All 12 teams are vying for silverware in what’s shaping up to be one of the tightest Isuzu UTE A-League seasons yet, but who will come out on top? This is the case for why each club can hoist the Championship trophy aloft in May.
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Adelaide United
A new era begins in the City of Churches this season, after the departure of Craig Goodwin.
His exit leaves a gaping hole in the Reds attack, having just put together a career-best season, which included winning the Johnny Warren Medal and tallying 25 scoring contributions (15 goals, 10 assists).
But the next wave of talent is waiting for their chance to take his place.
Nestory Irankunda and Bernardo Oliveira are just two of the attacking options that will be hoping to take the wing spot vacated by Goodwin this season. Irankunda – particularly – is one to watch, as he looks to become a fully-fledged starter in the Reds lineup.
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Arguably there isn’t an A-Leagues team with a better crop of youngsters than Adelaide, and this argument is only strengthened after their academy side won the NPL South Australia title.
Of course, it’s a lot of pressure to heap on the kids to carry their senior side to success at the highest level, but luckily they will be complemented by much of the same core that took them to the semi-finals.
To much chagrin in the Adelaide fanbase, the Reds only opted to bring in one signing this off-season in Englishman Ryan Tunnicliffe to bolster their midfield stocks, sticking with much of the same group they had last campaign.
Their performances in the Cup were far from satisfactory, but this team still has enough of a mix of experience and youth to take them into contention this season.
However, it’s the younger cohort that’s most exciting part of the Reds project, which should give all Adelaide fans reason to be optimistic and excited about the upcoming campaign.
Brisbane Roar
Ross Aloisi has breathed new life into Brisbane Roar’s Isuzu UTE A-League outfit once more.
The new Roar boss took the side to their first-ever Australia Cup final this off-season, where they fell just short in the decider to Sydney FC.
Throughout their run, there were enough green shoots to suggest they will be one to watch this A-Leagues campaign. Aloisi has already implemented an exciting game plan, which is sure to cause headaches for opposition sides this season.
Henry Hore continues to make strides, while 18-year-old striker Thomas Waddingham burst onto the scene with an incredible run of Cup performances, scoring four goals in five games.
Jay O’Shea and Florin Berenguer will more than likely helm the midfield this season and provide plenty of creativity through the middle, while Tom Aldred and Scott Neville have plenty of experience at the back.
Although it’s not a team littered with big names, Roar certainly don’t lack belief and will be buoyed by their performances in the Cup.
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However, squad depth is still a primary concern, which may come back to bite them later in the season should injuries pile up.
Importantly, the club is back on track under not only Aloisi, but new executives and former A-Leagues players Kaz Patafta and Zach Anderson, who have done plenty of work embedding the club back in the Brisbane community.
Central Coast Mariners
Central Coast have the target on their back this season as the reigning title-holders and know what it takes to climb the mountain, having done so in stunning fashion back in June.
However, just like runners-up, Melbourne City, the club has undergone significant change this off-season following the departure of head coach Nick Montgomery and his coaching staff. Key players such as Jason Cummings, Sammy Silvera and Nectar Triantis have also exited.
Mark Jackson has been appointed as the club’s Football Manager and faces a big task in leading the Mariners back to the promised land.
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Much of the core has remained, including Brian Kaltak, Danny Vukovic, Josh Nisbet and Marco Tulio, while Alou Kuol, Mikael Doka and Angel Torres all look like they could be shrewd pickups.
Keeping that core is integral to any chance the Mariners have of going back-to-back, but it’s just a matter of whether their new signings can help mitigate the losses of key individuals at either end of the ground.
In previous seasons, they’ve been able to bring through replacements for key outs rather easily (think Triantis for Kye Rowles, Tulio for Marco Urena, Christian Theoharous for Garang Kuol), so the track record is there to trust the club’s talent identification.
This is even after Montgomery’s departure, given he practically built the squad Jackson will use this season.
Most importantly, however, it will be fascinating to see how quickly the squad respond to a new voice at the helm, given Jackson arrived so late in pre-season.
How they juggle AFC Cup commitments will also be a fascinating watch, depending on how far they progress out of the group stage, but don’t discount the power of finals experience, though, given they are battle-hardened by their run to the decider last season.
Macarthur FC
After making finals in their first year of existence, Macarthur have missed out on the top six in back-to-back years and cycled through two different coaches – Ante Milicic and Dwight Yorke – all while still managing to win the Australia Cup in between.
Mile Sterjovski is the club’s third coach in their short history and after taking over mid-season last campaign, the former Socceroo is hoping to spark the Bulls back into the finals mix after a wooden spoon finish.
The most intriguing part of the Bulls line-up this season is their star-studded attack, which includes Frenchman Valere Germain, Mexican star Ulises Davila and the likes of Jed Drew, Danny De Silva, Ali Auglah and Raphael Borges Rodrigues.
It’s an attacking six which boasts plenty of creativity and speed through the middle, but whether it’s one can take the – no pun intended – bull by the horns and bang in the goals regularly remains to be seen.
