By David Ogilvie
Ella Wiebe senses a chance to have a crack at the New Zealand women's soccer team.
The Wanganui 28-year-old captained Central this season to a one-win, six-loss national league record, a disappointment after a good season for Central last year, but she's keen to sharpen her fitness further now and have a real crack at the top of New Zealand women's soccer.
The New Zealand women's soccer team hadn't had a match for 18 months but returned to the playing pitch in China last week. It's hoped to have another two tours to that country before the Fifa World Cup next year and then the Beijing Olympics.
New Zealand must get through the Oceania World Cup qualifying tournament in Papua New Guinea next June 16-22 to reach the World Cup in China from September 10-30.
And Wiebe, who's previously been to a couple of national training camps in years when there were no big matches, but has never made the top squad for internationals, has her eyes focused on one very big effort.
"I'm definitely going to play next year ? I'm going hard-out now because I see an opportunity there to get into the national squad. "So I'm changing my training for the next eight weeks because there's a (national squad) camp coming up in January, and as far as I know at present, I'm invited. "So I'm hoping to do good so that I get picked for a couple of friendly internationals before the qualifying tournament. So it's quite exciting at the moment ? I'm trying hard to get there."
Wiebe has spoken several times with national team coach Allan Jones.
"He came to watch our games, I had conversations with him ? so I'm quite hopeful."
She is working with Ucol's Greg Fromont on her training. "He's getting me fit ? I had to go back to basics, had to learn how to run properly, all those kind of things. I'm doing six days a week, hard stuff."
Central finished its league season with a 7-5 loss to the New Zealand Under-18 side at Napier on Sunday, with Wiebe scoring twice, and Taranaki's Tina Stevenson (2), and Nikky Wenslick also scoring.
"We scored more goals in one game on Sunday than we've scored all season," said Wiebe.
"It wasn't such a great season this time. The team seems to be all right. We have all the potential there, we're capable of doing good things, but we just didn't get it together."
Now it's down to her alone ? and the national training camp.