As the Ninja A-League heads into another exciting weekend, aleagues.com.au has everything you need to know of Round 2 of the 2024-25 season.
A 31-goal opening round set the tone for what promises to be a season of unpredictable entertainment; Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory were two of the five teams to register an opening weekend win and the two rivals face off in Round 2 in the first Melbourne Derby of the season.
Saturday’s derby brings the spice to a weekend brimming with engaging storylines and big match-ups. Here’s a snapshot of what to expect from the six games on offer in Round 2.
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Friday, 7pm (AEDT): Western United v Central Coast Mariners
Ironbark Fields – Paramount+ / 10 Play
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Round 2 begins with a meeting between two of the five teams that began season 2024-25 with a win in Round 1, as Western United welcome Central Coast Mariners to Ironbark Fields.
The Mariners travel to Tarneit high on confidence after an impressive 3-1 win over reigning Champions Sydney FC; off-season signing Jade Pennock opened the scoring for the Mariners and played a significant role in her new side’s next two goals in one of the standout individual performances of the opening weekend.
But Emily Husband’s Mariners won’t have it easy in Roud 2 as they travel to meet a Western side fresh from a convincing 4-2 win over Wellington Phoenix.
Western went behind against Wellington in the opening game of the season but by half-time, Kat Smith’s side had shown its full attacking force; four unanswered goals in a blistering 23-minute stretch put the hosts in control by half-time and led to a Round 1 win to Western.
Captain and CommBank Matildas star Chloe Logarzo bagged Western’s first goal to extend her Ninja A-League scoring streak to four games.
Western’s first full season at the club’s home in Tarneit features a ‘Friday Night Lights’ theme, with six of the club’s 11 home games set to take place on a Friday night and for the second consecutive weekend, the club will hope to draw a strong crowd to Ironbark Fields to enjoy a clash between two of last season’s Finals Series participants.
Saturday, 2.15pm (AEDT): Melbourne Victory v Melbourne City
AAMI Park – 10 BOLD / Paramount+ / 10 Play
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AAMI Park is the stage for the blockbuster matchup of Round 2, as Melbourne Victory host Melbourne City in the first Melbourne Derby of the 2024-25 Ninja A-League season.
Both teams will be high on confidence heading into Round 2 after the opening weekend of the season. Victory claimed three points in a 3-2 win over Adelaide United in Round 1, sealed in stoppage time by a stunning strike from young midfielder Ava Briedis.
City, meanwhile, smashed Perth Glory 5-2 – an incredible result considering Michael Matricciani’s side trailed 2-0 at the 53-minute mark of the game.
Down by two goals, Matricciani brought new signing Kathryn Harvey off his bench and the Canadian striker teamed up with City star Rhianna Pollicina to turn the game on its head. Harvey and Pollicina scored two goals each as City turned a 2-0 deficit into a 5-2 lead in a devastating display of attacking prowess.
City and Victory have met 20 times in Ninja A-League history; Victory have won eight of the derbies, City have won nine, and three have ended in a draw.
Saturday, 4pm (AEDT): Brisbane Roar v Sydney FC
Perry Park – Paramount+ / 10 Play
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Brisbane Roar face Sydney FC at Perry Park on Saturday afternoon in what has been a classic Ninja A-League rivalry since the competition’s inception.
The Roar won the very first Ninja A-League Championship, defeating Canberra United in the Grand Final and in the following two seasons, faced off against Sydney in the 2010 and 2011 title deciders. The Sky Blues won the 2010 title decider before Brisbane squared the ledger in 2011.
But after winning two of the first three Ninja A-League Championships, Brisbane haven’t reached the competition’s summit since. Sydney, however, have added four more Championships to the club’s honour roll – including two in a row leading into the new season.
Brisbane have work to do to return to the heights of the early seasons and after a 3-2 loss to Canberra United in Round 1 of the 2024-25 campaign, are facing the even more pressing task of avoiding a winless start to the season after two games as they host the Sky Blues at Perry Park.
