Kevan Sangster 
Grace Kuilamu in action for Brisbane Roar. Photo supplied by Brisbane Roar.
It has been quite a last 12 months for Brisbane Roar striker Grace Kuilamu.
The 18-year-old striker broke into the Roar’s A-League Women team last year after coming back from an ACL injury, and by the end of a remarkable season had earned herself a Matildas call-up and made her debut for the national team.
Yet with this season’s campaign just around the corner, the young Queenslander is again aiming high, suggesting her Brisbane team “can go all the way” in Australia’s premier female football competition in 2025/26.
Round Ball Australia caught up with Grace after training recently to find out more about her remarkable journey, and get her thoughts on what the next 12 months may hold for both herself and her hometown club.
Humble Beginnings
While making her Matildas debut against Panama in July was undoubtedly the highlight of Kuilamu’s career to date, her journey to get there started from humble beginnings.
Having taken up the sport at the age of 10 with local Brisbane club Souths United, playing for the national team wasn’t even on the radar at that point.
“Souths was the first club I played for – in the under 12 girls’ team – and I played with my cousin, so it was just a fun thing at first,” she explains.
Her talent was spotted two years later at a national school’s competition in Canberra, and she was invited to join the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS) girls football program at the age of 12.
And it was here that the young Grace started to have loftier ambitions.
“I saw a that a few of the Brisbane Roar players seemed to have come from QAS and some even became Matildas, so the Roar became what I wanted,” she continues.
Although her hometown club were demonstrating the template for success, it was another Aussie footballing legend that was her inspiration from a younger age.
“My main idol growing up was Sam Kerr. She’s also a striker and I really looked up to how she played,” explained Kuilamu.
“After that, the Women’s World Cup was a big one for me. I got to see the girls on the world stage and thought ‘I want to be there one day.”
Like so many young Australian footballers, getting the chance to see her national team play in a World Cup on home soil back in 2023 fuelled the fire of ambition in this young Queenslander, who attended several games in Brisbane during the tournament.
The dream was in place, now it was time to realise it…
From club to country
After a successful season for QAS seniors in Queensland’s NPLW in 2022, the then 16-year-old Kuilamu was awarded a scholarship with Brisbane Roar Women in September 2023 – just weeks after the conclusion of the Women’s World Cup she had viewed as a spectator.
Kuilamu hit the ground running, scoring on her debut against Melbourne Victory the following month, becoming the youngest ever scorer for the Roar women in the process.
Yet despite this immediate success, it wasn’t all plain sailing for the teenage striker, who suffered a serious ACL injury shortly after her Roar debut to put her out of the game for the next nine months.
It wasn’t until the following year that Kuilamu was able to return, making 18 appearances during 2024/25 season and scoring five goals to gradually work her way back into the Roar starting eleven.
She was then awarded a shock call up to the Matildas squad in June this year – with many of the players she had been watching as a fan less than two years earlier.
And she wasn’t just there to make up the number either.
Training with the national squad for their double header with Panama in Western Australia was “a bit of a change of pace but a good one,” according to Kuilamu.
Yet she impressed enough to earn her first Matilda’s cap when coming off the bench during the second game in Bunbury, becoming the first footballer of Pacific Island descent to play for Australia.
So now she has had a taste of the national team, is next year’s Asian Cup on home soil on her radar?
“Regarding the Matildas, we’ll see how my [Roar] performances go. The national squad is quite set in stone but changes happen so we’ll see how it goes. I’m excited for the Asian Cup, whether it’s on the sidelines or even in the crowd,” she says philosophically.
So it appears Brisbane is the focus, for now at least.
A big season ahead
The Roar women have made some impressive additions this winter, with Dutch forward Bente Jansen signing from Ajax and fellow Matilda Sharn Frier returning to her hometown club on loan from German side Wolfsburg among the highlights.
So, it’s perhaps not surprising that Kuilamu is bullish about her team’s chances of going all the way this season.
“I know everyone must say that at this time of year, but I really believe that with the players we have, especially this year,” the young striker says.
“We’ve made some great signings and the girls have seemed to gel already. They’re a great bunch of girls, both on and off the pitch.”
She is also aware that this season is a big one for her personally, and getting back to scoring goals in the A-League is her priority.
“First and foremost, I’m just focused on this season and getting back to playing regularly. I was in and out last season, so hopefully we can have a great season that I can excel in.”
When she does take the field, having the support of her family – who she still lives with in Brisbane – means a lot to her, and her hometown crowd is a big motivation too.
“Having my family in the crowd and having their support is amazing. It’s great to play in front of the Brisbane crowd, we love them!” she enthuses.
With Round One – a home game against last season’s runners-up Melbourne Victory – fast approaching, Brisbane fans will be hoping their newest Matilda can continue her meteoric rise.
And as we make our way from the Roar’s training ground, the impression we get is that this down-to-earth Queenslander will be giving that crowd plenty to cheer about in the coming years.
That love may well be reciprocated sooner rather than later.
Listen to the latest episode of The Dubcast, Round Ball Australia’s Women’s Football podcast on Spotify, Apple, or watch on YouTube, with our individual team previews releasing now ahead of the new A-League Women season.