‘It’s scary’: Fit and fresh Kerr can take Matildas to next level, say teammates

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Rejoice! Calf watch is over. Helicopter pilots and independent injury speculators of Australia, stand down. Your services are no longer required. The incessant questions about Sam Kerr’s fitness prognosis can stop – and not a moment too soon.

“I got pretty tired of it, to be honest,” said Matildas star Caitlin Foord. And so say all of us.

Time, at long last, for the national conversation to pivot. We’ve seen how good Australia can be without arguably the best striker on the planet … so how good can they be with her?

It was this very thought that was seemingly on the brain of every Matildas player after Monday night’s terrific 2-0 win over Denmark, as they began to contemplate what Kerr’s comeback could mean for their World Cup ambitions.

Logic suggested the 29-year-old would only be used if Australia were chasing the game. She came on anyway for the last 10 minutes – the ultimate flex by coach Tony Gustavsson, who threw her out there for a much-needed gallop to prime her for Saturday’s quarter-final in Brisbane.

Luxury substitutions don’t get much more luxurious than that.

Australia’s Sam Kerr high-fives Caitlin Foord after coming on as a substitute.Credit: Reuters

Aside from her very first touch – a shanked pass that went out for a throw-in – Kerr looked good. She seemed comfortable. And that familiar magnetic influence she tends to have on opposition defenders, who can be unknowingly pulled out of position by the mere thought of her movement, was immediately apparent.

“It’s incredible,” said Steph Catley, who insisted on handing the captain’s armband to Kerr when she was sent into the match in the 80th minute, even though the Chelsea star didn’t want it.

“I mean, how many times can you get to a quarter-final and then add your best player, one of the best players in the world – and your captain?

“It’s something we’ve definitely never had before. At major tournaments like this [in the past], we’ve got injuries, we’ve lost players, it’s a bit of a struggle, everyone’s tired – but I think it’s the opposite at this point. People are feeling great. Everyone’s healthy. We’re adding players.

Steph Catley and Sam Kerr share a laugh.Credit: Reuters

“We’ve got fresh legs and a fresh Sam Kerr… God knows what that means.”

Depending on how fresh she is, and how well she recovers and trains during the five-day turnaround between matches, it could mean she starts at Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium. If she’s fit enough to start, she simply has to – no matter how well the Matildas have coped in her absence.

Anyone who thinks otherwise, according to her teammates, has a short memory.

“She’s also our captain and our leader,” Catley said. “It was really important for us to step up for her in this occasion, because she’s always stepping up for us, always scoring goals and getting us over the line – so we wanted to make sure we did as much as we could to get her to this point, where she’s healthy and ready to go.

“It means everything to see her running back out there again.”

Gustavsson is hopeful that Kerr can simply slot back into this well-oiled machine; that she can be just another cog, rather than the engine itself.

Assuming the rest of the starting XI stays as it was against Denmark, Emily van Egmond would appear to be the most likely candidate to make way – setting up the prospect of Kerr playing up front alongside Mary Fowler, a combination that the Swede has previously theorised could bring out the best in both of them, and everyone else.

Foord will be rolling out the red carpet, and reckons all other remaining World Cup contenders will be trembling in their boots.

“This dream is for her as well,” Foord said. “She plays a massive part in our team. It was nice to see her back on, and it just helped boost the team even more – and I think for teams looking ahead, it’s pretty scary to know that now she’s back on the team, and she’s going to be a part of it with us.”

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