Northland's dynamic duo will reunite again, seen here at the 2011 New Zealand Football Awards. Photo / Photosport
Northland's dynamic duo will reunite again, seen here at the 2011 New Zealand Football Awards. Photo / Photosport
Not many regions can lay claim to two leaders of a national sporting team set to steer a World Cup campaign.
With the ICC Cricket World Cup only a few weeks away, Kane Williamson from Bay of Plenty and Ross Taylor from Wellington will be the key members of asquad looking to redeem a 2015 finals loss.
Beauden Barrett (Taranaki) and Brodie Retallick (Canterbury) will be pivotal in the All Blacks retaining the Webb Ellis Cup for a third time at the Rugby World Cup in Japan in September.
But when we look towards the Fifa Women's World Cup in France starting on June 7, Northlanders Abby Erceg (132 caps) and Hannah Wilkinson (87) will be front and centre, potentially leading the Football Ferns to their first ever win in their fifth World Cup.
Along with experienced captain Ali Riley, the Northland pair will hold key positions in the team's leadership group as they start their campaign against the Netherlands on June 12.
After 12 previous World Cup matches with no wins, three draws and nine losses, the Ferns will need their standout players to put in game-winning performances.
The sheer fact that these two players are included in the World Cup squad should fill any Northlander with pride. It could have been three had Katie Rood, now based overseas, been selected.
Hannah Wilkinson celebrates a goal with fellow Northlander Abby Erceg during the 2012 Football Ferns clash with Papua New Guinea at the Northland events centre. Photo / File
But the respect these two players command should come from their extraordinary journey to get their place in this side. If you've been keeping up with your Northern Advocate sports section, you'll know the trials and tribulations striker Hannah Wilkinson has gone through to earn her spot.
Tearing her ACL in just October of last year, Wilkinson has completed what most would consider a miraculous recovery which saw her fit and ready for World Cup selection in April. Thanks to early surgery and an unforgiving frame of mind, Wilkinson's road to her third World Cup has been nothing short of extraordinary.
Erceg's tale is less physiological and more ideological, but let that not take away the enormity of the pressures she faced. Through the bullying scandals of former Football Ferns coach Andreas Heraf, Erceg gave away her spot in the national side in a clear rejection of how Heraf ran the show.
All of us know how hard it is to resist those in charge, even if you know it's the right thing to do. Thanks in part to Erceg's action, Heraf was booted and the Ferns now have a platform to build from and make a better future for the team.
I'd like to say the Northland region blessed these two athletes with the mental and physical qualities it took to be where they are now. However, I'm confident to say Northland played a part in the formation of two of New Zealand's finest footballers on the park today.
