Poletti 
Sasha Grove in action against Japan at the AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup in Uzbekistan. Photo: Supplied by Football Australia.
As a star of the Young Matildas, defender Sasha Grove knows what it takes to represent Australia at the highest level, having been part of the side which won bronze at the AFC U20 Women’s Asian Cup.
That finish qualified the side for the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup, taking place in Colombia later this year and is something she, and the rest of the squad is excited for.
“[I’m] definitely counting down to game one [against Colombia], but we’re so excited,” Grove said.
“It’s an exciting group of girls that are really passionate about their football.
“The team culture and environment we have is second to none and everyone cares so much about the team.”
An aim of Grove’s, who is part of the Future Matildas program, is the AFC 2026 Women’s Asian Cup which Australia will play host.
Being able to play in a major tournament on home soil is a huge motivator to help her achieve that goal.
“Growth is a continuous process and having things like this to aspire towards and hopefully achieve is really paramount,” she said.
“There’s so much that you can do on your own time to get better and get to that next level, but having something firm like this to really push towards is really huge because these opportunities don’t come very often.”
Grove says that she knows what she needs to work on in order for that to be a possibility, and where to find the inspiration for it.
“There’s so many players that I watch regularly that I’m inspired by, Lucy Bronze for example. She’s sensational, she’s a hard worker [who] gets things done. She’s reliable,” she said.
“I think searching for those traits in other people and working on them by yourself is really important.
“At the end of the day, it’s not really about wanting more, it’s who’s willing to put in more work and outwork everyone else.
“So definitely that’s something I’m aiming towards. You never know what’s going to happen with injuries and the personnel.
“I definitely know what I need to be working on. It’s ticking in the back of my mind.”
Grove recently signed a two-year deal with Western United, departing hometown club Canberra United after four seasons.
She says she feels very fortunate to have played for the side in the nation’s capital, who gave her the platform in front on “one of the best crowds in the country”, but that challenging herself was a reason behind the move.
“For me, progress and growth is something that’s really important and I needed to continue to challenge myself if I wanted to get better and aspire to do things, so that’s probably the main driving force to my decision making,” she said.
Grove is not the only one who has made the move from Canberra United to Western United, with Grace Maher making the change ahead of last season, and goalkeeper Chloe Lincoln also heading to Tarneit this off-season.
Grove says that while it was helpful to talk to others because they all have shared experiences, and get insights into clubs and how they operate, it is important to take initiative when it comes to these decisions because everyone is chasing their own dream.