KOA special: Georgia Hunter on joining Town, working at Lidl and being title-winning captain

0:00Hey guys, Lady Luck here. I just love the fall season. Chris Morning's pumpkin spice latte and it's the best time to cozy up and play Spin Quest. They have over a thousand different slots in all my favorite casino style games and they're running a deal for all new players. A$30 coin package for just 10 bucks. So this fall, grab your favorite blanket, visit SpinQuest.com and download the app today. Spin Quest is a free to play social casino. Avoid where prohibited. Visit SpinQuest.com for more details.

0:40Hello everybody, it's me Roscoe and welcome to the latest Kings of Anglia podcast and today we're joined by one of the 14 summer signings Richertown women's team. Welcome to the Track Girls Talk podcast, Georgia, Gio, how are you? Thank you so much for joining me. Thanks for having me. Yeah, I'm good. Thank you. How are you? Very well. I'm really excited to chat. You're the one of three Georges in the squad. Gio is the nickname. Is that something you've always been called? Yeah, since my debut at Hearts when I was 15, one of the more experienced players, I'd say, gave me the name Gio. They were like, yeah, nickname.

1:18So yeah, I stuck with Gio since I was 15. Yeah, so about 10 years now. I like it. I like it. And of course, you're part of this Scottish invasion. I'm sure that's sort of easy to settle how has that sort of been part of you know there's a few Scottish players prior to you signing but how was that when you came in you're like oh got a few familiar faces of course two of your Hearts teammates as well Yeah that definitely helped me settle I would say well the new signings the majority being Scottish and I knew quite a lot of them from playing at Scotland or just being like in the same team or whatever that definitely helped me settle a lot quicker knowing the accent that you hear it and you're like, oh, that sounds a bit like home and stuff.

1:56It's so different to obviously English. But yeah, that helped me settle a lot, knowing some of the girls that were already here. Definitely. And funny enough, the men's team, we've had a lot of Scottish players in the past, you know, like John Wark, Adam Brazile, George Burley, Christophe Berra, who actually played for Hearts as well for the men's team. Do you know much about the history at town with Scottish players? Unfortunately not, no. Yeah, I think I didn't know much about Ipswich until really I had conversations with the club. But now I should probably learn a bit more now that I'm down here.

2:30But hopefully that will come with more time being here. Definitely, definitely. How did the move come about? I know you've got a relationship with Sean Burt, the technical director. He's gone into his contact books and gone on those players. And is that how it came about? Yeah, kind of. Yeah, I was coming out of contact at Hearts at the end of last season. Just seeing what my options were in Ipswich for one of them. So I liked their style of play. I liked what their vision was. I didn't even know anyone else that was going from Scotland or whatever, so that didn't really entice me. But yeah, just seeing their progress from last season and that really enticed me into it.

3:04And that's something that I wanted to build on with me coming down to England and hopefully improving myself as a player. But taking my experience to that team as well. Yeah, it's a big step, you know, it's a long way away. How have you sort of settled in Suffolk, you know, since arriving, you know, living in the area? how does that sort of progress go because um you know that's a big you know commitment to you know travel all the way down i'm sure the first time you've moved away from home yeah it's the first time um obviously being at my last club for 13 years that's majority of my life so far um so i was a bit like oh how is it going to be like moving to england it's such as far from edinburgh so it was like oh that is a bit of a journey um and that drive down is not easy i tell you that so but nah I feel like I settled quite quick into Ipswich it's a small town and everyone's lovely here and it's easy to get about I'm quite close to the training ground or whatever and obviously knowing some of the girls at the actual team helped me settle quite easily so yeah I've settled pretty quick and I think the players that were already here and the staff that are here they've welcomed me quite early on and made that environment really nice to settle into so that helped me a lot and I feel like enjoying it as well makes it easier it's coming away from home and my family visited so that's made it easy and I've really enjoyed it so far.

4:28That's good to hear and yeah that's a sort of you know a big thing as well you know I'm sure the club have helped you with finding somewhere to live and everything like that did you have to sort of live in digs first of all or did you straight away get an apartment and you know settle? I basically got it straight away which was really good the club helped me with that and that was one of the first things I wanted so I could settle in quick and then I could just worry or focus on the football side because that's I'm like that I just want to have my setting fine and then I can just focus on the rest and I think that's what helped me early on definitely.

