The 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League is been in the books with records broken, hearts won and moments created that will last a lifetime.
Following an incredible season which saw new boys Auckland FC clinch the Premiers Plate and Melbourne City secure just their second Championship crown, aleagues.com.au takes a look back at how your club fared during the season that was in 2024-25.
But in a bumper part two of our three-part series, we take a closer look at the season that was for Macarthur Bulls, Melbourne City, Melbourne Victory, Newcastle Jets and Perth Glory.
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Macarthur Bulls (8th)
After defeating Melbourne Victory to seal their second Australia Cup triumph in three years, there was plenty of interest to see what Macarthur Bulls could do in Round One of the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season: They didn’t disappoint.
Inspired by off-season recruits Marin Jakolis and Luke Brattan, the Bulls tore Perth Glory to shreds at Campbelltown Sports Stadium as they chalked up an opening round 6-1 win to sit on top of the ladder.
Having played for Melbourne City last year, Jakolis looked to be an inspired signing by Mile Sterjovski as he registered four goals and five assists in his first 10 league games for the club, working brilliantly alongside the likes of captain Valere Germain, midfield creator Jake Hollman and the lively Jed Drew.
So with Germain, Drew and Hollman all regularly finding the back of the net and Brattan proving to be the metronome in midfield, the Bulls were shaping as a real Premiership contender heading into 2025 when disaster struck for Sterjovski.
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So good was the aforementioned players’ form that clubs from around the world came knocking: Drew was sold to Austrian Bundesliga side TSV Hartberg, captain Germain moved to J1 League giants Sanfrecce Hiroshima, fellow forward Ariath Piol moved to Real Salt Lake in MLS while defender Ollie Jones moved to Danish side Randers soon after making his debut.
Defender Kevin Boli was brought in to bolster the backline and exciting Tunisian creator Saîf-Eddine Khaoui joined the attack but the departures hit Macarthur hard.
A run of six defeats in nine games meant the Bulls were now on the outside looking in when it came to securing a finals spot and while they did record a couple of five-goal wins over Adelaide and Brisbane, ultimately the Bulls’ left themselves with too much to do and missed out on playing finals football.
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In terms of bright spots, goalkeeper Filip Kurto once again proved himself to be one of the best goalkeepers in the Isuzu UTE A-League while young defender Kealey Adamson flourished during his first full season of A-Leagues football and it’s little surprise to see his name being linked with a move overseas.
Finally, towering striker Harrison Sawyer finally got himself on the scoresheet for the first time in the competition and his late run of four goals to finish the season will give Sterjovski confidence that the big number nine can potentially lead the attack next season.
RATING: 6/10
Melbourne City (2nd – Champions)
What a season it proved to be for Melbourne City and their head coach Aurelio Vidmar as his side not only sealed a second Isuzu UTE A-League Championship in club history but also booked their spot in next season’s AFC Champions League Elite.
Having lost club icon and the leagues’ all-time leading goalscorer Jamie Maclaren plus several other experienced heads there were many question marks surrounding Vidmar and how he would shape his side for season 2024-25 but the South Australian proved plenty of people wrong.
Recruiting foreign talents such as Austrian midfielder Andreas Kuen and Israeli attacker Yonatan Cohen, Vidmar also pulled a masterstroke in persuading former City stars Marco Tilio (loan) Nathaniel Atkinson (permanent) to rejoin the club this season whilst Argentinian defender German Ferreyra also signed on.
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While their squad on paper looked to be stocked full of talent, City soon found themselves in the midst of an unprecedented injury crisis. Tilio, Kuen and Cohen all picked up injuries while Socceroos star Mathew Leckie was also struggling to maintain his fitness due to a string of knee and hamstring problems. Add to that the fact midfielders James Jeggo and Andrew Nabbout would suffer season-ending injuries and City were all of a sudden down to the barest of bones and forced to field a host of young players in their absence.
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But the kids did brilliantly. 17-year-old academy graduate Lawrence Wong played well beyond his years, U20 AFC Asian Cup winner Medin Memeti scored five goals for the season while the likes of Kavian Rahmani, Zane Schreiber and many more stepped up and young striker Max Caputo returned from a lengthy injury to lead the line with distinction.
While they may have been somewhat lean in the goalscoring department, City proved that a good defence is the key to winning a Championship.
