Round One of the Liberty A-League is upon us! Ahead of the action getting underway, aleagues.com.au previews all six of the contests.
The biggest Liberty A-League season in history is here!
It all kicks off on Saturday with a standalone celebration of women’s football round as the A-Leagues aim to break domestic attendances on the back of the history making FIFA Women’s World Cup.
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Two derbies headline the weekend’s action when the returning Central Coast Mariners take on Newcastle Jets, then reigning champions Sydney FC welcome Western Sydney Wanderers to Allianz Stadium later on Saturday evening.
That’s not all – with four more huge contests to round out the opening matchday of the most highly anticipated season yet.
Now, A-League Women fans can round out their weekend with our live show, 8.30pm AEDT on 10 Play and KEEPUP YouTube.
Each Sunday, join Niav Owens and Teo Pellizzeri and a rotation of pundits and players to wrap the round and tackle the bigger talking points in the game.
You can also follow the Liberty A-League and all the biggest news in the world of women’s football on the show’s social accounts on Facebook and Instagram.
Momentum into the new season is building off the back of the Women’s World Cup, where KEEPUP Studios produced daily Dub at the Cup vodcasts, with anticipation building for a weekend of record attendances across the opening weekend.
Ahead of the action getting underway, aleagues.com.au previews all six contests.
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Saturday, 5pm: Central Coast Mariners v Newcastle Jets
For the first time in 14 years, the Central Coast Mariners will play a Liberty A-League fixture when they take on Newcastle Jets in the season opener on Saturday evening.
Mariners coach Emily Husband has been busy moulding her squad ahead of their return, with a nice blend of experience and youth- headlined by Matildas legend Kyah Simon.
“The girls have had a really good pre-season, and this has been the main focus throughout the whole of it (pre-season),” Mariners coach Emily Husband said.
“Getting prepared for round one, getting ready for the F3 Derby. So we’re so excited to get out there and the derby is always special occasion, so we’re just really excited to get out there.
“We’ve shown in our pre-season games so far how competitive we’re going to be, that they are a great group of girls.
“We’ve got a lot of experience in there, it’s not a completely new team. Yes, they’re a new team together, but there’s a lot of experience within the group and I absolutely have no doubt we’re going to be competitive this year.”
Simon has been named in the squad and is a chance to play her first minutes since tearing her ACL last year while playing for Tottenham Hotspur.
Meanwhile, the Jets are hoping to rise up the table this season after a difficult 2022-23 campaign, where they finished in second-last on the standings.
Gary Van Egmond’s side have recruited heavily, bringing in sharpshooter Melina Ayres, along with young talent Claudia Cicco and Swiss international Lorena Baumann among many new faces.
Both sides will play off for the new F3 Trophy this season, which is made from a piece of guard rail from the motorway itself.
Opta stat: This is the Central Coast Mariners first match against Newcastle Jets in A-League Women since a 3-1 victory back in November 2009; the Mariners have won their last two games against the Jets in the competition.
MATCH DETAILS
Central Coast Mariners v Newcastle Jets
Saturday, October 14 2023
Industree Group Stadium
Kick-off: 5:00 PM (AEDT)
Broadcast: Paramount+, 10 Play
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Saturday, 7:45pm: Sydney FC v Western Sydney Wanderers
There’s no bigger way to kick off the new season for both Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers than a derby in front of a huge crowd.
A bumper turnout is expected at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night, as the reigning winners of the Liberty A-League double begin their quest for more silverware against their arch-rivals.
The Sky Blues have revamped their squad in the months since their success in the 2023 Grand Final, with the likes of Madison Haley, Charlize Rule, Mackenzie Hawkesby and Sarah Hunter all departing the club for overseas moves.
However, Ante Juric’s side have brought in a host of top quality replacements including Fiona Worts, Shea Connors, Tori Tumeth and Lucy Johnson to cover their losses.
