Willow Bennett was front and centre at McDonald Jones Stadium last year when Matildas superstar Sam Kerr scored against Brazil then unleashed a trademark backflip.
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It was in that moment that the New Lambton Eagles junior was hooked.
On Tuesday night, nine-year-old Willow will accompany Kerr onto the field in Newcastle as a Matildas mascot for the second match in a two-game international series with Chile.
The surprise news was revealed on Sunday, when Willow, her 12-year-old sister Zahra and Eagles teammate Ayla Duggan, also nine, were invited to meet the Matildas in Newcastle.
There, Kerr asked the beaming youngster if she would like the job of being her mascot. The quick response was: “Yes”.
Later that day, Willow revealed to her Eagles under-nine side they would all be Matildas mascots.
“I thought I was coming here to just meet the players,” a near-speechless Willow said. “I thought I was in a dream.”
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The young, football-mad Novocastrian first came to Kerr’s attention when her mum Angelique Bennett shared on social media Willow’s excited and teary reaction to receiving a Matildas jersey with the superstar’s name emblazoned on it for her ninth birthday in August.
It led to a surprise meeting, and more tears of pure joy, with Kerr, who then teed up the Newcastle encounter.
The moment was not only special for Willow, who idolises the Matildas because of “their sportsmanship and how they play the game”.
Taking time for fans and giving something back was important to our country’s best players too.
“It’s an amazing thing,” Kerr said. “That was us one day, so it’s a cool thing for all of the girls to be role models and when you finally get to meet them it’s just a nice moment.
“The cool thing about the Matildas is it’s not just young girls. You see young girls and boys down at the games with every player’s jersey on.
“So it’s definitely grown over the last few years but it’s really cool that we don’t just appeal to the young girls, it’s also the young boys, which I think is a unique thing with the Matildas.”
Willow was one of a record 16,829 fans who turned out to McDonald Jones Stadium to watch Australia beat Brazil 3-2 in September last year.
“I think Newy just came out big and hopefully we can do that again on Tuesday,” Kerr told the Newcastle Herald on Sunday.
It was the biggest crowd to watch a stand-alone Matildas match on home soil and exemplified the fast-growing popularity of Australia’s women’s football side, who have won over the nation with their on-field performances and humble off-field generosity.
“Having been around women’s football for a long time, I don’t think many people would’ve imagined that those kind of numbers would have come out, even five years ago, let alone 10 years ago,” Matildas coach Alen Stajcic said.
“To see the players signing autographs one hour after the game [in Penrith on Saturday], people waiting that long and then for them to do it, on both fronts it just shows how much they’ve captured kids’ imaginations.”
Hundreds of fans turned out for an open training session at McDonald Jones Stadium on Monday night.
Another healthy crowd of around 15,000 was expected at McDonald Jones Stadium on Tuesday night. The game is set to kick off at 7.30pm.
