Eleanor Isaac wasn’t even planning on playing football when she touched down in New Zealand as part of her OE. But she has since gone on to star for Southern United and her influence has now been underlined by being named most valuable player in the National Women’s League.

To determine the overall MVP, each team was required to single out the top three performers from the opposing side in all matches with points allocated on a sliding scale.

Isaac held off the challenges of the likes of Southern team mate Elise Mamanu-Gray, Rose Morton (Central), Aimee Phillips (Canterbury), Cushla Litchwark (Capital), Annalie Longo (Canterbury), Sarah Gregorius (Capital) and Kim Maguire (WaiBOP) to win the award and admits it caught her off-guard.

“It feels pretty amazing and I can’t believe it really,” she says. “I didn’t expect this at all – it’s a bit of a surprise.”

The 24-year-old has clearly played a key role in the unexpected success of Southern this season but says she has not placed much emphasis on her own form.

“I try to think more about the team and just what I can do to get the results the team needs rather than focusing too much on my game. I prefer to leave the pressure off and just focus on getting the results overall.”

Isaac headed down under last year with an impressive pedigree having played in the English top flight as a youngster for Bristol Academy. But football was far from the forefront of her mind when she pitched up in Queenstown and it was only her love of the game that drew her back in.

“It was part of a big travelling plan, I’d spent a few months in Asia and thought New Zealand looked really cool. Queenstown is obviously a big destination for travellers and I kind of just fell into playing again.”

She was hugely influential for Queenstown Rovers in the Football South Women’s Premier League over the winter, scoring 18 goals and winning the player of the year award. Her form alerted freshly-appointed Southern coach Terry Parle and she has not regretted her decision to take up his offer.

“I hadn’t heard too much about the national league and didn’t really know what to expect. And it was a big decision to play because I knew there would be a lot of travelling from Queenstown to Dunedin and going all over the country,” she explains.

“But it’s been really good and has given me a chance to see more of New Zealand. I’ve really enjoyed it, much more than I thought I would actually.”

Being part of a successful team – Southern have qualified for the playoffs for the first time in their history – will have helped in that regard, as has a style of play that suits Isaac’s game.

“Our coach Terry has quite a similar belief about football to me. We both like to get the ball down and play and we’ve definitely looked to play a passing game,” she says.

Isaac had spent most of her career in the UK – which also took in spells at Cardiff City and Yeovil Town – playing at centre back or fullback but has been pushed forward into an attacking midfield role for Southern and has relished being given a new lease of life. Her partnership with Mamanu-Gray, who earned her first cap for the Football Ferns on the tour of Thailand this month, in the engine room has been key to Southern’s success but, despite having previously played at a high level, Isaac has far from found the going easy.

“The standard of the league is definitely up there,” she says.

“Most recently I was playing in the second league in the UK and I’d say the New Zealand league is probably pretty similar to that. The top league in England is a step up but that’s obviously because the players are training every day and being paid to play so you’d expect there to be a gap. There’s definitely a lot of players here in New Zealand who could go straight over to the UK and fit right in, I’ve been really impressed with the level.”

The football on show is likely to be of a high quality on Sunday, when Southern travel north to take on Auckland in the National Women’s League preliminary final. On offer is a place in the grand final against defending champions Canterbury United Pride and Isaac sees no reason why Southern can’t write another chapter in their fairy-tale, especially as they have already beaten Auckland this season.

“We’re not underestimating them at all, we know they’ll be a really strong team but we’re just going to play our game and do what we can to make the final,” she says.

Audio

Eleanor Isaac on being named MVP of the National Women’s League and her season with Southern United

National Women’s League Playoffs

Preliminary FinalAuckland Football Federation vs Southern UnitedSunday 3 December, 1.30pmKeith Hay Park, Auckland

Grand FinalCanterbury United Pride vs TBCSunday 10 December, 1.30pmEnglish Park, ChristchurchLive on SKY Sport 3