Catch up on the Ninja A-League Team of the Week, powered by Opta.
The Ninja A-League 2025-26 season continued with plenty of entertainment and drama over the weekend.
There were plenty of top performers to pick from this week but it was ultimately Melbourne City and Matildas gun Holly McNamara who takes top billing after her hat-trick helped City down Perth Glory.
Furthermore, the striker also scored the winner against rivals Melbourne Victory in the Christmas Derby.
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*Editor’s Note: This week’s Team of the Week features matches played from Monday to Sunday, meaning several teams may have played multiple matches during the allotted window. Furthermore, the individual player scores accumulated in the Round 9 matches scheduled to be played after 12pm on Monday lunchtime will be counted in next week’s team.
Team of the Week
Joining McNamara in this week’s starting eleven is City teammate Leah Davidson, who not only played an important role in both of her side’s wins against Melbourne Victory and Perth Glory in the last week, but also registered THREE assists during the win over Glory.
After destroying Western Sydney Wanderers 5-2 on Saturday to earn their second win of the season, no fewer than FIVE Adelaide United players earn their spots in the side.
Reds trio Ella Tonkin, Emily Hodgson and Matilda McNamara make up the bulk of the defence while Tijan McKenna of Perth Glory also scored highly this week.
She may have been on the losing side at the weekend but Newcastle Jets goalkeeper Anna Leat takes her place between the sticks having made a whopping 10 saves during their 1-0 loss to Canberra United.
Meanwhile Adelaide’s Erin Healy and Canberra’s Bethany Gordon both scored well this week and complete the midfield three alongside Davidson.
Finally, McNamara is joined in attack by Central Coast Mariners gun Annalise Rasmussen and Adelaide’s Chelsie Dawber, after both scored for their respective sides in Round 9.
What is the Opta Points system?
Opta Points is a system where points are given to players for certain on-field actions. Players who complete the full game duration on the field typically end up with a point total ranging from 10 to 40 points. (View the full breakdown of Opta Points below).
Explained: Opta’s Team of the Week using Opta Points
The scoring system distinguishes only between field players and goalkeepers, assigning the same number of points to all field players for corresponding actions. A distinctive feature of this system is its exclusive focus on in-game actions, refraining from awarding points for post-game performances, such as securing a victory or allocating bonus points for maintaining a clean sheet.
Positive actions (goals, passes, tackles, etc…) will add to a player’s score and, conversely, negative actions (cards, own goals, goals conceded) will reduce a player’s points total. Theoretically, a player’s points value is unlimited, and players can conclude a game with negative points. However, players who complete the full game duration on the field typically end up with a point total ranging from 10 to 40 points.
Goals, Shots on target, shots off target, blocked shots, own goal, assists, passes, crosses, tackles, interceptions, fouls won, fouls conceded, offsides, yellow cards, red cards, goals conceded, penalty won, saves, penalty saved are included in Opta Points.