4:59Yeah that's good I'm sure you've enjoyed the Suffolk sun as well I know it's now getting a bit chillier but I'm sure it's very different to Scottish weather no offence but it can be a bit cold and wet up there but I'm sure you've enjoyed the Suffolk sun because it has been very hot. Yeah I mean the day we seen rain I was like hallelujah because I was that heat is something else and we're not used to that us Scottish people and it was funny we went into training and a click having I was like I knew you had been excited to see the rain last night and I was buzzing like it was like crazy but it is good like once you get used to it when I came down it was like 37 degrees in the house and I was like this is not good I was searching for fans everywhere they're all at the stock i was like i need something here to like let me live um but now getting used to it was pretty easy and then we went to spain which also helped in the pre-season camp so yeah i've adjusted pretty well but i'm just waiting for the snow now i'm like when's it coming well i don't know i'm trying to think the last time we had snow it's been a while um yeah you never know you know maybe the scottish invasion have brought the weather with you maybe potentially but um have you been able to explore and i of course you know you're busy training and playing games pre-season, have you been able to explore Suffolk and everything like that?

6:09Yeah, so, I mean, there were days off and stuff. We like to go on a lot of walks or go for coffee and lunch and stuff. We like Woodbridge or Felixstown or the places on the outskirts are pretty nice to go and chill. Being to London like once, but it's too busy for me, I think. I just like the small areas. But yeah, it's really nice, especially the outskirts. It's like, it's pretty chilled. So that's a bit of me. I like it. And I want to sort of now take you back because it'd be good to hear about, I always like to hear, sort of your journey in football, you know, early life, you know, first memories of it.

6:42You know, were your family big into football? You know, did you have any family members who played football? How did they sort of get you into it? And yeah, can you remember your first memories of playing? I'd probably say it was in primary school. Didn't really show any interest from a really young age. I was probably like 9, 10. And there was a boys team in my school and me and my friend. we just started playing with them and we were the only girls that played and I remember one of the first games we played for them we were beating this boys team and I remember their coach at halftime screaming at this young boys team saying we can't be getting beat off a team that's got two girls in it and all this and I think we were just like oh we just need to show the boys like how it's done sort of thing so that would be my earliest football memory and then pretty much from there I moved to Hearts when I was like 12, 13 and that was my club for 13 years just and then yeah that was good obviously I started under 13s for a couple months went to under 15s and then jumped straight into first team when I was 15 so that was an experience pretty young going into that environment it was obviously amateur then and then built it to the time when we just got expenses and then part-time and then full-time and we won the SWPL 2 in 2019 which got us promotion into the SWPL 1 that's when we kind of connected with the men's side and that's when investment came in and then yeah won the league last year so it's pretty much my journey summed up very much so did you have a team then up there or did you sort of just focus on your football yeah I wouldn't say I've got a team that I properly support.

8:29My family are Hibs fans, well, my dad was. Yeah, so, yeah. But the amount of time I was at Hearts and stuff that you kind of just decide to follow them or whatever. But I'm pretty easy going with who I support, I would say. I like it. And have you always been a defender? You know, when you're first, when you're young, you sort of play everywhere. But when did you sort of set on a position? I've actually always been a defender I think when I was younger I used to just get it and kick it whenever I could and just clear my lines not much changed to be fair but yeah I've always been a defender I always like just being at the back I like seeing the game from behind and trying to control the game from that aspect but yeah I've always been a defender I've not really fancied any other positions I just like being back there I like it And I forgot this right.

9:24So you made your debut at 15, you know, senior debut. That's a big thing because, yeah, you're still so young. But what's your memories of that? So I remember we were playing at Lesser Hand and I think it was Rafe Rovers or something. I think I got put on for the last 10 minutes, but that day was amazing. Like I didn't expect to call or whatever. I wasn't in, well, I was in Hartford a bit, just under 15s and stuff. And I didn't know what the pathway was at that point in the club or whatever. But yeah, that was amazing. Afterwards, I was like, hopefully I can carry this on now. And I did. And I'm so grateful for that at a young age, because I feel like that hit me with progress earlier on.

