Heard the one about the national football team which was already firmly ensconced in their temporary base on foreign soil before the squad was made known to the masses back home? Sadly, it's not a joke. Worse still, it's not even a throwback to the dim, dark days of yore, when communication by telegraph was still a regular occurrence, cellphones and the internet hadn't even been envisaged, and televisions were only just beginning to capture people's imagination. It happened this week. "Not a men's team, surely?" I hear you ask. Of course not - don't be daft! No, 'twas only the world's twentieth-ranked women's team, the 2012 Olympics quarter-finalists, and the beneficiaries of much financial support from High Performance Sport New Zealand, who share this writer's optimism that the Football Ferns will grace the medal ceremony at Rio 2016 … Poor form, NZ Football, no matter the circumstances. Would the All Whites head abroad to take on our trans-Tasman rivals, followed by the reigning world champions, without so much as an announcement of the squad prior to departure? Methinks we all know the answer to that question. Their female equivalents, who are ranked far higher and have achieved far more - third at this year's Cyprus Cup, for instance - deserve far better. They've certainly earned it! Just as well they've got the incentive of ending one of the longest winless sequences in trans-Tasman sporting rivalries to keep them fully occupied! Yes, some twenty-four games have been played and over 6,800 days have passed since Wendy Sharpe last ensured the forces of good prevailed over the forces of evil as far as New Zealand's women's footballing fraternity is concerned. The Football Ferns came desperately close to ending this unwelcome streak in Wollongong last year, only being denied that much coveted victory by a last-gasp Australian equaliser, but twelve months on, coach Tony Readings is confident that our time is nigh. "The atmosphere in the camp is really good", he said on Queen's Birthday Monday, a week before the squad headed west. "It's always good when we get back together in the camp because we spend so long apart now. "Everyone's really excited to be part of the group again. Already this week we've had four sessions, and the team's looking better. I'm excited for the games coming up". And what games! For a clash against the reigning FIFA Women's World Cup holders, Japan, follows this week's two matches in Canberra, the first of which is a behind-closed-doors event. "It's a good opportunity for us to end this run. We've come off the back of a really successful Cyprus Cup, not just in terms of results, but the performances as well were a completely improved level from the Olympics. "We're already gaining ground on Australia as it is, because the results have been getting closer and closer, as last year's draw clearly indicates. We're looking to get a win in one if not both of these games. "The difference now is that when we play against Australia, the players genuinely believe we can beat them. Last year, when we drew then lost, the players were devastated, because I think they knew they were capable of winning, whereas in the past, when we've run them close, we were quite happy with close losses. "We're not that team anymore. "We still have it on our minds that last year we had that opportunity to beat them, and we know we did enough to, and should

have done. But should have is not good enough. This time around I think that's really going to motivate us to do better". From Canberra, the Football Ferns head to Fukuoka to take on a team which, while in transition, has incentive aplenty to perform, while at the same time offering our champions a great opportunity to make a statement of our own, as Readings explains. "We've always run Japan close. We drew with them at the 2008 Olympics, then lost by one goal in both 2009 and 2011. Sometimes those results haven't reflected the games - we probably could have been beaten by more - but I think we gutsed results out. "In the 2012 Olympics, we were a completely different team to where we were in 2008, but Japan are too, of course - they've since gone on to be world champions. They are definitely in transition, but they have got depth. "Compared to the squad they had in the Algarve Cup, I think they'll put out a stronger one against us. They would have been experimenting at that tournament, but on home turf, and live on TV in Japan, I think they'll put close to their strongest team out, if not their strongest. "So it will be a really good benchmark for us, and this is what we need - we need to be getting benchmarks every time we play. We've done that already this year against England, we're about to do it against Australia twice and then Japan, and later in the year against the USA. "It will be a great opportunity for us to see where we're at. If we beat them, then that will be a good benchmark for us", he says with a grin, "and something for us to try and build upon. "We want to be playing the best teams in the world, and sometimes it's hard to attract them. This year, we've worked really hard and got some great fixtures, but there are still some teams which we can't