Steph Catley

Experienced Australian Steph demonstrated her versatility again in 2024/25, with only four of her 31 appearances coming in her natural role at left back – on her return from an early-season injury in October 2024, she filled in centrally and established a strong partnership with Leah Williamson, starting every one of our last 15 games of the season in central defence.

A great reader of the game with a highly tactical brain, Steph is tough in the tackle and composed on the ball, while her years of marauding up the left flank mean she is a threat going forward as well.

She arrived in the summer of 2020 with a reputation as one of the best left-backs in the world, having won titles in her home country with both Melbourne Victory and – alongside future Arsenal team-mates Kim Little and Jennifer Beattie – Melbourne City. She was named in the W-League Team of the Season four times and also enjoyed three stints in the NWSL in the United States.

An Australian international since 2012, Steph was a key player in her country’s run to the semi-finals on home soil in the 2023 World Cup, scoring two goals, and skippered the Matildas at the 2024 Olympics.