Sam Kerr's NWSL Return: Hulk-like Impact and Call for Australian League Investment

A lot has been written and said about Sam Kerr over the years, but likening her to a Marvel superhero feels like a new comparison.

"I was really excited when I saw her coming on because I just had this Marvel moment where I was like, 'You have the Hulk," her teammate Midge Purce said after Kerr's influential cameo off the bench in her second game for her new club, which saw it come from 0-2 down to win 3-2.

"Like you thought this was everything and no, we're bringing on the Hulk."

A DC Comics-inspired reference might have been more apt considering she is now playing for Gotham FC, but whether she is Hulk, Batman, or any other fictional crime fighter, Kerr is already back lighting up the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL).

And she hasn't even scored yet.

The Matildas captain opted to resume her career in the USA's top domestic league, after a hugely successful six and a half years with Chelsea in England's Women's Super League (WSL).

"I didn't really see myself starting fresh at a new European club. Coming back to the US has always been something that I wanted to do," Kerr told ABC Sport.

"Being close to [wife Kristie Mewis'] family and just coming back and hopefully winning some trophies.

"I felt like I'd achieved almost everything that I wanted to with Chelsea. So it was just time for change."

A-League Women needs more investment

When it became clear that Kerr was leaving Chelsea, there were some optimists hoping she might return home to Perth Glory in the A-League Women (ALW).

But that is incredibly unlikely while the league remains in its current semi-professional state.

"We need to find a way to get all the best players back," Kerr said, urging greater investment in the Australian women's domestic game.

"If it paid enough and it was a top league, a lot of us Matildas would go back, but to better ourselves for the national team, we have to go overseas.

"I think the A-League was thriving, or the W-League back then was thriving when the national team players and players from the NWSL, players from England were coming over, and whether it was a guest stint or playing, you had the best players in the league, week in, week out, training with our future generation.

"I think the A-League's probably more similar to the NWSL. It's more transitional, probably on the same level as the NWSL off the pitch with things like that.

"But I think the A-League probably needs a little bit more investment, a little bit more time."

Kerr's thoughts reflect broader concerns from players, who have repeatedly spoken out about pay in the ALW, which is the lowest amongst Australia's major women's domestic competitions.

It was not so long ago that the NWSL and ALW, or W-League as it was known, were seen as two of the leading leagues in the world, as players split their time between both.

Now Kerr and goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold are the only regular Matildas playing in the USA; a handful of others are based in Australia, with most opting to play in Europe.

American league growing

While the ALW has fallen well down the pecking order, the NWSL is now jostling for top billing alongside the WSL.

The NWSL was founded in 2013 with eight teams and now has 16 and has experienced significant commercial growth, exemplified when USA forward Trinity Rodman signed a three-year deal with Washington Spirit reportedly worth $2.86 million a year, making her one of the highest paid female footballers in the world.

Gotham is the reigning NWSL champion, and in a huge next chapter, in 2028 will move from its base in New Jersey to a new purpose-built football stadium in Queens, shared alongside Major League Soccer's New York City FC.

Kerr's debut came off the bench in the team's win over Washington last week, which was played at the home of the New York Mets in front of more than 42,000 fans, a record for a women's sport event in New York City.

A few days later, her second game was a much more low-key affair, playing at a field enveloped by an athletics track, in front of several thousand fans who braved a 2 and a half hour weather delay.

For Kerr, 32, who had played for Gotham FC under its previous iteration as Sky Blue FC, the contrast in her first two games is emblematic of where the league is at.

"It's obviously changed a bit, but a lot has stayed the same too," she said.

"The fans and the stadiums that we're playing in now are what I think we should be playing in.

"And there's always been a lot of fun over here and a lot of excitement about the game, but in so many ways it still feels like the same league."

Kerr said the different styles of football in the NWSL and WSL make them difficult to compare.

"I think everyone's fighting for the top spot in the league, even in men's football, but I don't think it's worth putting my two cents in.

"I love both leagues, but yes, such different games in both countries."

Kerr's teammate, Ireland international Denise O'Sullivan, is another new acquisition for Gotham FC.

"I think it's the best league in the world; we've world-class players in every single team in this league," she said.

"And I think really the best thing about this league is the competitiveness from top to bottom. I don't think you can go into any game not right in it."

Kerr fandom high

Kerr's return is a major talking point for the NWSL and Gotham FC fans.

Amongst the crowd at her second game, there are already several fans sporting newly minted Kerr number 20 jerseys.

"Ecstatic! She's a blue; I'm a Chelsea fan, Gotham fan, so that collaboration, it just works together, I love it," Will from Jersey City said.

Teresa from Brooklyn said she was happy to see Kerr back with the New York-New Jersey-based club.

"Sam has been gone from the league for six and a half years, and we still see her name at the top of the NWSL scoring record. So if any NWSL fan doesn't know her, that's on them," she said.

There's even an eight-year-old girl named, what else but Matilda, or Tilly, who is there with her parents, having just moved to New York from Sydney.

"We love Sam Kerr and we're so excited that this is her team now, our home team is Sam Kerr's new team, super excited," her mum Kiki said.

Not many Australians playing abroad attract this level of fandom, but even as she enters the latter stages of her career, Kerr still has the cachet amongst women's football fans here.

And she will be hoping her form can continue as she eyes off leading the Matildas to next year's Women's World Cup in Brazil.