Young goalkeeper Patrick Beach proved to be a hit between the sticks in his first season while off-season signing Kai Trewin performed brilliantly in the heart of defence (and midfield) as the likes of Atkinson, Ferreyra, Samuel Souprayen and captain Aziz Behich ensured City finished the season with the best defensive record and second only to Auckland FC on the ladder, qualifying for next season’s lucrative AFC Champions League Elite.
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Coming up against high-flying Western United in the semi-finals, City swept their Victorian rivals aside to comfortably book their spot in the Grand Final and when it came to holding their nerve in a blockbuster showdown with neighbours Melbourne Victory they did just that; securing a 1-0 triumph in a thoroughly controlled display to spark scenes of joy amongst the City faithful at full-time.
RATING: 10/10
Melbourne Victory (5th)
Beaten Grand Finalists in the 2023-24 Isuzu UTE A-League campaign, Melbourne Victory underwent an off-season of change ahead of the most recent season as they looked to capture a fifth Championship.
With head coach Tony Popovic departing during the off-season, former Melbourne City Championship-winning boss Patrick Kisnorbo was chosen as the man to lead them to glory and he very nearly did so before the campaign begun, with Victory suffering an agonising 1-0 defeat to Macarthur Bulls in the 2024 Australian Cup Final.
Bringing in the likes of seasoned defender Brendan Hamill, Greek striker Nikos Vergos and Newcastle Jets winger Reno Piscopo, Victory looked well stocked as they prepared to go one step further this season and clinch the Championship. However their biggest off-season recruit would see a fan favourite return in early 2025 as legendary goalkeeper Mitch Langerak signed on to re-join the club when his contract in Japan came to an end.
Having schooled rivals Melbourne City in a morale-boosting 3-1 win in Round Two, Victory were looking sharp under Kisnorbo and after seven rounds were sat in third spot on the ladder. However, with the second Melbourne Derby looming, the club and it’s playing roster received a massive shock: Kisnorbo was leaving the club to take up an offer overseas.
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Stepping into the breach was assistant coach Arthur Diles and, after seven games, the new boss finally secured his first win in charge of the club – a result which then saw the club rejuvenate their push to secure a finals berth.
With Socceroos winger Nishan Velupillay firing on all cylinders, Daniel Arzani showing signs of the talent that saw him once signed by Manchester City and the midfield duo of Ryan Teague and Jordi Valadon controlling games, Victory picked up 18 points from their last 10 games to cruise into the Finals Series and showed signs they were ticking along nicely under Diles’ leadership.
Finishing fifth during the regular season Victory had the unenviable task of facing the Wanderers in round one of the Finals Series but Diles’ side put on a brilliant display to knock off the league’s deadliest attack and book their spot in the semi-finals against Auckland FC, where the club’s finals pedigree would come in handy.
Trailing from the first leg, Victory pulled off one of the shocks of the season to defeat Auckland on their own patch and secure their place in the Grand Final against fierce rivals Melbourne City, where they would ultimately succumb to a 1-0 loss.
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Whilst they may have suffered defeat in the Grand Final for a second-consecutive season, Victory have certainly shown signs of progress this season, especially when you factor in the early-season departure of Kisnorbo.
Throw in the fact that Victory were without key trio Brendan Hamill, Langerak and Velupillay for the Grand Final due to injury and things really could have ended very differently for Diles and Co in what was the rookie coach’s first season in charge.
RATING: 8/10
Newcastle Jets (9th)
Having finished 10th in season 2023-24, Rob Stanton’s Newcastle Jets were hoping to make more progress under his tutelage in what would be his second season in charge, although things weren’t exactly easy at McDonald Jones Stadium.
With the ownership of the club now sorted and the club appearing to be a much calmer environment, Stanton and Co set about building out a squad that could improve on their previous ladder position however they were dealt a huge blow with 17-goal striker Apostolos Stamatelopoulos leaving the club to head to Scotland.
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The Jets also saw Olyroos defender Lucas Mauragis move to rivals Central Coast Mariners and winger Reno Piscopo head to Melbourne Victory but the move that would have stung the most was seeing prized local talent Archie Goodwin leave his boyhood club to join Adelaide United.
Tasked with building a side with youth at it’s core, Stanton added experienced Perth Glory central defender Aleksandar Susnjar, Macarthur Bulls forward Lachie Rose and young Melbourne Victory attacker Eli Adams to a squad that already possessed some highly-rated young players such as Lachlan Bayliss, Clayton Taylor and Mark Natta.
