Portland Thorns players Hayley Raso, Celeste Boureille, Ashleigh Sykes and Britt Eckerstrom will all spend the offseason competing for clubs in Australia's Westfield W-League.

The Thorns have loaned Raso and Boureille to the Brisbane Roar and loaned Sykes and Exkerstrom to the Newcastle Jets.

The loans come a day after the Thorns announced that defender Emily Sonnett would be competing for Sydney FC in the offseason.

All the players are expected to return to the Thorns ahead of the 2018 season.

A growing number of NWSL players have spent their offseasons competing in Australia over the last few years. A total of 31 NWSL players, including multiple Thorns, competed in the W-League last winter.

Raso, who spent last season in Australia, had a breakout season in 2017, recording six goals and three assists in 20 starts for the Thorns.

Boureille, who is returning to Australia for the second offseason in a row, appeared in 17 games (13 starts) for the Thorns in 2017.

Sykes joined the Thorns from the W-League midway through the 2017 season and made 15 appearances, recording one goal and one assist for Portland.

Eckerstrom served as Portland's backup goalkeeper in 2017 and did not appear in a match for the Thorns.

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg