Claire Coelho, Sophie Nenadovic and Clare Wheeler are back in Newcastle Jets colours after putting pen to paper for the 2018/19 Westfield W-League season.
The defensive trio made a combined 19 appearances for the club last campaign, with the youngsters again looking to stamp their mark on the competition.
After spending the season as back-up to American ‘keeper Britt Eckerstrom, Claire Coelho will be looking to stake her claim as Craig Deans’ main shot-stopper this season.
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The 22-year-old spent the winter with NPL NSW Women’s side Manly United, racking up 18 appearances between the sticks.
Also in the NPL NSW Women’s competition was Clare Wheeler, who made 22 appearances and scored three goals for Sydney University.
Last year’s Cheryl Salisbury medallist linked up with fellow Jet, Cortnee Vine and played a key role in helping Uni to the Grand Final, where they went down 4-3 to Macarthur.
Sophie Nenadovic played nine times for the Jets last season, with the Australian U20 representative making five starts in that time. The up-and-coming defender spent the off-season recovering from injury, and will return fully fit and firing for the season ahead.
Newcastle Jets W-League Coach, Craig Deans, was pleased to have the three back on board for 2018/19.
“We’re getting closer to finalising our Westfield W-League squad for the upcoming season, and these three are an important part of that,” Deans said.
“They’ve each spent plenty time in our Academy system and it’s great to see them reap the rewards of the work they’ve put in over a number of years.
“It’s important we continue to promote local players and they’re at the forefront of an exciting crop of youngsters coming from Newcastle and Northern New South Wales.
“Clare (Wheeler) was particularly outstanding last year and a deserved winner of the Cheryl Salisbury Medal, she was huge for us in the middle of the park.
“They’re each excellent young players who will again be important to us and I’m expecting they’ll take another step in their development this season.”