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Behind them, young talents Jake Hollman and Oliver Jones have shown plenty of promise, while Clayton Lewis is a solid pickup from Wellington.
Similarly to the Mariners, finding a balance with their AFC Cup commitments will also be a delicate one to strike, given they still have two difficult away days to come, plus the high likelihood of progressing out of the group stage.
There’s enough to get optimistic about if you’re a Bulls fan this season, especially if they can string together some consistency in their performances.
Melbourne City
Melbourne City will be looking to buck an unwanted trend this season.
City have made the big dance on four consecutive occasions but only won one Isuzu UTE A-League Championship (2021).
However, they’ve shown the mettle time and again to be in amongst at the pointy-end of the campaign.
On paper, City still have one of the most stacked squads in the entire league, despite overturning much of their team at the end of last season – following a host of their star players being snapped up by overseas clubs.
The arrivals of Tolgay Arslan, Hamza Sakhi, Steven Ugarkovic and Aziz Behich help cover their losses, and they all look set to play a major role in their push for silverware. City have also retained A-Leagues goalscorer Jamie Maclaren, Socceroos gun Mathew Leckie and the ever-consistent Curtis Good.
Maclaren and Leckie are as dangerous as any combination in the league, while Good is a key, stabilising presence in City’s defence and is perhaps one of the competition’s most underrated players.
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However, the aforementioned attacking duo may be absent later this year, should they be selected in the Socceroos squad for the Asian Cup, which creates another interesting wrinkle. As does balancing their Asian Champions League commitments.
Nonetheless, they still go into the season as one of the competition favourites. It’s just a matter of whether they can climb the mountain again with almost a brand new team and finally exorcise ghosts of Grand Finals past.
Melbourne Victory
One of the biggest clubs in the land will be hoping to turn the tide after a disappointing season.
Melbourne Victory’s campaign was riddled by close losses, a lack of a cutting edge in the final third, key injuries and off-field distractions, which ultimately, ended in an 11th place finish on the table.
Tony Popovic has kept much of the core of his squad last season, which largely underperformed from a results standpoint given the calibre of talent they have on every line, including Paul Izzo, Damien Da Silva, Bruno Fornaroli and Jake Brimmer – who returns from injury.
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He and his backroom staff have sprinkled in a number of talented players to fill gaping holes in defence, midfield and attack – namely through the arrivals of Daniel Arzani, Adama Traore, Zinedine Machach and Ryan Teague.
Their defence looks as formidable as any in the competition, and while they don’t have the deepest pool of out and out number nines, they have enough options to provide a winning score with Arzani, Brimmer, Fornaroli, Machach, Ben Folami and Nishan Velupillay.
Popovic has already resurrected this side once, taking them from the wooden spoon to second within a year.
Whether he can work wonders again remains to be seen, but given the evenness of the competition and the squad he’s compiled for this campaign, there’s no reason to doubt he can’t take Victory back into contention.
After all, this is a club that has a winning DNA that’s yearning for more silverware.
Newcastle Jets
Robbie Stanton faces an enormous task in year one to lead Newcastle back to the finals for the first time in five years.
The Jets have lingered in the bottom-half of the table since finishing as runners-up in the 2017-18 season, with ownership issues overshadowing a difficult five years for the club.
They do, however, possess a plethora of quality young talent which Stanton will look to bring through the ranks this season and lead them back into finals contention.
Archie Goodwin, Lucas Mauragis, Phillip Cancar, Clayton Taylor and Lachlan Bayliss all look set to play huge roles in the Jets’ upcoming season, with the former touted for big things should he finally get the keys to lead the line on a more consistent basis.
Bayliss also joins after a stint in the Mariners academy, with Network 10 experts Roy O’Donovan and Luke Wilkshire both believing he can have a breakout season.
The club have also retained highly talented attacking midfielder Reno Piscopo, who will be hoping to take the next step in his development this season, while veterans Brandon O’Neill and Carl Jenkinson should provide steel in midfield and defence.
A lot will have to go right for them to win a Championship, but a finals berth is not completely out of the realms of possibility if Stanton can get a tune out of this squad in his first year in charge.
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Perth Glory
Alen Stajcic has worked wonders wherever he has gone throughout his career and he will be hoping to work another magical feat in his newest venture.
Stajcic was appointed senior head coach of Perth Glory this season, succeeding Ruben Zadkovich following his resignation at the end of last campaign.
The former Matildas boss comes with a knack of getting the best out of the sums of his parts.
He arrives at the club fresh off leading Philippines’ women’s national team to an historic maiden World Cup appearance, where they almost progressed to the Round of 16.
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While before that, he took Central Coast Mariners from the doldrums of the table to a finals appearance for the first time in seven years.
His arrival is almost a match made in heaven, given what he’s been able to do in previous seasons.
Stajcic inherits a capable squad that has enough talent on every line to cause a stir, along with a formidable advantage at their home deck – something they rode en route to almost stealing a spot in the finals last season.
In an added boost, the club has landed new owners, ending any sort of off-field distractions surrounding Glory’s future viability.