10:06But then it got me into that set-up and first team and stuff. So yeah, it was good at that point. I was still really young. Didn't really know what I know now and didn't know what was to come. But yeah, I'm grateful I got up there early and got my face in there. Definitely and of course there's been so much progression in women's football especially in England but in Scotland can you give us some insight on how you've seen that progression there Say you were playing amateur football with Hearts originally and then of course now more money's going in a lot of the men's club are back in clubs I'm sure you've seen a lot of that as you say you were part of that journey at Hearts from amateur football to semi-professional football to full time Of course I'm sure you had to study and have work on the side as well in those early days Yeah, I think a lot of women have experienced that and you hear so many stories now.

10:54So when I was going through, leaving high school, I went to uni, I studied policing and criminology for four years, I had a part-time job at Lidl and then I was also training with hearts. So that was quite hard. I think when I was in high school, I think training was like 8 till 10 at night and we could sometimes not even get a pitch, like it was crazy. and then obviously going through uni I think that helped me I'm glad I've done uni on the side because that helped me like focus on a football side because I can do stuff online and stuff and through Covid I could do everything online so I'm actually glad I've done that because it allowed me to focus on football a bit more but it was hard trying to juggle the three things and especially in the transition where you're not exactly full-time but you're kind of doing full-time training and so you're having to commit to like full-time studies full-time training or whatever so i think when clubs are now fully invested in it allows players to fully focus on football and they've got the option to do other stuff around it and i think that's the biggest progression obviously is the investment and allowing players to fully focus on football they always talk about this where like don't worry about anything else so you can just focus solely on that because it's not just going to like football and training for an hour and a half it's like you're sleeping you're eating your days off your recovery like you just need to really focus on yourself to progress to that elite level yeah i actually when i was doing some research um i found a comment on facebook i think it's on hearts and it said um yeah george a lovely girl i she you know she's in check out a little and i was like that must have just been you know you're sort of great you've been spotted buying a fan um you know that was you know that's that was an experience uh yeah i didn't even know that was exactly that was out there um that's funny actually but yeah i did work there quite a lot like sometimes i would work a sunday before a game like 6 a.m till 12 and then my kickoff was like two and it was like straight to the game or whatever but i mean that's just little compared to some other things that women have done like they didn't even get paid sometimes or whatever So, yeah, it's crazy how the women's game has gone, but it's really good, like the vision it has now and where it is at.

13:09Like still a bit to go for some clubs, but especially in England, like it's crazy. Like the treatment is amazing. Like it's just so professional. And I think anyone who can be in this environment needs to push to be here. Definitely. And what was it like playing under Eva? You know, she's now at Manchester United. What was she like? A bit of insight on her because she's now, you know, did a fantastic job at Hearts. but now Manchester is not one of the biggest clubs in the world. Were you surprised that she went there or not really? With her quality and how good a manager she is, I'm not surprised that she got a move like United and I think it's a really good move for her.

13:46I think she'll do really well there. I was with her five years at Hearts and when she came in we were pretty much getting relegated. Bottom of the league. yeah not a very good squad to compete in swpl one and then she came in she knew what to do with us young squad didn't bombard us with all this tactical knowledge kind of grew through the stages through the five years and obviously finished with a league title that just kind of shows you what how good a manager she is um i think working with her we had a really good relationship really tactical I've grown so much under her my game has got so much better mentally, emotionally, physically even just football wise so I think anyone who works under her will definitely improve sometimes it needs more time than others or whatever but yeah she's got that patience and she's willing to work with you and I always think she wants to improve her players and she'll take that time to do that That's good and of course during that period you know you suffered an ACL injury which is you know the worst of the worst and unfortunately it's a common thing in women's football um you know I've spoken to many players about it um sort of journey with that I'm sure you know that's such a long journey um how are you feeling after that you know I'm sure you still sort of I want to give you flashbacks but I'm sure you know if you see something on a pitch you go all that you know is that potentially an ACL you know how you sort of reflect on that yeah so when I'd done it I was on quite a good one I was like I feel like it always happens at the worst time for players like we always say that like it is always like always happens at worst time it was the day before my birthday as well I was like this is just brilliant like great timing I had plans and everything I know literally everything's done but like and then so I'd done it in the May and then my close friend Carly I think done it in September in the same team and I was there and I was like they didn't think it was that and I was like oh what if it is whatever but if I never had her through that rehab like that would have been me like we it was so good to have each other although it was really bad for her to have done it but we both had each other and that really helped me get through it it was a tough time it did teach me a lot though like I did learn a lot from it and know that I'm grateful it happened but I feel like I benefited from going through something like that at the age that I did.

