the team back to the finals.
“[It would] be great to get a few goals (and) assists as well,” she said.
“I hope our club continues to grow and hopefully we end up at a higher stage this season.
“We all want to make finals, and I think we have the ability to do so. (We) just need to keep working hard.
“I think we have the ability to make finals, I think it’s really just our (positive) mindset (we need).”