“We’ve had quite a big turnover in players this year but I think everyone is getting on really well and the new ones are integrating really well,” Sydney captain Nat Tobin said.
“It’s almost been better to have a new squad so we can click as one.
“Tori [Tumeth] at right back has slotted right into the team and coming off the back of an ACL injury, she is doing an amazing job. She is so tough, you just wouldn’t know she missed all of last season.
“Lucy Johnson has also done well since arriving in the midfield and she has a great eye for splitting passes which can certainly rattle defences.
“Overall though, the entire squad looks absolutely awesome and everyone is really switched on.”
Sydney will go into the opening round feeling confident of victory too, having gone undefeated in their last seven games against the Wanderers.
Incredibly, they haven’t conceded in any of those games (13-0 aggregate), with Western Sydney’s last goal against the Sky Blues coming in a 5-0 drubbing back in December 2019 – where Matildas star Kyra Cooney-Cross and USWNT winger Lynne Williams fired a brace apiece.
The Wanderers, on the other hand, have undergone a major upheaval off the field in the days leading into the contest with Robbie Hooker replacing Kat Smith as head coach just over a week before the season opener.
Hooker previously led Canberra United to a Grand Final appearance in the inaugural season of the competition and has since served as an assistant coach in both the Socceroos and Matildas setups.
Western Sydney will be without young star Milly Clegg, whose debut for the club will have to a bit longer, while Sydney’s Jynana Dos Santos misses with injury.
Opta stat: Western Sydney Wanderers have not won their last 16 games away from Wanderers Football Park in A-League Women (D3 L13), scoring more than one goal in a game only twice throughout that period.
MATCH DETAILS
Sydney FC v Western Sydney Wanderers
Saturday, October 14 2023
Allianz Stadium
Kick-off: 7:45 PM (AEDT)
Broadcast: 10 Bold, Paramount+, 10 Play
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Saturday, 10pm: Perth Glory v Western United
Last year’s runners-up Western United kick-off their new campaign with a clash against Perth Glory on Saturday night.
Mark Torcaso’s side have been busy this off-season bringing in a host of reinforcements to build upon their already talented core of players that took them to last year’s Grand Final.
New signing Grace Maher is in line for her club debut, but Catherine Zimmerman will miss with injury. Matildas midfielder Chloe Logarzo has also been named for her first game back with the club since returning on a permanent deal.
Their opponents, Perth, will be no easy beat. Glory have constructed an impressive squad, bringing in the likes of Philippines internationals Jessika Cowart and Quinley Quezada, alongside former WSL striker Millie Farrow and emerging star Grace Jale.
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Alex Epakis’ side has just missed out on finals in back-to-back seasons, but with the expansion to a top six plus the bolstering of their squad on every line, Perth should be among the teams to beat this season.
“The reality is that we know what we’re capable of,” Epakis said pre-game.
“We have a really strong belief within the group that we can achieve something special and I don’t want to dampen that, I want to use that as momentum and just to create a real force around what we’re doing.
“We are setting really high expectations of ourselves, but it’s because we have the group that we have. They’re realistic expectations. Western are a very experienced team and are strong and powerful.
“You just look at the profile of their players and you know it’s going to be a physical challenge. They’re very effective going forward as well, so we have to really mindful of managing that.
“But the priority and the focus is on our own attack and we go into the game… with the belief and the idea that we will win.”
Torcaso – who is also the head coach of the Philippines women’s national team – will be keeping a keen eye on this contest, particularly with Cowart and Quezada set to debut, while Western midfielder Jackie Sawicki is also in line to feature for Western.
Opta stat: Perth Glory have scored eight goals between the 61st and 75th minute of a match during the 2022-23 A-League Women, the most by any team that season during that period of play in match; it contributed to 26% of Perth Glory goals that season.
