Pride For The Panthers

Name: Kate Southern (Castelanelli)

Years with Burdekin FC: 2002 – present

Position: Centre Midfield

Since starting football at the age of five and joining the Burdekin FC Senior Women’s team at the age of 14, Kate Southern has gone on to become an absolute club stalwart.

She felt her pride for the Panthers when she joined Burdekin FC’s 50 Year Gala Ball organising committee, which allowed her to reflect on her last 20 years with the club.

“I felt very privileged to be a part of that committee,” Kate said.

“It was nice to relive those memories as we were organising the event.”

Kate’s football career started young and saw her move to Brisbane to pursue a scholarship with the Queensland Academy of Sport at age 17.

She played in Queensland representative teams for four years and was even selected in the U19 Matildas Development Squad ahead of the U19 Women's World Championship in 2004, but a viral infection meant she was unable to travel to Thailand for the tournament.

Kate returned Burdekin FC where she’s since won six premierships.

“In the years that I played, we had quite a strong team and won quite a few premierships,” she said.

“They were some of the best years of my life.

“Most of my weekends were spent at soccer so besides playing the game there was such good camaraderie off the field.

“Some of the players I played with will be lifelong friends.”

Kate joined these lifelong friends on Saturday night not only as a member of the organising committee, but also as a guest speaker reflecting on the last decade of the club’s history alongside Angelo Licciardello, Lyndsay Gabiola and Maddison Dal Santo.

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^{Catherine West and Kate Southern with their sons in 2019}