Tara Murray
When Spring Hills started its women’s program, the club set the ambition to one day be part of the National Premier League women’s competition.
Having built a strong program, Spring Hills progressed from state league 4 west in 2016 through to the second tier, Victorian Premier League, last season.
After falling just short of promotion last season, Spring Hills was keen to ensure that it wouldn’t happen again.
With two rounds remaining, Spring Hills was able to secure its spot in the NPLW competition for next year.
Coach Tom Markovski has been on the journey and is thrilled to have achieved what they set out to do.
“We are finally there,” he said. “Starting in state league 4 and we worked our way up, it’s good to see it come to fruition.
“I don’t think it sunk in until the federation published that we are being promoted. It’s a massive relief.”
After finishing third last year and then falling short in the grand final, Markovski said they were sure that they would be competitive again.
“We went into this season full of confidence and had a strong pre-season,” he said. “We beat half a dozen NPLW clubs.
“We knew that we could challenge if we kept everyone fit. We can now enjoy the last couple of weeks.
Spring Hills secured promotion with a 1-0 win against Geelong Galaxy United in the third last round.
Markovski said it was a tough match with the ground not in great condition and threat of thunderstorms also looming over them.
While promotion has been locked in, Spring Hills still has a couple of other focuses before the season is out.
The side would love to claim the minor premiership and also claim the title.
“There’s two games to go,” he said before the weekend’s match, which was after deadline. “We play Casey, the second team in the final round and the winner likely takes it [the minor premiership].
“The top four play finals. We want to win that as well. There’s no pressure on us though and we can enjoy the next few weeks.”
For the club, there’s always been a focus over the years to try to bring through local talent.
Markovski said half the senior team has gone all the way through from juniors to seniors and they would continue to focus on that.
“Our state league 2 team is all local girls,” he said. “Sometimes you have to bring in players but you need to have the opportunity to work your way up and have somewhere to go.
“Build that pathway.”
Spring Hills are in action on Friday night in the second last round against Melbourne University.
While the season is yet to finish, the club is already planning for next season.
Markovski said they need to find another day to train, with their ground already at capacity.
He said it would take a couple of months to get things in place but they were ready for the challenge.
