SIEMSEN UNITED WITH MANLY TEAMMATES THROUGH LOCKDOWN
Written by Madeline Riley & Football NSW
Article retrieved from: https://nplnsw.com.au/
For Manly United’s Remy Siemsen, their position at ninth on the ladder in the National Premier Leagues NSW Women’s competition is not an indication of the potential her squad has in 2021.
The team, full of talent and plenty of W-League experience, is a close-knit bunch that certainly isn’t lacking the chemistry to make magic on the pitch, but more importantly, they make up an incredible football family off the field.
“We’re like a family at Manly and I feel like we just had a bit of a slow start,” the Future Matilda explained.
“I’m loving my football and I’ve been really enjoying playing back at Manly with a great bunch of girls, I think we’ve been pretty unlucky not to get some results go our way.”
Considering how much time they spend together between training and games, being away from her football family is a strange feeling, but the lockdown isn’t stopping them from staying close.
“Some of my best friends are from my team, and a lot of my teammates from Sydney FC I’ve been keeping in touch with.
“I feel like everyone’s really watching out for one another and it’s a time where we should really connect with one another because it can be lonely during these times.
“I consider my teammates from both Sydney FC and Manly United, and a number of teams that I’ve played with, as some of my best friends so I’m very fortunate to be able to call them my football family and connect with them.
“It’s just great to have friends that can really understand where you’re coming from as well as your training loads and knowing what we need to continue doing during this lockdown, so it’s been really nice and keeping connected with everyone is always a really nice feeling and I’ve got some great friends and great teammates.”
While the break has come at an inconvenient time for the Northern Beaches side, Siemsen has an incredible attitude towards her time off, working just as hard, if not harder, than usual to work on her game during the break.
“I feel like right before this COVID break we were starting to really come together, and I felt like we were going to really hit form at the perfect time so I hope that the season can get underway again and I know that everyone is itching to get back out there.
“It’s not ideal but we just have to adapt and overcome so I’ve just been keeping super busy with some training and thankfully the Future Matildas have given us a program that we can follow for the next couple of weeks.
“I’ve been going on a lot of walks and surfs – I enjoy surfing as a hobby but it’s been really nice to go out and enjoy the ocean while we can.
“I’ve done a lot of beach coastal walks with my mum and I’m spending time with my family and that’s been really nice.
“I’m sort of just taking it day by day but I’ve been very, very busy training every single day, twice a day and trying to fill in the time with some things I need to touch up on.
“I’m feeling like I’m really trying to utilise this time to improve and develop my game even further and if that means pushing my body to the limits I can definitely tell you I’ve been doing that.”
While her focus is on making the most of her time during the lockdown, the Sydney FC star can’t wait to get back on the field with her Manly United team.
“As a playing group we definitely want to be in finals contention and obviously with the slow start, we’re going to have to really push to make the top five this season, but I have full faith and full confidence in my team.
“We’re definitely a second half season team so I know that we will pull things together and I hope that we can definitely achieve that goal as a squad.
“For me individually, I want to keep growing as a player.
“I’m just trying to be the best player and person I can be both on and off the pitch and I feel like I’m the best environments that I can be in at the moment.”