Round Ball Australia 
Melbourne Victory squad during Unite Round in the 2023/24 season. Photo: Texi Smith
The A-League Women is back and each week, Round Ball Australia will be handing out a report card for the competition based on how the teams performed across the weekend’s fixtures.
Round One started in the best way possible, with a chaotic six-goal thriller at Ironbark Fields, and concluded with a 2-2 draw in Newcastle, with no clean sheets in-between and the most goals ever scored in a single round of the competition, with 31.
In-between, there was nothing short of chaos everywhere you looked, because apparently The Dub is going to Dub in the greatest way possible in season 2024/25.
Western United vs Wellington Phoenix (4-2)
Western United: B+
Kat Smith’s side started a little slow against the Phoenix, and if Wellington were a little more clinical in front of goal, could have found themselves with just a single point, or even no points.
Following an unfortunate own goal to Sasha Grove, the fightback was instantaneous from Western United, who scored in the 17th, 19th, 39th, and 40th minutes to put the game to bed before half-time.
From there, Western were able to see the game out with relative ease, securing a win to start the season and creating a good platform to build their season on, but they will need to learn to play the game for 90 minutes, because teams they will be competing with for silverware could be much more resolute defensively and less wasteful in front of goal.
Wellington Phoenix: D
The talk coming in to the season from the Nix was around a great pre-season, the idea of making finals, but also a heavy list of departures and needing replacements.
To their credit, Paul Temple’s side started well, creating several chances and forcing an own goal to open the scoring, before two separate three-minute periods ended their hopes of a win.
Temple made a raft of substitutions at half-time, and they looked much better defensively in the second 45, getting a glimmer of hope with an 82nd minute penalty from Emma Main, but to no avail.
The positives are there for the Phoenix to build on this season, and with a full home and away season, a poor result first up is not as harsh a punishment as it was just a few seasons ago.
Central Coast Mariners vs Sydney FC (3-1)
Central Coast Mariners: B+
A resolute defensive performance and showstopping athleticism from Sarah Langman in the first half built the foundation for the Mariners to take the three points, after holding on and converting a penalty in the 41st minute, and never looking back from there, taking a 2-0 lead before restoring the two-goal buffer to make it 3-1 late in the game.
The Mariners looked quality in all areas of the pitch, with Emily Husband’s off-season recruitment and second season returners working wonders on a rainy day in Gosford.
The marker has been set now of what is needed from the Mariners to not only get back to the finals series, but compete with the sides who finished above them last season, but the question is whether they can maintain it for 22 more rounds?
Sydney FC: C-
Similarly to the Phoenix, an inability to capitalise in front of goal hurt Sydney in this one as Ante Juric’s side performed decently overall, but it was clear that this was a side with a lot of new signings who had not quite gelled together throughout pre-season, and the Mariners made them pay.
One result will not define Sydney’s season this early, but a rebound against Brisbane Roar is needed as two straight losses to start before a Sydney Derby in Round Three would not be great for the Sky Blues.
Canberra United vs Brisbane Roar (3-2)
Canberra United: B-
With some key names like Sasha Grove, Chloe Lincoln, Nicki Flannery, Vesna Milivojevic, and Emma Ilijoski departing the nation’s capital, questions were asked about how the new players would take to Canberra under new coach Antoni Jagarinec, and they responded with three hard-earned points against Brisbane.
Maja Markovski was rewarded with a brace on her return to the A-League Women, as a new look front two of Michelle Heyman and Markovski paid dividends, and Sally James was strong in net, despite conceding two goals.
For a side who’s future beyond the 2024/25 season still hangs up in the air, the early indications under Jagarinec show positivity for a strong season in Canberra.
Although they did score four goals against Adelaide to open the 2023/24 season in a 4-4 draw, a campaign which saw both Canberra and Adelaide finish 11th and 12th respectively, so we definitely need to see more from United before a full assessment can be made.
Brisbane Roar: C+
A very strong start for Brisbane, although relentless pressure throughout the first half was not rewarded with a goal, and ultimately hurt Alex Smith’s side, going down 3-2 to Canberra.
The attacking instincts are there for Brisbane and were on display throughout the game, but the defence got caught out in transition several times.
There were some strong performances all over the park, and getting caught on the counter is something that naturally happens within most games, but the ability to shut it down before a goal-scoring opportunity occurs will be key to getting results this season for the Roar.