Sydney FC are facing the same task in Round 2 after a disappointing 3-1 loss to Central Coast; attention will focus on the fitness of star signing Kyah Simon leading up to the trip to Queensland after the Matildas striker missed the opening weekend due to load management.
Sunday, 2pm (AEDT): Wellington Phoenix v Canberra United
Porirua Park – Paramount+ / 10 Play
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Can Wellington Phoenix make Porirua Park a fortress again in 2024-25?
The ‘Nix played six of their home games at the venue last season, losing just one, drawing one and winning four. Through six fixtures at Porirua Park, three at Sky Stadium in Wellington and Go Media Stadium in Auckland, the ‘Nix won seven of 10 home games (not including Unite Round in Sydney), lost two and drew one.
Paul Temple’s side will look to pick up where they left off this weekend on return to Porirua Park to take on a Canberra United outfit buoyed by a 3-2 win over Brisbane in Round 1.
New Canberra head coach Antoni Jagarinec will take great confidence from his side’s performance against the Roar and the fact that taliswoman Michelle Heyman did not need to impact the scoresheet for Canberra to claim three points; impressive youngster Mary Stanic-Floody scored a superb goal to go with a brace by new signing Marja Markovski, who eased the scoring burden on Heyman’s shoulders with a magnificent performance on debut for her new club.
Sunday, 3pm (AEDT): Western Sydney Wanderers v Adelaide United
Wanderers Football Park – Paramount+ / 10 Play
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Sunday’s clash between Western Sydney Wanderers and Adelaide United is highlighted by the battle between two of the league’s most dangerous strikers: Sophie Harding and Fiona Worts.
The two in-form spearheads are part of an illustrious club in Australian football, having both won the Julie Dolan Medal in recent seasons. Harding won the award last season after the best campaign of her career at the Wanderers, and picked up right where she left off in Round 1 with a goal in a 2-2 draw against Newcastle Jets.
Worts, meanwhile, has returned to the club where she won the Julie Dolan Medal in 2021-22; the Englishwoman calls Adelaide home once again after one season at Sydney FC where a lateral collateral ligament injury to her knee kept her sidelined for the majority of the season.
But Worts returned to Adelaide with a bang in Round 1, scoring two goals in a slender defeat to Melbourne Victory. Reds head coach Adrian Stenta will be hoping Worts can produce a big season and reach a similar level to 2021-22 when she bagged 13 goals on the way to being named the league’s best player of the season.
Sunday, 6pm (AEDT): Perth Glory v Newcastle Jets
HBF Park – Paramount+ / 10 Play
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Perth Glory and Newcastle Jets meet at HBF Park on Sunday after experiencing vastly different opening weekends in Round 1.
For Perth it was a disappointing start, having led Melbourne City 2-0 before conceding five unanswered goals in a 5-2 defeat. But the Jets experienced the opposite against the Wanderers, coming from 2-0 down to earn an impressive point on the road in a 2-2 draw.
Jets head coach Ryan Campbell joined the club early in the 2023-24 campaign to replace Gary van Egmond and proceeded to lead them on a run to the Semi-Finals.
If Campbell and the Jets hope to get anywhere near that level this season, they’ll need to find new avenues to goal following the departure of both Melina Ayres and Sarina Bolden but the early signs are positive after Round 1’s comeback, with Deven Jackson and Lauren Allan scoring the goals.
Another promising sign for the club in Round 1 was the return of Sheridan Gallagher to the Ninja A-League. The Newcastle Knights premiership-winning NRLW star and former Western Sydney Wanderers forward last played in the competition in early 2023 but came off the bench for the Jets to rapturous applause against her former side.
For Perth Glory and new head coach Stephen Peters this week will be harnessing the best aspects of their performance against reigning Premiers Melbourne City in Round 1, and perhaps more importantly, identifying what led to the second-half collapse.
Glory led 2-0 at the 53-minute mark before it all fell apart; the disappointing second-half performance could eventually be seen as a positive down the line if Peters and his playing group are to learn valuable lessons from being exposed by the Premiers in Round 1.