16:09I've not been back too long from it. I came back last year in pre-season, picked up another injury. I think that's quite common coming back. And then really I came back around October last year. So not really being, that's been nearly a year now, but I know it was squad and stuff. So it can be a challenge coming back in. But as I said, like, yeah, I learned a lot from that and I'm kind of glad it happened in a way. but yeah it is tough and I know it's so common for other players but I think you just need to persevere with it and I think if you are wanting to come back you'll make it happen like that daily grind coming into the gym and seeing all the girls go out and stuff like it does make it all worth it when you hit your milestones and you hit your goals and with the right support along the way you can definitely make it back.

17:00That's good and of course yeah last year was pretty good because you captained some hearts to their first league title. Sort of take us back to that. I'm sure that was a good season. How did sort of captaincy come about? Is that something that was in the pipeline? And yeah, of course, being part of that team and leading that team, I'm sure you're a proud moment. Yeah, I think coming through the stages of hearts, I solely become captain like here and there and stuff. And then when Ava came in, it was me and Mario Kenny. she was captain at that point and then she actually I think stopped playing football at that point and then I got given it um yeah that was an honour like to captain the club that I'd been at since I was 13 like it was amazing and I just loved the club I loved playing for them loved people around it um and obviously last season was just amazing to lift that trophy to kind of finalise my my time at Hearts was so good.

18:01Like, it was the dream. And I still feel like today, I'm like, did that actually happen? Like, thinking back. And I remember that day, I keep going to Ava, I was like, is this actually happening? Like, did we really just win the league? From where we came from in relegation for, like, two seasons. And if COVID never happened, we wouldn't be in the league. Like, it's crazy. And I'm just so grateful, like, it happened the way it did. Yeah, perfect way to sort of end your time there. You know, was it the right time for you? Did you know at the end of that season you were going to move on and ready for a new challenge?

18:33I feel like you're never 100 % sure until it happens. Obviously, you never really want to leave the club you've been at for 13 years. I was so loyal to them and I really love my time there. But at some point, 13 years is a long time you need to move on and push yourself into a new challenge. I feel like this was the right one that came up, as I said. and now like I'm here and I'm enjoying it here and stuff like I'm glad that I made the move and I feel like it was the right time for me because I think any longer I would have been like when is this gonna happen will it ever happen so yeah I'm glad it's happened and yeah I really enjoyed it obviously been a really good time with the girls the staff got on with everyone really well I like the home ground Colchester there's such a good fan base as well I've met a lot of them at the home game so hopefully I meet some more as well but yeah so far it's just been a really good journey That's good and how would you sort of describe yourself as a player then for the fans who haven't been able to watch you yet or if they have watched you but maybe something that they haven't seen just yet how would you describe yourself as a defender?

19:41I've always made this question really hard Yeah I feel like I'm quite aggressive I can be more aggressive at times but I'm aggressive I like to play through the lines forward if it's on breaking teams down I'm really quick for a centre back so I'll cover space quite quickly which sometimes surprises people and just an all round team player I would say, I like getting the team up for it I like helping the team out when it needs to be done and I'll always give 100 % no matter whether I feel good, whether I feel bad or whatever, I'll try and give my all for the team at any time. That's good. Yeah, in front of the game I've seen so far, you've been very vocal, which is good.

20:26And hopefully you'll be an aerial threat for corners as well. You and Kenzie, of course, going up there and hopefully being a threat. What's that like playing alongside, of course, a Scottish international, not a Scottish player, of course, but she's sort of joined that there. I'm sure it's a proud moment as well, representing Scotland, for the on 23s yeah i've played with kenzie um before at the 23s i think was it this year last year i can't remember um so we kind of knew each other from that knew each other from through friends and stuff and i think me and kenzie really link well and we've got that connection in the centre backs um and the scotland 23s that was an honor yeah i hadn't played for them since but never and i came back from injury from acl and i got the call up and i was like how has this happened i've just come back or whatever so super grateful for that that was a great experience i think my first camp was belgium i got called the night before and i was like i'm straight in there like i'm a bit of preferred that there was no balled up just straight in um but that's an honor i've always wanted to play for my country i've always pushed for that um i think yeah i just want to keep pushing on i mean everyone wants to play for the country and Now I get to do it.

