Melbourne City star and Matildas fan favourite talks 'huge emotional toll' of repeated ACLs

Holly McNamara has long been hailed as one of the most promising young stars in Australian football. However, repeated anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries have consistently hampered her career development, and she admits it has been a "massive emotional toll."

The 22-year-old Melbourne City and Matildas attacker has endured three ACL injury recoveries in six years. "Injuries are always hard. You could probably ask most players, and they'll tell you... but it has been tough. I'm very grateful for the people that have helped me get through it," McNamara said in an interview with ABC Sport.

"I think when you get injured so young, you have to understand pretty quickly that football isn't everything. It's not the be-all and end-all, and you can't really give your whole life to it, even if you really want to." Her puppy, Nala, a Cavapoo, has helped her find a good balance between life and football, and she says Nala keeps her very busy.

Earlier this year, McNamara earned widespread praise for being selected for the Matildas squad for the SheBelieves Cup. It was her first call-up to the national team in three years. "When I found out, I got a little bit emotional because it's been a long road," she said.

McNamara returned to the field last December and immediately became a key player in the league. She scored 10 goals in 13 appearances in the Australian Women's League (ALW), including two hat-tricks, leading the race for the Golden Boot, an individual award given to the player with the most goals in the season. "I'm lucky to play in the system and the team that we have at Melbourne City, where we score a lot of goals," she said. "I'm lucky to have that support."

Under new coach Michael Matricciani, Melbourne City is undefeated and has won its last 22 matches (AFC Women's Champions League + ALW). Last weekend, after McNamara scored a hat-trick in Melbourne City's 4-3 win over Adelaide United, the team set a new ALW record, remaining undefeated for 19 consecutive matches.

While the team is a strong contender for the league title and the championship, McNamara says their goal is to be the biggest club in Australia. To further this goal, Melbourne City will host its first-ever AFC Women's Champions League match this Sunday.

"It's a good opportunity for us to showcase what we can do on a bigger stage," McNamara said. Melbourne City will face Taiwan's Taichung Blue Whale in the quarter-finals. Taichung Blue Whale is in the off-season and has not played a match in about three months. Melbourne City won all three of its group stage matches in Thailand in October, with scores of 2-1, 3-0, and 4-0. McNamara did not participate in those matches as she had not yet recovered from her recent ACL injury.

If Melbourne City goes all the way, the club will receive nearly $2 million in prize money. Professional Footballers Australia CEO Beau Busch also revealed earlier this month that individual bonuses could be as high as $50,000 per player, double the salary of many players. "That will be huge and significant for the players," Busch said. "For clubs like Melbourne City, it will enable them to continue to attract and retain talent, which is what we're fighting for."

McNamara agreed, saying "it's a very large sum of money... it has the potential to do a lot of things." "It can really be invested into areas to promote the growth of our club, a lot of things," she said. "Personally, I don't know what the club will use the money for or anything like that, but I think looking forward, if we can build more women's academies within the club and stuff like that and really boost the ALW teams... that would be a massive thing."

McNamara was one of six ALW stars called up by Matildas coach Tony Gustavsson for the SheBelieves Cup, along with Rhianna Pollicina, Michelle Heyman, Tameka Yallop, Tasha Prior, and Chloe Lincoln. She said that, along with Melbourne City's participation in the Champions League, it is a good reflection of the level of players in the domestic competition. "I think a lot of young players are coming through, proving themselves, and it's good to get them more minutes in this league," she said. "I think it's a good opportunity for us to be the first team to do it, and we really want to prove that."