Words: Matt Dorman
Image: Getty Images

As the Westfield Matildas aim high at the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada, The Gap Women’s Jessica Dillon is laying the groundwork for her own bright future.

The midfielder represented the ‘Mini Matildas’ at the 2011 AFC U-16 Women’s Championship in China and glowingly remembers her U-17 National Team debut.

“That was honestly the best experience of my life,” Dillon said.

“Walking out in the green and gold, singing the national anthem, it was surreal.”

Following spells with Perth Glory in the Westfield W-League and the Toronto Lady Lynx of the USL W-League, Dillon returned to Brisbane to join The Gap Women for their PlayStation® 4 NPL Queensland debut.

While acknowledging a senior international appearance remains a goal, the 20-year-old is at present focussed on continuing her development with the in-form Gators.

“I’m really enjoying it. The football the team plays is what I love,” she said.

“There’s a lot of passing, one-touch, two-touch give-and-go plays and Rob (Askew) is a really good coach.

“We have Ruth (Blackburn) and Leah (Curtis) in the middle and I just want to learn from them. I’ll take what I can from them and work on my game.”

Dillon is joined in a strong Gators squad by several other players with Westfield W-League experience including Blackburn, Curtis, captain Rebecca Price and striker Gabe Marzano.

Four straight wins has raised hopes of a title tilt, but the Perth-born player believes the standard of the league makes for a tough run-in.

“It’s really good. There are probably five or six teams that are all really competitive and are hard games that could go either way,” Dillon said.

“We had a bit of an upset game when we played Peninsula Power but since then we have turned it around so hopefully we can fight for the top four.”

PlayStation 4 NPL Queensland Round 15
UQFC Women v The Gap FC Women
University of Queensland Field 5
Sunday, June 14
Kick-off - 5:00PM