Starting with a 1-0 home loss to Melbourne City, the Jets rebounded with an impressive 2-1 away win over Macarthur in Round Two but their form up until Christmas would prove to be very inconsistent, with all three of their league wins up until this point coming away from home as they languished near the foot of the Isuzu UTE A-League ladder.
However, two key things happened towards the end of the year that many believe were key in transforming the Jets’ season. The first is the return from injury of Rose who had previously been unavailable after suffering injury before the season began and the second is the arrival of Japanese winger Kota Mizunuma during the mid-season transfer window.
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Despite being 34 when he arrived, Kota showcased not only his experience but his technical excellence as he set about igniting a Jets attack that had often been guilty of mis-firing so far during the season. Adding a goal and three assists in his first four matches, Kota formed an excellent understanding with Rose who himself had begun finding the back of the net with some regularity.
In fact, on January 17th the Jets found themselves in 11th spot on the ladder having mustered just 10 points from 12 matches but fast forward to the end of February and Stanton’s side were being tipped to make a late charge for the finals after reeling off three-straight wins during a six-game unbeaten run.
However the Jets would ultimately run out of steam when it came to mounting a finals push and with speculation continuing to mount over the future of their head coach the club ultimately released a statement towards the end of the campaign confirming Stanton would leave the club at the end of his two-year term.
Eventually ending the season in ninth place, Newcastle finished four points ahead of local rivals the Mariners thanks in part to a stunning 6-0 F3 Derby drubbing at McDonald Jones Stadium, Jets fans will no doubt have seen plenty of positive signs heading into the 2025-26 season under former Socceroos captain Mark Milligan.
RATING: 6/10
PERTH GLORY (13th)
Spirits were high in Western Australia ahead of the Isuzu UTE A-League season as the David Zdrilic era would officially get underway at Perth Glory.
Following a campaign where Alen Stajcic’s Glory side had received the wooden spoon at the end of the 2023-24 season, the Glory had set about completely re-building their side and made no fewer than 14 new signings in a bid to change their fortunes this season.
Among those to arrive were Ecuadorian international centre-back Luis Canga and Colombian winger Cristian Caicedo, while Championship-winning defender Josh Risdon returned to his old club from Western United and Wellington Phoenix midfielder Nicholas Pennington also moved over from New Zealand.
Despite all the pre-season optimism at HBF Park, things couldn’t have started much worse for the Glory. An opening day 6-1 hammering at the hands of Macarthur was then followed by a 2-0 home loss to Wellington Phoenix and a goalless draw with the Mariners. Three losses from their next four matches would then leave Zdrilic’s side battling with Brisbane Roar at the foot of the ladder and in desperate search of their first win of the season.
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That win would eventually arrive in late December as Perth finally had something to smile about after beating the Roar 1-0 in Brisbane but wins would prove to be few and far between. With defensive issues plaguing them throughout the season, the Glory football department opted to make wholesale player changes once more.
Having only been signed in pre-season Glory mutually terminated the deals of Canga and Caicedo whilst the likes of Mustafa Amini, Jarrod Carluccio (WSW) and Abdul Faisal (CCM) also departed. Having already recruited experienced defender Tomislav Mrcela on a free transfer in December, the club also then signed defender Tass Mourdoukoutas, A-Leagues Champion Lachie Wales, Japanese duo Yuto Misao and Takuya Okamoto as well as former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Luke Amos in a bid to turn their season around in what was clearly a vote of confidence in favour of first year coach Zdrilic.
Sadly for Perth, the second half of the Isuzu UTE A-League season would prove to be just as challenging as the first. Despite shocking the competition with a 1-0 win over league leaders Auckland FC on January 11, the Glory fans would have to wait until April 12 before they saw their side win again as they defeated Adelaide United 4-1 at HBF Park.
Despite the results, there were signs of improvement from Perth and a last day win over Wellington coupled with qualification for the Australia Cup Round of 32 thanks to an impressive victory against the Mariners means the Glory at least ended the season on something of a high note.
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Finally, the development of academy product Jaylan Pearman was a true bright spot for the Glory during what was an otherwise difficult campaign, with the 19-year-old subsequently securing a move to English Championship side Queens Park Rangers after bagging four goals and three assists from just 12 matches.
