Canberra and Brisbane find gems up front at crucial time in 2018/19 Season

Following their 1-1 draw at McKellar Park on Thursday night, it seems Brisbane Roar and Canberra United have found their go-to strikers. 

Rhoda Mulaudzi opened the scoring just after two minutes, pouncing on a poor Clare Polkinghorne touch and evading Mackenzie Arnold to fire home. 

Then, with half-time looming, Allira Toby met Carson Pickett’s laser-like cross on 38 minutes and headed the ball into Sham Khamis’s bottom-left corner. 

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Those goals were the players' fourth and third, respectively, making Mulaudzi and Toby their teams’ leading goal scorers. 

Mulaudzi’s four goals and one assist in eight games makes her Canberra’s attacking talisman. Of the South African’s 17 shots in the Westfield W-League 2018/19 Season, nine of those have been on target, four finding the back of the net. 

With more than 50% of her shots on target, Mulaudzi’s stats suggest that if you give her the service, sure enough she’ll in the least force a save. 

While Mulaudzi’s flame has been a consistent burn throughout the campaign, Toby’s has sparked into life in December. 

The 25-year-old has three goals in as many games and has been instrumental in Brisbane’s charge to the top of the ladder. 

Six of her 17 shots have ended up on target, resulting in three goals, while she has helped herself to one assist, too. 

Toby's conversion rate of 18% is therefore shadowed by Mulaudzi’s, but take nothing away from her: In the form she is in, you wouldn’t bet against her missing if given the chance in front of goal. 

Both players have found form at just the right time of the 2018/19 Season. Each team has four more games remaining, so every goal and point counts if they are to play finals football come February.