Adelaide United vs Melbourne Victory (2-3)
Adelaide United: C+
After a horror 2023/24 campaign, this Adelaide side looked vastly different to the one from last season, and although they conceded a late goal to deny them a point, the building blocks are in place for the Reds to have a strong season.
Matilda McNamara and Fiona Worts looked great for Adelaide on their returns to the club, highlighting strong performances all over the park from Adrian Stenta’s side, with Worts scoring Adelaide’s two goals.
The positives are there for Adelaide, and on another day, they would have secured a point in this game, and possibly all three.
If they can take the positives out of this, learn from their mistakes, and put in a strong performance against the Wanderers in Round Two, it could lead to a promising season and a glimmer of hope at making the finals.
Melbourne Victory: B+
Needing a late winner is not how it would have drawn up, as a first-half brace to Emily Gielnik and a 92nd minute winner to Ava Briedis secured the three points for Victory in Round One, as Jeff Hopkins side did not look out of place as a unit, having kept the core of their squad together.
A concerning sign however for Hopkins will be how both goals were conceded, as not only did they both come off of turnovers, Courtney Newbon made the first save both times and gave up a rebound, which allowed Worts to finish both chances off inside the six-yard box.
If Victory want to build on last season’s performance as they eye off silverware, they will need to shut down the counter attacks before they happen.
Melbourne City vs Perth Glory (5-2)
Melbourne City: B-
A new year and a new coach sees the same style of play from Melbourne City. Dominate possession (69 per cent), dictate the pace of play, keep the ball as high up the pitch as possible, and create a volume of shots to win (18 with nine on target).
It is a formula which works for the majority of matches, but despite scoring five goals, their finishing needs work, which was a criticism of them last season as well, which saw some very lopsided shots to on target ratios.
Their ability to work the ball up-field is magical, but if they struggle to finish, it will hurt them in the back end of the season, as demonstrated in last years Grand Final, which saw them amass 14 shots (three on target) with 72 per cent possession, but fell 1-0 to Sydney FC who only had six shots (three on target) and 28 per cent of the ball.
Perth Glory: D-
It was a good start to life at Perth Glory for Stephen Peters, until it was not.
Taking a two-goal lead in the 51st minute, they proceeded to ship five goals in the second half as City ran out 5-2 winners.
With a 10th place finish last year following a strong start, the hope is there for the Glory to turn last season’s woes around with some strong recruiting, as two new faces in Kelli Brown (Wellington/Macarthur Rams) and Miku Sunaga (Macarthur Rams) scored their two goals.
If the Glory are to make finals this season, their defence needs to improve, but under a new coach, with new personnel and a new style of play, it will take time, which Peters understands.
Newcastle Jets vs Western Sydney Wanderers (2-2)
Newcastle Jets: B-
There were plenty of positives from Newcastle, if you ignore the first 15 minutes, as Newcastle clearly dominated the majority of this fixture.
The Jets fought back and looked the fitter side most notably in the second half with dangerous runs & passages of play consistently across the park led by Lauren Allen and new signing Deven Jackson, both of whom got on the scoresheet.
Unfortunately for Newcastle they could not convert their comeback from 2-0 down into a full three points even though they had no shortage of opportunities. Ryan Campbell summed it up best describing the game as a disappointing result and a missed opportunity where his side gave two points away.
Campbell was clear there were good signs though that he expects to take into Perth. The Jets coach was clear that he was prepared to give some grace to his new signings as they find their feet saying that โit takes time for the players to get used to how we want to playโ.
Western Sydney Wanderers: C
A lightning start gave some hope for the Wanderers with Sophie Harding taking her opportunity at the first time of asking, and things looked positive for the visitors.
A second goal to Sienna Saveska looked like it might be the start of an avalanche for the Wanderers but a lapse which saw Western Sydney concede just before half time after Sham Khamis had kept them unblemished to that point with some reflex saves, saw them head to the break leading 2-1.
In the second half it looked like a different Wanderers team, they were a step slower than Newcastle and clearly on the back foot for much of the second half with an appearance that the hot and humid conditions were impacting the Wanderers more than their opposition.
Fitness and ability to run out the 90 minutes looked a concern, and the red and black faithful can be thankful for Sham Khamis who, as time wore on, stepped up and kept the scoreline level with numerous pressure saves as the Jets surged late.