Illawarra Stingrays star Chloe Middleton will be kitting up in green once again for the upcoming A-League Women's season, with the midfielder re-signing with Canberra United for another campaign.
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It will be the second season at United for Middleton. She made 14 appearances for the side last campaign, starting in eight of those matches.
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"I really enjoyed playing for Canberra, the girls and the team environment was so good and you felt like just one big family," Middleton told the Mercury.
"So it was really good to get another contract there this season and know that I can go back to a lot of the same girls and see if we can go further this season."
I really enjoyed playing for Canberra, the girls and the team environment was so good and you felt like just one big family.
- Illawarra Stingrays' Chloe Middleton
United have only just begun their pre-season preparations for the A-League Women's season which begins next month, but with a new coach Njegosh Popovich at the helm, Middleton feels like the club means business this year.
"We're doing five sessions a week and this is our second week of pre-season training. It's [training] is definitely a lot better this season because we're at the AIS [Australian Institute of Sport] full-time now. So having those facilities is amazing and it makes the whole environment better."
Middleton added that the addition of Western United this season and the Mariners next season, along with more fixtures, would all add to the professionalism to the competition.
"I think it's a really good step forward that this season we will have 20 games," she said.
"That's a lot more than what we've had in previous seasons which is so good because you can't really do much with 14 games in a season. [With less games] you still have to have another job so I think the league has moved more professional. Leading into a World Cup I think gives a lot of girls a lot more on an opportunity to play for the Matildas," Middleton said.
Canberra will begin their A-League Women's season on November 19 against Perth at McKellar Park.
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