Freier taking confidence from rapid rise but keeping feet on the ground

Sharn Freier's has gone from injury replacement call-up for the Matildas to being widely heralded as a future mainstay, a rise that has given the 23-year-old a new confidence but also perspective.

Across the past nine months, Sharn Freier has gone from injury replacement call-up for the Matildas to being widely heralded as a player who will be at the forefront of a new generation of players in Green and Gold. And while she hasn’t sought to follow or revel in the rising excitement surrounding her international potential, the 23-year-old is aware of it. Her mum has made sure of that.

“In terms of the media, my mum just puts it in my face,” she laughed on Saturday evening, speaking to said media in the aftermath of the Matildas’ 6-0 win over Taiwan in which she scored a second international goal. “She's like 'look at this!!!' So it's not like it goes unnoticed, because my mum's all about it. And she loves it. So I do see it because I get sent it! But it is also a little bit nice to see. And I think it goes back to maybe believing in myself a little bit more and being like, ‘Okay, this is pretty cool.’”

Indeed, given the rapidity of her rise, it probably shouldn’t be too surprising that Freier is still trying to get her head around the level that she has risen to and that it’s her talent that has earned her the right to call the likes of Caitlin Foord, Hayley Raso, and Brisbane Roar teammate Tameka Yallop international teammates.

An ACL injury wiping out her 2021-22 season after she debuted for the Roar the campaign prior, it was only during the 2022-23 season that the Moreton Bay United product established herself as a regular in the A-League Women, starting 11 games across 16 appearances with one goal and two assists. She subsequently watched the 2023 Women’s World Cup as a fan in the stands – there in person at Lang Park for the Matildas' loss to Nigeria in the group stages but missing their quarterfinal win over France due to a clash with a Luke Combs’ concert. Fortunately, Combs’ concert was paused to put the penalty shootout up on the big screen.

At the Roar, momentum was building. 2023-24 saw her play all but nine minutes for the Roar as she added another three goals and five assists, earning her a late call-up into Tony Gustavsson’s side for a March friendly with Mexico following injuries to Katrina Gorry, Clare Hunt, and Courtney Nevin. An international debut coming off the bench against La Tri, she subsequently kept her place in the squad for pre-Olympic friendlies against China and Canada – her goal against the Canadians going down as a B international one – before serving as an alternative at the Olympics – seeing 32 minutes off the bench in a 3-0 loss to Germany. Call-ups subsequently followed for both post-Games windows overseen by interim coach Tom Sermanni, with her first official, A international goals arriving against Taiwan in Melbourne and Geelong across the past week.

What should be the imminent arrival of a new coach means that nothing can be taken for granted, of course, but it very much feels like Freier is quickly establishing herself as a regular in Matildas squads.

“It's been a very big year for me, " she reflected. “The opportunities that have come my way have been quite amazing. I get lost for words sometimes when I sit back and think about it. The football's changed a little bit, obviously being in an environment like this, but I'm just trying to take every opportunity I get and run with it. And hopefully, do all I can to continue to be in environments like this.

“I can't even begin to explain the support in the Tillies squad. The players, especially… they push you, they want the best for you, and you can see just how excited they are for you. Whatever happens, if you make your first start or score your first goal; everyone gets around you, and it's a really good feeling.

“The main thing for me is putting a bit of belief in myself to be 'okay, you've stepped up.' Trust the people around me and the coaching staff who brought me in – they have a bit of belief in me as well. Maybe my confidence [is] growing and accepting the fact that people do believe in me.

“So I hope I can put that on myself as well and have a bit more confidence each time I step out on the field.”

Inevitably, Freier’s age and increasing exposure to the international scene raised questions about what’s next. Starting all three of Roar’s fixtures before being called into Matildas camp, the attacker already has an assist to her name this campaign as her side but at some stage, the prospect of overseas opportunities, be they in Europe or North America, will increasingly loom large.

Matildas' cap number 228, however, isn’t going to rush into any decision, nor take for granted that said overseas opportunities are a foregone conclusion.

“The opportunities thrown at me this year were something I never expected, especially the Olympics,” she said. “In terms of overseas, I think it's something that may pop up and could pop up but I don't want to get ahead of myself. I want to be able to be consistent and perform without being like 'Oh, I want the next best thing.' Because I need to focus on doing what I can and taking every opportunity I get and just going for it.

“[Overseas] would be ideal, and it could happen but I would rather just make sure that I perform no matter what club I'm at. And right now, that's Brisbane Roar.

“The amount of A-League Women players that were just on the field [against Taiwan], I think it goes to show that there's a lot of talent and there are some girls [in the A-League Women] that obviously can play football. I do think in every player's head there's that overseas move in the back of it. And I think it does play a toll and it's something you have to think about. That's just football and the way it goes at the moment.

“But it does make you feel good knowing that you're not the only [Matildas in the A-League Women]. There are so many girls, like Gielnik coming back, in this environment that are in the same position as me. And it does make you feel quite comfortable knowing that there's talent in the A-League Women.”

Header Image: Football Australia