Sydney FC
The Sky Blues come into the new season with a huge wind in their sails following their Australia Cup success.
Sydney FC have carried their momentum from a strong end to last season and look set to be among the contenders this campaign, if their Cup run is anything to go by.
Steve Corica’s side knocked off four Isuzu UTE A-League opposition en route to winning the Cup, coming from behind to beat Central Coast Mariners, before defeating Western United, Melbourne City and Brisbane Roar in the final.
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Their top end talent, including Joe Lolley, Anthony Caceres and Luke Brattan, stood out enormously during their Cup run, but they were complemented by an impressive crop of youngsters – headlined by Patrick Wood, Jake Girdwood-Reich and Kealey Adamson.
There’s also highly rated attacker Nathan Amantidis, who they pried away from Adelaide United this off-season and is certainly one to keep an eye on should he get an opportunity in the senior squad.
It will be fascinating to see how Corica integrates his tried-and-tested bodies, with the kids and the sprinkling in of new arrivals, including Brazilian duo Fabio Gomes and Gabriel Lacerda.
There’s enough talent there to go all the way and their form line is only trending positively. Whether they can harness their solid end of season and pre-season form into more silverware in the league remains to be seen.
Wellington Phoenix
The kids are set to lead the push for Wellington Phoenix this season, as the Giancarlo Italiano era gets underway.
In his first season at the helm since taking over from Ufuk Talay, Italiano has looked to build his squad around the established core that remained from last season, with a sprinkling in of academy prospects who have made the leap into the senior side.
Lukas Kelly-Heald, Fin Conchie, Isaac Hughes and Luke Supyk have all signed scholarship deals this off-season, with the former seeing plenty of minutes in both of their Australia Cup contests.
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Alex Paulsen has also assumed the number one jersey between the sticks, following the departure of Oli Sail, and has showed enormous promise.
Wellington have also managed to retain star striker Oskar Zawada along with Bulgarian Bozhidar Kraev, who look set to lead the attack this season.
There is still enough talent to be in the mix this campaign, especially if they can turn Sky Stadium into a fortress and make the most of their home surrounds. More importantly, Wellington have shown an incredible knack of defying pre-season expectations and staying in the finals mix over the last few seasons.
Although it’s been quiet on the arrival front, write the ‘Nix off at your own peril.
Western Sydney Wanderers
Western Sydney Wanderers’ high voltage attack makes them as dangerous as any team in the competition.
Marko Rudan’s side have assembled quite the attacking crop this season, headlined by Socceroo Brandon Borrello, new Swedish striker Marcus Antonsson and Olyroo Lachlan Brook.
The early evidence is promising, with both Antonsson and Brook combining for eight goals in the Australia Cup, while Borrello added three of his own, continuing a fine end to last season where he surged back into the national team setup.
Their work is complemented by the ever-green Milos Ninkovic, along with exciting winger Dylan Pierias and youngsters Marcus Younis, Alex Badolato and Nicolas Milanovic. It’s enough attacking prowess to make your eyes water and you would back them in any sort of shootout.
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However, what happens behind them will be a fascinating watch, given the departures of the likes of Calem Nieuwenhof, Morgan Schneiderlin and Tomislav Mrcela.
The Wanderers managed to retain Marcelo and Lawrence Thomas, while adding experienced Dutchman Jorrit Hendrix – who looks set to lead the midfield alongside fellow new arrival Josh Brillante.
Their defence did, however, leak four goals against Brisbane Roar in their Cup exit, which is something coach Rudan has surely been looking at in the lead-up to Round One.
They ended their finals hoodoo last year. It might be time for the Wanderers to finally add a Championship to their trophy cabinet.
Western United
The 2022 champions have loaded up ahead of the new season.
John Aloisi’s side will be hoping last campaign was nothing more than an outlier, after their Championship defence ended with them missing the finals all together.
Western completely gutted their squad, parting ways with a host of their Grand Final heroes including Jamie Young, Leo Lacroix, Neil Kilkenny and Aleksandar Prijovic – while Alessandro Diamanti and Nikolai Topor-Stanley retired.
The club were busy on the arrivals front, bringing in Brazilian star Daniel Penha, Japanese winger Riku Danzaki, Socceroo Nikita Rukavytsya and the likes of Angus Thurgate and Thomas Heward-Belle.
Not only is this a full scale rebuild of their playing stocks, but it’s also a lowering of the age profile, with only two of their arrivals – Rukavytsya and James Donachie – over the age of 30.
They’ve also integrated academy products Matthew Grimaldi and Oliver Lavale into the squad – each signing scholarship contracts – while Kane Vidmar arrives at the club, who is the son of Socceroos great, Tony.
Importantly, their arrivals bolster the remaining crop of talented players including Josh Risdon, Ben Garuccio, Tomoki Imai, Lachlan Wales and Noah Botic.
On paper, this squad is looking the goods and more silverware may not be far away. In an added boost, their days as league nomads are finally over, when they move into their home ground in Tarneit later this season.
To steal and tinker a line from Milhouse Van Houten – ‘things may be coming up Western!’