MATCH DETAILS
Perth Glory v Western United
Saturday, October 14 2023
Macedonia Park
Kick-off: 10 PM (AEDT)
Broadcast: Paramount+, 10 Play
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Sunday, 1pm: Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne City
The Paul Temple era at the Wellington Phoenix gets underway on Sunday when they host Melbourne City at Sky Stadium.
Temple took over from Natalie Lawrence at the end of last season, after she opted against reappointment for the 2023-24 season.
In their first two seasons in the competition, Wellington have finished bottom of the table, winning only five games from a possible 32 since their arrival in the competition at the start of the 2021-22 season.
This season, however, the ‘Nix will be hoping to make inroads up the table and build on the glimpses of promise they showed in season two – which saw them beat the likes of Canberra United and reigning champions Sydney FC.
Temple gave an insight into how the Phoenix will look this season in his pre-game press conference: “I want us to be really exciting to watch. That’s the most important thing.
“Fans need to be engaged with the team, and I want the team to inspire the next generation of young girls and boys to a degree as well, but particularly young girls. I want young girls to look at the Phoenix and aspire and think, I want to play like them. I want to play for the Phoenix.
“The knock on effect to that will hopefully be that we’ll create more technical players that can then go into the national team and provide a base so that the national team can keep progressing and play more technical football.
Temple said his side will look to play a “different” style of play this season, coining it “small ball” – which is a term used in basketball when teams opt to play with less height and physicality in order to play with more speed.
“There’s a real evolution of the game that we’ve seen… I want us to be a little bit different, so I think you’re going to see some things that are tactically, maybe a bit different in the A-League Women’s competition,” he said.
“We’re certainly going to play, a short passing style of football. We’ve termed it small ball. That’s our little name for it.
“So we’ve been practising that a lot, and I think it’s exciting to watch. The players are enjoying playing it and that’s what I want to see. Ultimately, I don’t want to be bored on the sidelines. I want to be excited by how we play.
“I think that’s the the key thing that’s going to take us to the next level.”
Wellington named new signing and Football Fern Annalie Longo as the club’s captain, along with Chloe Knott and Michaela Foster as vice captains in a wider leadership group which includes Brianna Edwards, Hope Breslin, Kate Taylor and Rebecca Lake.
Temple explained the reasoning behind naming a leadership group and how it will function within the club’s four walls.
“I took a bit of inspiration from, a book called: ‘Turn the Ship Around,” he said.
“It’s about the US Navy, and there’s a Captain David Marquet, and he basically changed the way the US Navy did their leadership on boats and submarines and it’s like a leader, leader approach, and it’s about giving departments and in this case with a football team, different sections of the team, responsibilities for leading the team and driving themselves.
“I feel that teams that will be the most successful are driven from within and it shouldn’t always be the coach that is kind of demanding of X, Y and Z and setting the rules and setting the expectations.
“I see myself there to try and help that process, not to kind of necessarily map it all out for them. So I want them to explore that.
“We’ve kind of got this kaitiaki group to be the guardians of this team and so that they all have some responsibilities in different sections of the team and that can include things like planning and preparation, the facilities, the the environment we’re creating, obviously on the pitch off the pitch, social, all those things.
“We’ve got different people that have got responsibilities across that kaitiaki and they’ll bring it alive, how they want to bring it alive and and kind of they’ll run this team, how they want to run it and how they feel is the best thing for success.”
Meanwhile, City are hoping to kick off their season in a similar fashion to the previous campaign, after beating Wellington in their season opener at the same venue last year.
City boss Dario Vidosic is confident his side are in a great position heading into round one after having his first full pre-season as head coach.
“It’s been excellent. I can’t fault them,” he said.
“I’ve been immensely proud of everyone, the effort. We probably weren’t in an ideal situation with losing seven players for ten to twelve days [on international duty].
“You put into that the jet lag, everyone coming from Canada, Italy, from Chile for the New Zealand girls.
“Then there’s a couple of days on top of that once they arrive back where we need to look after them. But all in all, once we put all that together, it’s been very very good. I’m very proud and we’re really ready to go come round one.”
