Canberra United's Emma Stanbury joins NPLW club Tuggeranong

The 28-year-old midfielder has given away Sydney soccer to join Tuggeranong United for the remainder of the 2020 season.

Coronavirus concerns in western Sydney prompted her move from the Bankstown Lions to Canberra, where she has been based since the United's 2019-20 W-League campaign.

Stanbury played eight matches for Canberra last season and is keen to continue her W-League career in lime green, but first must catch the eye of newly-signed coach Linton.

The former Matildas assistant and ex-Melbourne Victory coach is scouring the Canberra Premier League and interstate competitions to identify recruitment targets for her roster.

Stanbury is determined to make an early impression when Tuggeranong clash with the ladder-leading Gungahlin United this weekend.

"I definitely want Vicki to see me, I've met her once before and she's a really nice lady," Stanbury said.

"It's amazing news for Canberra United because Vicki has a fantastic resume and been in America for the past few years. I think it's also good we got a female coach as well with experience, I feel like they better manage women's football.

"So I'm pretty excited to have her on board and hopefully she'll be excited to have me on board too.

"I felt pretty confident in my last few W-League games, so if she watches those then hopefully we'll sign another contract.

"I don't really want to play for another W-League club, I've fallen in love with Canberra United and the fans."

Stanbury has been training with Tuggeranong men's team to help boost her chances of W-League selection.

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Tuggeranong finished sixth in last year's NPLW competition and currently sit seventh on the ladder with two losses and a draw.

Her arrival comes as a major boost to the local league, which saw the return of former United players Grace Field, Ash Sykes and Nicole Begg this year.

Stanbury was drawn to Tuggeranong because of its community feel and has aspirations to start coaching next year, pending on pending on how the upcoming W-League season pans out.

"[Tuggeranong president Stan Mitchell] brought me in as a mentor for the other girls and hopefully help out the program a bit," Stanbury said.

"I understand they're a struggling club in terms of results so I want to see it as a challenge.

"It's an opportunity to take on a mentoring role, help build a club and start from scratch.

"I want to also help out with Heather [Garriock's] coaching program, she's been doing some work with Tuggeranong and I reached out to her [about clubs]."