21:37I just love it. And I'd take it any day. Any day I like. That's good. And we're going to wrap this interview up very shortly. But I just want to get insight on David Wright as a manager. You know, of course, he played the amount of games he played in his professional career, of course, at town as well. What's he like as a manager? He's someone who, of course, came in last year, really, really helped. Of course, he was backed by, of course, Sean to bring in a lot of players. And, of course, this summer he's been backed as well. But what's he like as a manager? And I'm sure a little bit different style as well to maybe either.

22:07Yeah, different style. I probably fit more into righties than I did at Hearts, which I really enjoy. You can obviously tell he's a really good manager from the results that he's had so far. The progression he's made since coming in is mental and I think everyone speaks highly of him as a manager. Very vocal, he's got very good communication, he'll speak to you about anything. Intense on the pitch, which is really good, I feel like that's how you get results you push people to your max and you're going to get improvements everyone um yeah i really enjoy working under him so far really good guy um i and he just really wants the best for me and he'll work for you as hard as you work for him which is really good i think that's good and um how was the trip to spain i'm sure you know a lot of you players did you have to do initiation songs that's still a thing is that you've actually not but i've not tried to mention it because that would be me so that does not ever get mentioned that's fair i just probably love people i don't want to be embarrassed what would be your song though if you had to choose oh that is so hard i have no idea something like wonderwall or something maybe you want people to start singing with you don't you exactly they'll probably say i'd sing jess glenn or something but no I'm going to say one for all I like it yeah and sort of to wrap up the chat thank you so much for joining me a message to the fans who are listening and of course they're trying their best to back the team it's been a journey with the club itself 10 years ago as well we were playing fourth tier football and we've done that progression full time the new training ground I feel that's impressive as well yeah I think the fans hopefully realise is how much impact they do actually have on the players.

23:57Like my first game at Colchester, I felt their presence instantly and that definitely helped me get up for the game a bit more. So we're always super grateful. Hopefully you feel our presence coming over the end of the game and we can chat to you a bit more. I'd love to meet all of you. But their support is amazing and I know some of the girls who have been here previously, they always mention how much it helps them and how good a fan base that we've got. and I think being Ipswich Town girls in Ipswich, I feel like there's a family feel towards it and I feel that already. So hopefully we can just keep holding on that and we do really appreciate all the support we get.

24:34I'm sure it must be a nice feeling when you're going over to clap the fans and then they want autographs. You've got young girls, even young boys, you're all sort of their role models and is that something that sort of blows you away a little bit when you see people like, can I get signed, can I shine this and all that sort of stuff? yeah definitely it inspires me as much as hopefully i inspire them a bit because i'm like oh they actually really want to do something that we do and hopefully they'll be in our position one day it's just so nice to have a chat with them as well because just see all their smiles and the happy faces and they've made their time to come see us so hopefully we'll give enough time to see them at the end of the game but no i really enjoy speaking to everyone hopefully i can meet some more as time goes on brilliant well geo thank you so much for joining me and i'm hoping to speak again.

25:18Thank you, I appreciate it.

25:51Thank you.

26:19Thank you.

26:57Hey guys, Lady Luck here. I just love the fall season. Chris Morning's pumpkin spice latte, and it's the best time to cozy up and play Spin Quest. They have over a thousand different slots in all my favorite casino style games, and They're running a deal for all new players, a$30 coin package for just$10. So this fall, grab your favorite blanket, visit SpinQuest.com, and download the app today. SpinQuest is a free-to-play social casino. Avoid where prohibited. Visit SpinQuest.com for more details. Saturday, September 26th, two of combat sports' most dangerous strikers collide. Bare Knuckle. Liverpool's own Darren the Gorilla Till goes to war with Cuban powerhouse Yoel Soldier of God Romero.

27:40Plus the bare knuckle middleweight championship of the world is on the line. When the reigning champ Dave, the redneck Mundell defends against undefeated British challenger, Jack, the meat pleaver colon BKFC 94 till verse Romero. Watch it live only on the zone. Sign up now at the zone.com.