When Macey Wyse, Leah Morris and Talia Morris made their senior debuts little did they know that they would make the impact that they have done on the already impressive Rozel Rovers Women’s team.
Leah has bagged an incredible 11 goals in 6 appearances, Wyse has scored 5 in 5 whilst Talia has proved to be a solid addition at full back for the Seagals.
All still just 16, their futures are ones for club manager Tim Prior to be very excited about, even at these very early stages of their senior football days.
With role models such as Steven Gerrard, Lucy Bronze and Alex Morgan the starlets are looking up to some outstanding talent, both in the professional men’s and women’s games.
When talking about their first memories of football, Leah stated ‘I joined ID Elite when I was six and joined Rozel when I was eight where I played in the boys minis team’ with Talia joining a bit later in Year 6.
Macey started playing back at FCJ, with all three girls playing for the girls side set up at the school. Wyse stated ‘It was a really easy decision as I really enjoyed playing, and to know you could do it with all of the girls was a good laugh.’ Leah added ‘We only played against girls at the start too, which was great for us.’
The trio have spent a lot of time on the pitch together over the years as they all went through the age groups together. Over those years they also played against boy sides. Leah told me that ‘at the start it was great as we were all similar sizes, but as you get older it gets tougher as the boys grew’ with Talia adding ‘towards the end the results weren’t great as we were getting battered every week.’ Macey put a positive spin on it saying ‘We were losing but it was a really good thing to have done as when we would play against girls teams, we would do really well’ with the twins agreeing that the tough opposition made them better players overall.
All three have been training with Rozel Rovers for a number of years now, with the club having a programme in place where girls from Years 1-9 can play football in a fun and enjoyable environment whilst developing them as players. Leah said ‘It is great because it gave us an understanding of what the club is about because as soon you turn 16 you can play with the first team. We knew how they played and how they wanted us to play too so we all had confidence to go up to the senior side.
As they move into senior football, I asked how the transition had been so far. Talia responded by saying ‘We had been training with them for a few years so we weren’t as nervous as maybe we would have been if we hadn’t trained beforehand. The first game was scary though!’ Macey added ‘I was really nervous but they all made us so welcome straight away. It is so good.’
Rozel currently have a beaming mix of youth and experience in their side, with the likes of Eve Watson, Jodie Botterill and Ciara Giles being the standout leaders in the side. ‘They are my role models’ Macey quickly told me. ‘We really look up to them in the football world and want to play like them’ with Leah swiftly adding ‘I trust them with what they say, so if they tell me something I always listen and try and do what they say.’
When it comes long term, I asked whether they want to follow in the likes of Maya Le Tissier or even Megan Wood’s footsteps and play higher up. Leah passionately stated ‘I definitely do. I want to play in the Women’s Super League one day’ with Talia saying ‘I have never really thought about playing off island, but playing for the island side is something I definitely want to do.’ Macey simply stated ‘If the opportunity came to play off island, I would 100% take it!’
It was great to catch up with the trio. We would like to wish them all good luck with their season ahead and in reaching their future goals – all at Sportscast Jersey are supporting them!
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