Speaking to media post-training on Wednesday, Chloe Berryhill explained that the team was embracing the possession style of play that new Head Coach Joe Montemurro demands as they draw closer to their second series against Panama in Perth.
“[Training] has been intense - it's always intense,” she said.
“Coming back into the national team, everyone's trying as hard as they can. It's just driven by being a possession-based football team, and I think that's the thing that we love the most. How many touches can we get on the ball? Everyone's presenting themselves, and it's always about the lateral movement.”
Berryhill’s football journey has not been an easy one in the last few years. She has been in and out of the national team since she ruptured her ACL in late 2021, having to battle almost constant subsequent injuries.
“I trust the process,” she said.
“I am trying to enjoy my football again, and it's led me back into this position. I think everything happens for a reason. I’m loving the experience of being back in the team, and it's changed a lot since the last time I was here.”
She said that she had been leaning on players such as Emily Gielnik, Ellie Carpenter and Teagan Micah since being back in the squad.
She has also had conversations with Montemurro about her place in the squad and praised his ability to make everyone feel a part of the team.
“He does a really good job of making everyone feel welcome, so I really like that about him,” she said.
“We really want to understand how he wants us to play.”
At the conclusion of the Slovenia series, a number of players left the camp, while a number of others came in.
The squad has a more inexperienced feel to it for the second part of this window, and it is something that Berryhill said she is enjoying being a part of.
“The pool for players has grown so much and it's nice to see some young players come in and step up to the level that they need to,” she reflected.
“You can see the nerves with some of the younger ones just trying to settle in. So it'll be interesting to see how much they absorb and how much information they can put in their back pocket and understand.
“But it's good, we're crowding around them. There are a few older girls, so hopefully we'll be able to help them settle in.”
Many of those young players come from the A-League Women’s, where Berryhill has been playing over the past few seasons with Western United.
“The girls that are younger, and they're playing in the A-Leagues, they're actually playing more time than five or 10 years ago,” she said.
“They’re getting minutes under their belt. They're getting touches on the ball, and that's the most important thing before they can go overseas and start to develop in other countries.
“In 10 years here, everything has changed. Coaching has changed, development has changed. So the younger generation coming in are a lot better than what it was maybe 10 years ago.”
She said that she was looking forward to taking on Panama, but the team would be focusing on their own game rather than that of the opposition.
“We’re going to look at them, but we're mostly going to look at ourselves,” she said.
“That’s one thing I love about Joe, is if we do all the things that we do correctly, with any team that we go up against - whether it's Panama, or a team in the top five – we are going to be unstoppable.”
Series Two
CommBank Matildas v Panama
Date: Saturday, 5 July 2025
Kick-off: 2.30pm WST / 4.30pm AEST
Venue: Hands Oval, Bunbury
TV Broadcast: Paramount+ exclusive
Radio Broadcast: ABC Listen App
Tickets: Buy Tickets
CommBank Matildas v Panama
Date: Tuesday, 8 July 2025
Kick-off: 6.00pm WST / 8.00pm AEST
Venue: HBF Park, Perth
TV Broadcast: Paramount+ exclusive
Radio Broadcast: ABC Listen App
Tickets: Buy Tickets