Cortnee Vine with under-12s coach Garry Dye (left) and senior men’s coach Terry Kirkham (right) at a presentation day in 2010.
“She came along,and she was tall and gangly and fast. Very quick,but had very little ball skills,” Dye said.
“But by the time we were a couple of games in we sorted that out,and then she became a real strike weapon for us.”
A lot has happened since those days,but Dye remembers coaching Vine like it was yesterday.
Cortnee Vine takes the decisive penalty for Australia during the quarter-final.Credit:Getty
“She’s always had that speed,always got a smile on her face and was always very quick to pick up on things she was taught and coached,” Dye said.
“She always played against the boys. Some of the girls sides we had at the club were low division,and all the boys sides that we had were all high divisions,and she was one of four girls in my side. When she was in the under-12s side her skills really picked up.
“She gave as good as what she got. The boys used to knock her down and she’d knock them down.