The Westfield W-League Coach of the Year will be revealed at the Dolan Warren Awards, taking place virtually on Wednesday night (7.30pm AEST).
A collective vote cast by coaches around the league will decide which Westfield W-League head coach is named as the best of the 2020/21 campaign at the virtual awards night.Fans can watch the show via the A-League and Westfield W-League Facebook pages, My Football YouTube channel, and the My Football Live App on Wednesday evening, 23 June at 7:30pm (AEST).
The Dolan Warren awards will also be available to watch on Kayo Sports from 8.30pm (AEST).
Read on to see the coaches in contention for Coach of the Year in 2020/21!
READ: Dolan Warren Awards: Which stunning strike claims Goal of the Season?
MORE: Dolan Warren Awards: Stars line up to contend for Julie Dolan Medal
Ante Juric – Sydney FC
An impressive Westfield W-League campaign ended on a sour note for the Sky Blues as Melbourne Victory stunned the Premiers on Grand Final day. But nothing should be taken away from the achievement of Ante Juric’s side throughout the regular season.
There was genuine belief that Juric would guide Sydney to an invincible end to the campaign after his side won six games on the trot to start the season. The Sky Blues built a commanding lead at the top of the table and despite a pair of losses and a draw coming from their remaining six regular season games Juric managed to guide his team to the Premiers Plate.
Sydney were one minute away from progressing to a penalty shootout to decide the Grand Final before Victory starlet Kyra Cooney-Cross settled the contest with a miraculous goal scored from a corner in the 120th minute of play. If that magic moment had not occurred, Juric and his side may have come away with a pair of trophies as reward for an excellent season.
Vicki Linton – Canberra United
Vicki Linton joined the Green Machine ahead of the 2020/21 campaign to immediate effect as the experienced coach took Canberra back to the Finals Series for the first time in four seasons.
With star striker Michelle Heyman back in Green and leading the side form the front, Linton took Canberra to six wins and four draws from 15 games to take the fourth and final spot in the post-season bracket.
The former Westfield Matildas assistant and Melbourne Victory head coach brought her wealth of experience to the table to help Canberra turn the tide of recent form and get back to where the club feels it belongs.
Jeff Hopkins – Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory emerged from an indifferent start to the 2020/21 campaign to surge to the Championship under the guidance of head coach Jeff Hopkins.
Taking just one win from four games to start the campaign offered little encouragement that the campaign would end with a trophy in the cabinet, but that’s exactly what happened as Hopkins utilised the strengths of his squad to rise up the table to win eight of their last ten games on the way to becoming Champions.
Hopkins got the best out of Westfield Matildas legend Lisa De Vanna and helped Cooney-Cross raise her game to another level as the two stars came to the fore late in the campaign to help their team build momentum heading into the Finals Series and ultimately clinch the title decider in a shock result over the Sky Blues.
