Week 16 Anytime Fitness Women’s Rising Star: Pia Juricic

The VAFA congratulates Pia Juricic from Old Melburnians, who has been nominated as the Week 16 Anytime Fitness Women’s Rising Star. Pia has played 13 out of a possible fifteen matches this season with a stand out performance on the weekend where she helped her side to an emphatic victory over Marcellin.

What the club said:

Old Melburnians Senior Women’s Coach, Nic Stephens said:

Pia’s the type of player you dream of as a coach. There’s not a position on the field she can’t play at an elite level. One week I’ve got her playing down back on the opposition’s most dangerous forward, the next week I’ve got her playing ruck, but most often I’m using her pace and pressure along the wing where she’s able to shut down opposition attacks and rebound it straight down to our forwards with precision.

She’s extremely coachable and willing to take on any feedback or job we set her. It’s gotten to a point where I don’t think there’s any task I could ask of her that she wouldn’t be able to accomplish. It’s easy to think just watching her play that she’s just a naturally gifted freak athlete but that would be unfair to Pia and her unstoppable work ethic. She works on her game week in, week out, she’s been to almost every training this year and played more games for the Omlettes than anyone else, it’s this effort that really makes her the player and teammate that she is..  

Off the field Pia’s quiet at first but once you get to know her a bit more she’s got an incredible sense of humour that has made her a favourite amongst her teammates. For a first year player Pia’s impact is hard to fully capture. Her ability to slide into any role means that the team can afford to experiment with different line ups and she allows her teammates to truly shine. Her teammates love playing with her and as a club we are extremely lucky to have her.