Opta stat: Melbourne City has won one match in their last eight matches in A-League Women (D3, L4); they have however scored at least three goals in their last three matches but also conceded at least three goals in the same matches.
MATCH DETAILS
Wellington Phoenix v Melbourne City
Sunday, October 15 2023
Sky Stadium
Kick-off: 1 PM (AEDT)
Broadcast: Paramount+, 10 Play
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Sunday, 3pm: Adelaide United v Canberra United
Adelaide United will be looking to put a disappointing 2022-23 season behind them, when they kick-off their new campaign against Canberra United at Coopers Stadium.
After playing finals for the first time in club history in the 2021-22 season, the Reds finished in 8th place, falling way short of pre-season expectations. Adrian Stenta’s side struggled for goals last season, scoring an equal league-worst 16 goals from 18 games.
Now, the Reds are hoping to put that behind them, with Stenta – who was appointed the club’s first full-time women’s head coach – believing the sky is the limit for what they can achieve this campaign.
“We’re not going to put any limits on what we think is possible or what we think we can achieve,” Stenta said.
“We don’t want to just be a team that makes finals but a team that is competitive in that finals environment and we certainly want to improve on our results and our performances from last season.”
They will, however, be without Isabel Hodgson (ankle), Katie Bowler (foot), Maruschka Waldus (ankle/foot) and Grace Wilson (knee), but new signings including Alana Jancevski, Mariah Lee, Jenna Holtz and Hannah Blake are all in line to make their club debuts.
Their opponents Canberra just missed out on finals last season, falling agonisingly short on goal-difference.
The side from the capital have bolstered their attacking stocks with the arrival of Maria Jose Rojas and Ruby Nathan, but have lost key midfielders Grace Maher and Laura Hughes – meaning much of the midfield onus will fall on last season’s breakout star Vesna Milivojevic and new signing Mary Stanic-Floody.
Canberra will be without Hayley Taylor-Young, along with new signings Ava Piazza and Maia Cameron.
Opta stat: Adelaide United have intercepted the ball 14.8 times per match during the 2022-23 A-League Women, the second best by any team that season behind Sydney FC (15.2); their opponents Canberra United were behind them in third (14.7).
MATCH DETAILS
Adelaide United v Canberra United
Sunday, October 15 2023
Coopers Stadium
Kick-off: 3 PM (AEDT)
Broadcast: Paramount+, 10 Play
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Sunday, 4pm: Melbourne Victory v Brisbane Roar
It’s apt that a host of capped national team players are set to take the field in the first-ever A-Leagues game played at the new Home of the Matildas, when Melbourne Victory take on Brisbane Roar.
An astonishing 10 capped Matildas could take the field on Sunday afternoon, with eight of those named in Victory’s extended squad and two for the visiting Roar.
Victory have named Matildas Emily Gielnik and Lydia Williams, along with Elise Kellond-Knight who could make her return from a torn Achilles.
Off-season signings Emma Checker, Rachel Lowe and Jamilla Rankin are a chance to feature, while Beattie Goad and Jessika Nash are also in the squad.
Meanwhile, new Roar signings Tameka Yallop and Jenna McCormick have been named in Garrath McPherson’s side, with the former returning to the club she burst onto the scene with 15 years ago.
Brisbane have been somewhat of a bogey team for Victory in recent times. Jeff Hopkins’ side has gone winless in their last three meetings, with their last win against Brisbane coming in December 2021.
Opta stat: Brisbane Roar have won two of their last 12 matches in A-League Women (D5, L5); though, they have scored at least one goal in all but three matches during that run.
MATCH DETAILS
Melbourne Victory v Brisbane Roar
Sunday, October 15 2023
Home of the Matildas
Kick-off: 4 PM (AEDT)
Broadcast: Paramount+, 10 Play
MATCH CENTRE | HOW TO WATCH
