You see them on the world stage, representing Australia at World Cups, Olympic Games, and flying the flag for the nation at the European giants of club football.
But for every single CommBank Matildas star, the journey begins the same: by breaking through in the Ninja A-League.
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From Sam Kerr to Caitlin Foord, Mary Fowler, Steph Catley and Kyra Cooney-Cross, each and every one of your Matildas heroes began their football careers in Australia’s top-flight club competition and, as the new Ninja A-League season fast approaches, there’s a strong cohort of senior Australian internationals calling the competition home in 2025-26.
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The best thing about their collective presence in the Ninja A-League is that, for fans around the country, these Matildas stars are ready and waiting for post-game selfies, autographs, and conversations over the fence with all who come to see them play.
Get your tickets to Round 1, as these Matildas heroes prepare to light up the Ninja A-League in 2025-26.
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Firstly, there are the legends – like 45-year-old Matildas icon Melissa Barbieri, who in 2025-26 will represent Melbourne City as Australia’s oldest professional footballer as both a player and an assistant coach.
Barbieri has played in four FIFA Women’s World Cups and won the 2010 AFC Women’s Asian Cup with the Matildas.
Canberra United striker Michelle Heyman is 37 years young and raring to go for another season in green. The Ninja A-League’s all-time leading goalscorer returned to the Matildas fray in 2024 after a six-year absence and is now a regular squad member leading up to the Asian Cup on home soil in 2026.
ULTIMATE GUIDE TO 2025-26 SEASON: Fixtures, signings, kits & more
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Trailing Heyman in second spot on the Ninja A-League’s all-time scoring leaderboard is Brisbane Roar and Matildas great Tameka Yallop, who is part of an exclusive group of just 17 players to have made more than 100 Australia ‘A’ appearances with the Matildas. Yallop will once again captain the Roar into season 2025-26.
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WEEKEND PREVIEW: What you need to know for Round 1 of the Ninja A-League
Heyman isn’t the only regular Matildas squad member flying the flag for the Ninja A-League among the current crop of Australian international stars. City forward Holly McNamara is ramping up for the Ninja A-League 2025-26 season off the back of a full pre-season which is a dangerous proposition for defenders around the league.
Last season, McNamara eased into action with City after an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear – but ended the season as the competition’s Golden Boot winner, scoring 15 goals in just 17 regular-season games. A fully fit McNamara could wreak havoc on the Ninja A-League this season. With speed, power and clinical finishing, the 22-year-old is lightning in a bottle and a joy to watch in the flesh.
Since the start of 2024, 16 players have been handed Matildas debuts as part of a new international cycle which began with the Paris Olympic Games.
Nine of those 16 players are using the Ninja A-League 2025-26 campaign as a platform to prove they’re worth considering for places at the 2026 Asian Cup.
In July, Australia hosted Panama in a friendly in Western Australia, a game in which head coach Joe Montemurro handed out three senior debuts. Three of those debutants were from Ninja A-League clubs: Adriana Taranto (formerly Western United, now Adelaide United), Grace Kuilamu (Brisbane Roar) and Alexia Apostolakis (Melbourne City).
Ultimate Guide to Ninja A-League 2025-26 season: Fixtures, signings, kits & more
All three players are expected to achieve big things in 2025-26 at their respective clubs; watch closely for what 18-year-old forward Kuilamu can produce for Brisbane this season, as one of the genuine excitement machines of her generation of rising stars.
One month earlier, it was Isabel Gomez’s turn to debut for Australia. Central Coast Mariners won the Ninja A-League Championship last season and Gomez was the star of the fairytale story. Gomez scored in the Semi-Finals to knock out Premiers Melbourne City and scored in the Grand Final to put the Mariners ahead of Melbourne Victory. Once Victory equalised, Gomez scored in the penalty shootout as the Mariners emerged as Champions.
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In 2024, Melbourne City midfield duo Laura Hughes and Leah Davidson made their senior Matildas debuts – as did now-Brisbane Roar keeper Chloe Lincoln, and Newcastle Jets defender Natasha Prior who has quickly become a fan favourite among Matildas fans for her solid defensive contributions as a partner to Clare Hunt in centre-back.
Another 2024 debutant, Brisbane Roar product Sharn Freier is back in the Ninja A-League on loan from German giants VfL Wolfsburg and, fit-again following an ankle injury, could explode back into form in the hope of an international recall.
Together, these Matildas stars of past and present all return to action in the Ninja A-League this weekend, with the season set to get underway on Friday, October 31.
Full list of capped CommBank Matildas in the Ninja A-League
- Emily Condon, Adelaide United
- Dylan Holmes, Adelaide United
- Matilda McNamara, Adelaide United
- Adriana Taranto, Adelaide United
- Tameka Yallop, Brisbane Roar
- Grace Kuilamu, Brisbane Roar
- Chloe Lincoln, Brisbane Roar
- Sharn Freier, Brisbane Roar
- Michelle Heyman, Canberra United
- Isabel Gomez, Central Coast Mairners
- Bryleeh Henry, Melbourne City
- Laura Hughes, Melbourne City
- Alexia Apostolakis, Melbourne City
- Karly Roestbakken, Melbourne City
- Holly McNamara, Melbourne City
- Melissa Barbieri, Melbourne City
- Leah Davidson, Melbourne City
- Taylor Ray, Melbourne Victory
- Natasha Prior, Newcastle Jets
- Sarah Hunter, Sydney FC
- Amy Harrison, Western Sydney Wanderers
