The positional switch that turned Steph Catley into Matildas’ central character

Only two central defenders were nominated for the 2025 Ballon d’Or Féminin: Leah Williamson and Steph Catley.

That wasn’t even the latter’s position a year ago. Not really. The stand-in Matildas captain had filled in sporadically for club and country, and occasionally been deployed as part of the central trio in a back five.

But Catley has always been a true left-back. Her name, for more than a decade, has been synonymous with the skill set of the modern fullback. One of the world’s best, according to innumerable coaches, players and pundits who’ve watched the 31-year-old drive forward down the left flank and then shut down a transitional break moments later.

It was a central tenet of Australia’s success, including and especially during their remarkable run to the 2023 World Cup semi-final, and it was what prompted Joe Montemurro to sign her at Arsenal in 2020, when he was managing the Women’s Super League club. At the time, he even noted that Catley was “very effective going forward”.

Five years later, as Matildas coach, Montemurro must now contemplate that Catley is also very effective not going forward, which could alter the make-up of the national team’s backline as they prepare for March’s home Asian Cup.

Catley spent most of last season playing centre-back for Arsenal, initially plugging an injury gap before surprising herself by “feeling right at home”. In late 2024, when Renée Slegers – then still interim manager – made the positional move more official, Catley surprised herself again and embraced it.

“It’s something I’ve probably fought against for a few years now, just because I’ve loved being a left-back so much, and I like to be an attacking player,” Catley says. “I like to get forward and combine, and obviously in [central defence] you don’t get to do that.

“But being able to settle in there and then get some solid minutes, build some partnerships and really learn to enjoy the challenges of centre-back and how much you’re on the ball ... I love the organisational part of it – talking to people and organising the people in front of me – it actually brings out a lot of my strengths.

“Once I got a fair bit of time there, Renee really sat me down and said she saw me seriously as a centre-back, and started picking me there. It changed in my mind, and then I was able to really grow into the role and adapt.”

Her definition of adapt must have meant forging such a commanding central defensive partnership with England’s Williamson that even Barcelona’s best could not score against them in May’s Champions League final. That duo’s performances throughout the season earned both a Ballon d’Or nomination, and allowed Catley to discover that one of football’s less sexy roles can be treated as an art.

“If I have a good game [and] no one’s speaking about me; I love that because it means I’ve done my job,” she says. “It means I’ve kept the No.9 quiet, I’ve kept the ball, I’ve organised the people in front of me enough that I’ve not actually had to do a lot.

“It suits my personality and it suits me as a footballer. It can be a thankless role, but if I’m making the other players around me better and we’re winning and I’m having a quiet game, then that’s a really good thing. It’s something I embrace for sure.”

The selfless making-other-players-better attitude has been one of Montemurro’s core principles since taking charge of the Matildas in June, and the Australian has intimated the team-first approach will lead his thinking when it comes to selection. This window, similar to his first, will feature squad experimentation.

But the imminent friendlies against Wales and England (on Sunday and Wednesday mornings AEDT) also mark Catley’s first Matildas camp under her former club coach, having been on personal leave for the mid-year matches against Panama and Slovenia. Exactly where on the pitch he utilises her could be revealing.

“She’s playing well as the centre-back, isn’t she?” Montemurro says, posing the half-smiling rhetorical question before adding, “I’ll answer it like that.”

“Look,” he continues. “We’re blessed to have someone who can play as a fullback and as a centre-back. And to be honest, we’re really in a good space defensively with Clare Hunt playing regularly, Wini Heatley playing regularly, Ellie’s [Carpenter] obviously playing regularly.

“We’re lucky I can use Steph for the advantage of the game. If I feel I need to sort of play with a more, I suppose, build-up defender with less numbers, I can probably play her as a centre-back. If I feel I need to attack more laterally, I can use her as a fullback.

“Part of the building of the team is to have multiple and flexible roles, and it’s great that she’s playing as a centre-back because I can use her as a centre-back and use her as a fullback, but I’m not going to stabilise her in one area. I think it would be silly to say that she’s just going to stay playing in this area, because I could use [her versatility] to the advantage of the team for what the game requires.”