It has taken three months, but Moreton Bay United’s new women’s goalkeeper Rosalie Petersen is finally training with her new teammates.
Ro was preparing to join Jets, from NPLW rivals Souths, before COVID-19 stopped the 2020 season - and her move north.
But training has resumed for Jets who are arranging warm-up matches ahead of the competition restart later this month.
This will be Ro’s second spell in the NPLW. Her first was with UQ when she was playing as a striker. In fact it was only two years ago she pulled on the goalkeeper's gloves.
“A goalkeeper got injured during Capital League final and someone found out my Dad had been a ‘keeper, so I went in,” Ro said.
“The next year we didn’t have a goalkeeper, I went in again stayed there. Last year I had six goals against me and saved five penalties in the BWPL.
Last year Ro was selected to trial for six weeks with Brisbane Roar and after that she wanted to “step up”.
“This is my first look at the NPL as a keeper,” she said. “I’m prepared for the step up, no doubt. Speed is the difference and your reactions. It’s not scary. The Roar trials were a whole other level. But the NPL feels right.
“I started this season as the second keeper with Souths and then found out MBU had an injury to a keeper. It has taken a few months to get to this stage.
Ro described herself as a “loud, talkative keeper”. “I’ll slide into a player’s feet if I need to, but I’m also tall so those high shots should be okay.
“If I had to go up front again, if we had injuries or something like that, I would, but I’ve made a decision to play in goal and I think I have confidence to play in that position.”
Ro spent five years playing with UQ while studying for a dual degree in Biomedical Actual Engineering and Biomedical Science at the university.
Before that she was with Mt Gravatt, “always playing up” from her age group to help give teams “extra numbers”. “At Under 9 I was playing Under 12,” she said, “at 15 I was playing City 2 Women."
Ro joined Mt Gravatt after her family returned from four years in America, where she played junior football in the Boston area from the ages of five to nine.