The 2024-25 Ninja A-League season is almost upon us, and as is the case every season, there are young players across the competition itching to make an impact in the new campaign.
Which young players will make their mark in season 2024-25? Aleagues.com.au presents one emerging talent to watch at every club.
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2024-25 FIXTURE RELEASE – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
FULL FIXTURE: 2024-25 Ninja A-League Women season released – every match here
TALKING POINTS: More free-to-air games, a New Year’s Eve party & more
DERBY DAYS & KEY DATES: The biggest Ninja A-League Women matches to put in your diary
FINALS SERIES: 2024-25 Ninja A-League Women finals structure and dates
Adelaide United: Ella Tonkin
Ella Tonkin has re-signed with Adelaide United after winning the club’s Young Player of the Year award in 2024.
The 21-year-old defender idolises fellow Adelaide prospect and Matildas gun Charli Grant and hopes to follow in the footsteps of the player who now represents Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Women’s Super League; Tonkin will line up in a defence featuring Matilda McNamara after the Australian international’s return to the club and can only benefit from the added experience in the club’s backline.
Brisbane Roar: Danelle Tan
Don’t let this signing go under your radar – Singapore international Danelle Tan has arrived at Brisbane Roar and if her career achievements to date are anything to go by, the 19-year-old is set to light up the league in 2024-25.
Tan’s rise to prominence in Singaporean football has been remarkable. She became the youngest footballer to play for her nation’s Under-19 women’s national team at the age of 13. Then, at 14, she became the youngest goalscorer for the senior national team – yes, the senior national team. And yes, at 14!
Now 19, Tan arrives in Brisbane after a stint at German club Borussia Dortmund. Roar’s number nine has the pedigree to be a Ninja A-League star and it will be well worth keeping close tabs on her first season in the competition.
2024-25 FIXTURE RELEASE – EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
FULL FIXTURE: 2024-25 Ninja A-League Women season released – every match here
TALKING POINTS: More free-to-air games, a New Year’s Eve party & more
DERBY DAYS & KEY DATES: The biggest Ninja A-League Women matches to put in your diary
FINALS SERIES: 2024-25 Ninja A-League Women finals structure and dates
Canberra United: Mary Stanic-Floody
The recipient of Canberra’s Rising Star Award in 2023-24, Mary Stanic-Floody stood out in her debut campaign at the club following a move from Sydney FC and has the potential to become a genuine star in green.
Stanic-Floody took a gamble trading Sydney FC for Canberra and was rewarded with 16 league appearances last season, having made just 14 appearances for Sydney in the two years prior.
Regular match minutes were the key to Stanic-Floody’s progression at her new club and the midfielder is capable of climbing to greater heights through her second season in Canberra.
Central Coast Mariners: Peta Trimis
Watch this space: Peta Trimis is poised for a big season in Gosford after capturing attention through her sparkling debut Ninja A-League campaign in 2023-24.
The 18-year-old scored three goals last season and earned a nomination for both the Ninja A-League Young Footballer of the Year award as well as the PFA Young Women’s Footballer of the Year award.
In April, former Mariner and current Matildas star Kyah Simon praised her then-teammate as a player to watch in the future for the national team.
“She’s tenacious, she’s quick, she’s so well-balanced and really great with her feet in tight, small areas,” Simon told Dub Zone.
“One thing about Peta is she’s got a great head on her shoulders. She’s a really good girl, she’s willing to learn, she’s really respectful and just a great person to have around the team.
“She’s got a bright future ahead, I’m really looking forward to seeing what she can do and I’m sure she’ll be in a Matildas jersey one day.”
TRIMIS RE-SIGNS: Mariners re-sign Young Matildas star: ‘We truly believe she is a special talent’
Melbourne City: Emilia Murray
This could be the season Emilia Murray makes the league sit up and take notice – but it will require the Young Matildas prospect to put together a consistent body of work after an injury-impacted start to her career.
Murray has spent the past three seasons at Adelaide United where injuries have taken their toll on the immensely talented forward. An upper leg injury has ruled Murray out of the Under-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia beginning on August 31, but City will hope to have the 19-year-old firing on all cylinders in time for the 2024-25 Ninja A-League season.
