The Westfield Matildas have completed a successful tour of New Zealand, with a second 3 - 0 win over the Football Ferns. Westfield Matildas Head coach Tom Sermanni made three changes to the starting eleven squad who adjusted well to the conditions at Bill McKinlay Park.  The Football Ferns welcomed the return of US based professional Ali Riley for suspended captain Hayley Moorwood. The Westfield Matildas opened the scoring in the 36th minute when Heather Garriock collected the rebound off the cross bar from a Collette McCallum free-kick and blasted a half volley past New Zealand goalkeeper Jenny Bindon.

Australia continued their dominance in the second half with an early goal to Lisa De Vanna in the 48th minute.  De Vanna collected a ball over the top of the Football Ferns defence from Clare Polkinghorne. After defending off the Football Ferns Abby Erceg, De Vanna composed herself to chip the advancing Bindon to make it 2 - 0.

New Zealand then looked to push numbers forward late in the game only to be caught out in their defensive third when Leena Khamis found herself unmarked in the box to head home a Garriock cross. 

The Westfield Matildas will now head to the Gold Coast for a week training camp as they prepare for their DPR Korea matches on the 3rd and 6th of March at Ballymore Stadium in Brisbane.  

Westfield Matildas Head Coach Tom Sermanni said he is very pleased with how his whole squad is performing, "Part of the reason for these games was to give game time to all the players. "Kim Carroll played for the first time since her knee reconstruction in 2008 and played a solid 45 minutes," said Sermanni.  "I also think it's a real testament to the success of the Westfield W-League that we have such a strong pool of players to choose from - the league's been a huge asset in many ways.
"I think this year especially we're seeing the result of the Westfield W-League coming through as it allows for excellent preparation for the national team.  

"We've got a bigger pool of players to choose from and from that we've seen the inclusion of players like Kylie Ledbrook, Aivi Luik and Servet Uzunlar who have all benefited greatly from their involvement in the Westfield W-League, who have all performed well and got themselves in the national team," Sermanni finished.
Westfield Matildas line-up: 18. Lydia WILLIAMS (GK), 4. Clare POLKINGHORNE (10. Kylie LEDBROOK 68'),  5. Lauren COLTHORPE (Aivi LUIK 75'), 6. Servet UZUNLAR, 7. Heather GARRIOCK, 11. Lisa DE VANNA (24. Tameka BUTT 58'), 12. Kathryn GILL (19. Leena KHAMIS 75'), 14. Collette MCCALLUM (c), 16. Elise KELLOND-KNIGHT, 17. Kyah SIMON (22. Samantha KERR 58'), 23. Kim CARROLL (15. Sally SHIPARD 45')

Substitutes not used not used: 1. Melissa Barbieri (GK)- Yellow cards: Lauren COLTHORPE, Lisa DE VANNA  Red cards: Nil Unavailable: 9. Sarah WALSH, 13. Thea SLATYER

SQUASH: Australian Open rematch as Brown faces King

Kasey Brown will play New Zealand's Joelle King in the semi-finals of the Dayton Open squash tournament in Dayton, Ohio in a rematch of their semi-final clashes at the last two Australian Opens.
Brown reached the final four when she outlasted sixth seeded Canadian Alana Miller 11-6, 8-11, 11-5, 13-11 on Friday.
King then upset the tournament's fourth seed, Denmark's Line Hansen, 11-4, 11-6, 11-5 to move into the semis.
In other matches, Queensland's Lisa Camilleri struggled early against Sarah Kippax and was never in the hunt as the Englishwoman won in straight games 11-5, 11-1, 11-9 to set up a semi-final against unseeded American Olivia Blatchford.
It is hard to see either Kippax or Blatchford troubling the winner of the first semi-final between the two trans-Tasman rivals.
The top seeded Brown, 24, goes into the clash as the firm favourite after beating her Kiwi rival in three of their four meetings on the women's tour.
However, the 22-year-old King emerged triumphant the last time they met, at the semi-finals of the 2009 Australian Open, and then went on to claim the biggest title of her career when she beat defending champion Annie Au in the final.

