Then there were six. The Ninja A-League’s top six is confirmed with one round of the regular season remaining.
Melbourne City, Melbourne Victory, Adelaide United, Western United, Central Coast Mariners and Canberra United will all feature in the 2024-25 Finals Series.
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For the first time in their illustrious history, two-time reigning Champions Sydney FC will not compete in the finals; the Sky Blues’ failure to make the top six means there’ll be a new Champion in 2024-25 – but before a new Champion can be crowned, there’s still plenty to play for in the final round of the season.
Read on for everything you need to know ahead of the last round of the season, including the Finals Series format explained, when the Premiership could be won, and the three-team battle for ascendancy inside the top six.
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Who’s playing for what?
- Melbourne City: Premiership, Invincible season
- Melbourne Victory: Premiership
- Western United: Home Final
- Central Coast Mariners: Home Final
- Canberra United: Home Final
When can the Premiership be won?
Melbourne City could wrap up their second consecutive Premiership title on Friday night with a win over Perth Glory at the Sam Kerr Football Centre.
Currently leading Melbourne Victory by two points, a win would take City out of sight before Victory play Brisbane Roar on Saturday afternoon.
City also boast a far superior goal difference of +30 compared to Victory’s +19; teams locked level on points are separated on the table by goal difference, meaning a City draw against Glory and a Victory win against Brisbane would leave the two sides level on points, but City would win the Premiership due to their superior goal difference.
That is, of course, unless Victory beat Brisbane by…. 12 goals. The all-time winning margin in a Ninja A-League game stands at 11 goals (Sydney FC 11-0 Perth Glory, December 2011).
Should City lose to Perth, however, the door will be open for Victory to swoop in and claim the Premiership with a win over Brisbane.
Not only will top spot secure the Premiers Plate, but it will also seal qualification for the 2025-25 AFC Women’s Champions League.
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Not just silverware on the line for City this weekend
Incredibly, Michael Matricciani’s side are just one game away from ending the regular season without defeat to secure their “invincible” status.
Three times before in Ninja A-League history has a team gone unbeaten through the entire regular season:
- Canberra United (2011-12) – P10, W7, D3
- Melbourne City (2015-16) – P12, W12
- Melbourne City (2019-20) – P12, W11, D1
The current City squad eclipsed the competition’s all-time unbeaten record of 18 games last month and now, are looking to extend the new record to 23 games without loss as they travel to Perth to take on Glory in the final round of the regular season.
Hot favourites to secure the Premiership and Championship in the Ninja A-League this season, City are also in the Semi Finals of the inaugural AFC Women’s Champions League campaign and gunning for a trophy treble.
Two weeks ago, Sydney FC legend Teresa Polias joined the Dub Zone panel to discuss where City’s current squad will sit among the greatest A-Leagues sides of all time should they go on to secure multiple trophies this season.
“I do think they should be in the conversation as one of the greatest teams ever,” Polias said.
“Obviously, it’s hard to compare the team now to six or seven years back when we had a different calibre of players in the league – I’m talking your starting Matildas, and your premium international players.
“It was a different time, it was a shorter league as well, and the amazing thing about City now is, in a longer league, they’re unbeaten. That’s an incredible thing they’re doing at the moment.”
The Finals Format
The top six teams at the end of the regular season will progress to the Finals Series.
Two Elimination Finals between 3rd and 6th and 4th and 5th will determine which two sides meet the first and second-placed finishers in a pair of two-legged Semi Finals.
The winners of those two-leg Semi-Finals will progress to the Grand Final.
The Elimination Finals will take place between April 25-27, 2025.
The two-legged Semi Finals are scheduled for May 2-4 and May 9-11, with the Grand Final set to be staged between May 17-18, 2025.
The top six is locked in – but who’s playing who in the Finals Series?
Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory are guaranteed to finish inside the top two and earn a week off in week one of the Finals Series as a result, as they await their two-legged Semi Final opponents.
Third will face sixth and fourth will play fifth in the two Elimination Finals to decide which two sides progress to face City and Victory for a place in the Grand Final.
The final spot in the top six was confirmed in dramatic fashion on Sunday as Canberra found out they would be playing in the finals shortly after full-time in their 1-0 win over Wellington Phoenix, thanks to Brisbane Roar’s crazy 4-4 draw with Western Sydney Wanderers.
TV cameras caught the exact moment Michelle Heyman and co learned their berth was secured – and the reaction was brilliant.
With top two already guaranteed for City and Victory, they are already through to the Semi-Finals, meaning the remaining four teams are vying for positions that will shape the landscape of the Elimination Finals.
Adelaide United are locked into third spot with one game to play; the Reds will meet the sixth-placed team in week one.
As it stands, that is Canberra United, meaning Western United and Central Coast Mariners will meet in the other Elimination Final.
However, only two points separate Western United, Central Coast and Canberra meaning all three sides can finish in any combination of fourth, fifth and sixth by the end of Round 23.
Western United finish the regular season with a road trip to face Wellington Phoenix, Central Coast Mariners travel to take on F3 Derby rivals Newcastle Jets and Canberra meet Western Sydney Wanderers at CommBank Stadium.
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Three-horse race for Golden Boot on the final day
Melbourne City forward Holly McNamara is two goals clear in the Golden Boot race, but will the CommBank Matildas rising star hold off her two international teammates in Emily Gielnik and Tameka Yallop to claim the award for the first time in her career?
A Yallop hat-trick for Brisbane Roar against Western Sydeny Wanderers in Round 22 saw the veteran Matilda storm into Golden Boot contention; the three-goal haul brought Yallop level with Gielnik on 12 goals, two goals shy of McNamara on 14.
McNamara is the hot favourite to retain her lead at the top as City travel to face Perth Glory this weekend. Fresh off a brace against Newcastle Jets, McNamara will hope to find the back of the net again in the West to both strengthen her Golden Boot claim and help her side to a win that would seal the Premiership title, and cap off City’s invincible regular season.
Golden Boot leaderboard
1st: Holly McNamara – Melbourne City (14 goals)
=2nd: Tameka Yallop – Brisbane Roar (12 goals)
=2nd: Emily Gielnik – Melbourne Victory (12 goals)
Final-round fixtures
Friday, April 18
Adelaide United v Sydney FC
Perth Glory v Melbourne City
Saturday, April 19
Melbourne Victory v Brisbane Roar
Newcastle Jets v Central Coast Mariners
Western Sydney Wanderers v Canberra United
Sunday, April 20
Wellington Phoenix v Western United