get access to. "If we can get results against the top ten teams in the world then we'll be taken more seriously, and then we'll be able to secure these fixtures a lot more easily". One sure sign the Football Ferns' progress is making its mark is a significant breakthrough for New Zealand women's football in particular, and NZ women's sport generally - live television coverage of their matches. It's over fifteen years since we first got to see our national women's team on the box for the first time, against the USA in Washington DC on ESPN in May 1998. They didn't feature again for another nine years, when another match against the USA was followed by their three games at the 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup Finals in China. Fast forward to now, and family, friends and fans can look forward to watching the team in action in Australia, Japan, and later this year, in the USA and Switzerland, from the comfort of their living rooms - unprecedented stuff! "I'd have to put the coverage down to the good work of the people at NZ Football", says Readings. "It's nothing to do with our coaching staff. They've worked hard behind the scenes to get us that exposure, and I think we've earned it. "We've reached the quarter-finals of the Olympics, and we've proven we can compete against the best teams in the world. So I think it's something we've earned, and I'm hoping it will give us that increased exposure. "It'll be great for the girls to have their families and friends able to watch them. It adds a bit more pressure as well, which we need, 'cause you can never quite replicate the pressure at World Cups and Olympics. Being live on TV definitely increases that pressure, however, and will inspire and

motivate the squad. "From the coaching staff's perspective, we're focusing on Canada 2015 and Rio 2016, so whether it's live on TV or not, and watched by one person or a million, we're still going to be looking to go out to do the same thing". The squad Readings has chosen for the task of taking on Australia and Japan is a strong one, albeit without both our most capped international, Hayley Bowden, and the Football Ferns captain, Rebecca Smith. Between them, this duo have worn the captain's armband with distinction on all but two occasions since April 2007 - some 81 internationals hence. In their absence, 82-times-capped Abby Erceg has been entrusted with the privilege of leading her country on the world stage. Erceg's fellow long-serving team-mate, Jenny Bindon, returns to the squad after finally recovering from the concussion she suffered when making a save against the USA during the 2012 Olympics quarter-final. Kirsty Yallop also makes a welcome return after personal commitments saw her miss the Cyprus Cup tournament in March, while Sarah McLaughlin is also back in contention. They would have been joined by Bridgette Armstrong, but an eleventh hour injury opened the door for Young Ferns star Megan Lee to make the step up to the top team. Otherwise, all the usual suspects will be on deck to take on a Matildas squad which is "under new management". Previous coach Tom Sermanni is now in charge of the USA, and Australia has recruited Dutch native Hesterine de Reus to oversee the Matildas' fortunes, starting with these matches. Her first squad has also been hit by a late withdrawal, Katie Gill's hamstring injury compounding the absence of the likes of Lisa De Vanna, Kyah Simon and Caitlin Foord, three of a number of players whose absence Football Ferns fans hope Australia will have reason to regret. Kim Carroll, first capped in 2005, earns a recall to the green and gold, while the most experienced player in the Matildas' squad is sixty-times-capped Clare Polkinghorne, the only player named with more than fifty appearances for her country to her name. By comparison, New Zealand boast eight such internationals. For the first time in many a year, the Football Ferns go into a series against Australia with genuine reason for optimism. Thursday's behind-closed-doors encounter at Canberra's AIS Athletics Track - kick-off 7.30pm, NZ time - and Sunday's televised 4pm encounter across town at McKellar Park will determine if same is well founded. Australia (from):     Teigen Allen, Laura Alleway, Mackenzie Arnold (gk), Tameka Butt, Kim Carroll, Steph Catley, Amy Chapman, Brianna Davey (gk), Emily Gielnik, Katrina Gorry, Michelle Heyman, Elise Kellond-Knight, Alanna Kennedy, Sam Kerr, Shamiran Khamis (gk), Teresa Polias, Clare Polkinghorne, Vedrana Popovic, Servet Uzunlar, Emily Van Egmond. Football Ferns (from):     Jenny Bindon (gk), Ria Percival, Anna Green, Katie Hoyle, Abby Erceg (c), Megan Lee, Ali Riley, Amber Hearn, Sarah Gregorius, Kirsty Yallop, Betsy Hassett, Rosie White, Rebekah Stott, Annalie Longo, Hannah Wilkinson, Katie Bowen, Holly Patterson, Helen Collins, Erin Nayler (gk), Sarah McLaughlin NB  A preview of the Japan fixture will appear after the Australian leg of the tour, and will include the balance of the interview with Tony Readings. Look out also for profiles on Betsy Hassett and Hannah Wilkinson over the course of the next few days, and match reports on both televised internationals, of course!