Melbourne Victory: Ella O’Grady
After a stellar first season in the Ninja A-League, 18-year-old Ella O’Grady is eager to build on her minutes and goals in a Melbourne Victory kit in season 2024-25.
Described as “one of Australia’s most exciting prospects” by Victory coach Jeff Hopkins, O’Grady scored on debut for the club in Round 1 of 2023-24 and bagged her second of the season in her third appearance, but an injury-impacted second half of the season meant that the teenager featured in just seven games through her debut campaign.
O’Grady’s ultimate goal is to represent the Matildas and season 2024-25 will provide the rising Victory star the platform to continue on her path towards international stardom.
Newcastle Jets: Emma Dundas
Under head coach Ryan Campbell, Newcastle Jets have assembled an exciting, young squad and one of the key reasons Jets fans should be excited for the future is the emergence of Emma Dundas.
The 17-year-old has signed a fresh two-year deal in Newcastle after a breakout season in which she made 22 appearances; her debut Ninja A-League campaign featured 17 starts with her first league goal coming in the final round of the regular season.
Having committed to the club for the next two years, Dundas is primed to take her game to another level in the 2024-25 season as the Jets look to back up a Semi-Final finish in the previous campaign.
Perth Glory: Ella Abdul-Massih
Western Sydney Wanderers have spent the past three seasons developing Ella Abdul-Masih but the 18-year-old will call Perth Glory home in season 2024-25. Will the Wanderers rue the day the talented teenager slipped out of the club’s grasp?
A Young Matildas aspirant, Abdul-Massih was a rising star among the Wanderers’ youth ranks and arrives in Perth with a reputation as one of Australia’s most promising young midfielders.
Sydney FC: Hana Lowry
It’s a big year in the life of Young Matildas midfielder Hana Lowry after her move from hometown club Perth Glory to Ninja A-League juggernaut Sydney FC.
Lowry has been highly rated in Western Australia ever since her Glory debut in 2019; despite being just 21 years of age Lowry has 72 Ninja A-League appearances to her name and now, after winning Glory’s Most Glorious Player award last season, has made the switch to the Sky Blues – a club with an impeccable reputation for taking Young Matildas and helping them on their way to becoming international stars.
Wellington Phoenix: Alyssa Whinham
Alyssa Whinham is just 20 years old, but the New Zealand international is one of those players who you feel has been around forever.
A Wellington Phoenix debutant in 2021, Whinham has been at the ‘Nix since the club’s Ninja A-League inception and the inaugural squad member has shown glimpses of her brilliant best throughout 38 league appearances to date.
Wellington head coach Paul Temple’s arrival at the club ahead of the 2023-24 Ninja A-League season led to Whinham becoming a bench player for the Phoenix but the exciting attacker forced her way back into the starting XI along a run of consistent form that saw Whinham become a key player once again.
The 20-year-old has consistently shown the potential to become a star of the Ninja A-League – could season 2024-25 be the season of Alyssa Whinham?
Western Sydney Wanderers: Talia Younis
Talia Younis is just 15 years old but the hype is real in Western Sydney. This is a player capable of taking the Ninja A-League by storm.
Younis joined the Wanderers aged 13 and after making her Ninja A-League debut aged 15 last season, went on to make 15 appearances for the Wanderers. Younis earned a call-up to the CommBank Young Matildas squad for the AFC U17 Women’s Asian Cup in May and will return all the better for her national team exposure. Keep track of Younis’ career as she takes the next step in season 2024-25.
Western United: Avaani Prakash
Young Matilda Avaani Prakash is highly rated at Western United and, after a debut season that featured 14 Ninja A-League appearances, the 17-year-old will be backed by the club for increased minutes as she continues her development.
Prakash is an alumnus of Westfield Sports High School – an institution that the likes of Ellie Carpenter, Alanna Kennedy, Kyra Cooney-Cross and Harry Kewell all called home during their football upbringings.
Prakash was selected in Australia’s Young Matildas squad for the Under-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup in September and on return from the tournament in Colombia, will switch focus to her club football as she aims to become a key cog in Western’s 2024-25 squad.