Quarter-final results prefix denotes seeding:

1-Kasey Brown (AUS) bt 6-Alana Miller (CAN) 11-6, 8-11, 11-5, 13-11
5-Joelle King (NZL) bt 4-Line Hansen (DEN) 11-4, 11-6, 11-5
3-Sarah Kippax (ENG) bt 7-Lisa Camilleri (AUS) 11-5, 11-1, 11-9
Olivia Blatchford (USA) bt 8-Miranda Ranieri (CAN) 11-8, 11-6, 11-6

TRIATHLON - Ashleigh Gentle came second in the National Elite race over the weekend. Click here to read more about the event.

FOOTBALL

Football Federation Australia (FFA) and the Professional Footballers Australia (PFA), announced today a new contract agreement for the Westfield Matildas. The agreement will see players in the AFC Asia Cup in May 2010 earn between $500 and $1,000 per match and 6 month retainers of up to $17,000.00.
No less than 23 women footballers will be accommodated under the three-tiered contract system when they are offered new six-month contracts that will take them through to the AFC Women's Asian Cup 2010 to be held in Chengdu, China, between 19-30 May.  "The new agreement reflects the importance FFA places on women's football and the national team," said Head of Women's Football Leeanne Grantham.

"Under the retainers the new Westfield Matildas contracts have increased substantially, providing for regular monthly income and match payments relating to the AFC Asian Cup, which is great news for the players." PFA chief executive Brendan Schwab welcomed the new deal. "We are determined to work with FFA to make football the sport of choice for elite athletes of both genders," Mr Schwab said.  "This agreement is a significant step towards the development of a professional career path for our best women footballers." "The new arrangements are a significant improvement on the previous agreement and are a result of constructive negotiations between all parties.  As well as an increase in payments there are some other new conditions that will make being a Westfield Matilda much more beneficial." Mr Schwab also acknowledged the excellent support for the negotiations shown by the PFA's Matildas Committee, which consists of Melissa Barbieri, Lauren Colthorpe, Heather Garriock, Kate McShea and Sarah Walsh. The Westfield Matildas squad is selected by Head Coach Tom Sermanni who ranks the players on their performance in national team competition duties and camps.

A new arrangement will be negotiated by July to take the Westfield Matildas through to the 2012 Olympics.

SQUASH: Young stars on the rise

Three of Australia's rising women's squash stars have celebrated milestones in the latest rankings issued by the Women's International Squash Players' Association (WISPA).

Brisbane duo Zoe Petrovansky (19) and Samantha Davies (21) and Melbourne's Sarah Cardwell (18) all reached career highs on the February rankings, with Davies and Cardwell cracking the top 100. Petrovansky, who beat Cardwell in the final of the Australia Day Challenge in January, climbed six places as a result and now sits at number 74 in the world. Cardwell jumped 11 positions to 92, while Davies, who was a quarter-finalist at the same tournament and who then qualified for the main draw of the Chairman's Cup in Hong Kong, climbed a staggering 26 spots to number 99.

Malaysia's Nicol David kept her stranglehold on the number one ranking, ahead of Australian-born Dutchwoman Natalie Grinham, England's Jenny Duncalf and Australia's Rachael Grinham.

Australian Women's February rankings (last month in brackets):

(10) Kasey Brown, (22) Donna Urquhart, (38) Lisa Camilleri, (59) Melody Francis, (65) Amelia Pittock, (80) Zoe Petrovansky, (103) Sarah Cardwell, (125) Samantha Davies

BASKETBALL QUEENSLAND

Nominations are now open for the 'Star of the Stadium' award for Term 1.

Download the Player Nomination form.

Download the Referee Nomination Form.

Download a form allowing for Permission to use your photograph.