Round Ball Australia 
Kahli Johnson in action for the Young Matildas during the 2024 AFC U20 Women's Asian Cup. Photo: Tiffany Williams/Football Australia
Each week during the A-League Women season, Round Ball Australia hands out a report card for the competition based on how the teams performed across the weekend’s fixtures.
Adelaide United vs Melbourne City (1-3)
Adelaide United: C
Adelaide United were unable to make a mark on their game or the scoresheet against Melbourne City, falling 3-1 to the table leaders.
Conceding in less than 30 seconds is not exactly a great look, and having your only goal for the game be an own goal scored by a freak accident, is probably a worse one.
The worst look of all however, has to be having eight shots taken throughout the entire game, and not one of them being marked as ‘on target.’
In saying all of this, Adelaide did well to not completely collapse under the weight of a dominant Melbourne City, and did even better to hold them to only a two goal lead, when they could have easily let them run away with the game.
If Adelaide can take this result for what it is, a loss handed to them by a much better team, and not let it shake their confidence too much, they should be more than capable of finding positive results in their next two fixtures against Western Sydney Wanderers and Central Coast Mariners.
Adelaide have shown positive signs this season, and have had games that have truly demonstrated their capabilities as a team. This week’s game was just not one of them.
Melbourne City: A-
Melbourne City came through with another near complete performance against Adelaide United this week, but a simple mistake cost them perfection.
Mariana Speckmaier opened the scoring before the clock had even passed the 30 second mark, which should have set City’s tone for the game, but City ended up becoming their own worst enemy only minutes later.
A seemingly normal back pass from Captain Rebekah Stott to goalkeeper Melissa Barbieri ended up slipping past under her foot and into the back of the net before Barbieri could do anything to stop it.
City slipped back into the lead with another stunning goal this time from Tyla-Jay Vlajnic, whose effort from outside the box beat Claudia Jenkins for a second time that afternoon.
The second half saw Holly McNamara substituted into the game and make an immediate impact, showing just how much of an attacking threat she is.
McNamara’s first attempt on goal saw her called up for being offside, which was all she needed to correct her movement after seemingly realising she was much faster than her defender. The second attempt was executed perfectly, with her run correctly timed for Bryleeh Henry’s through ball, putting her on the scoresheet for the first time since her return from her third ACL injury.
This City performance was literally centimetres away from being completely perfect, but as this is only round seven, it’s a little scary to think how good City may become in the weeks to come.
Burke
Western Sydney Wanderers vs Perth Glory (1-1)
Western Sydney Wanderers: C+
Continuing her run of form as the Wanderers best player of the season, Sham Khamis is the biggest reason the Wanderers walked away with a point, making some massive saves to deny Perth Glory all three points, but also committing the foul on her Macarthur Rams team-mate Miku Sunaga, with the ensuing penalty converted by Kelli Brown, also a team-mate from the Macarthur Rams, that made it 1-1.
This game was played in tough conditions at Wanderers Football Park and the stereotypical game of two halves, where the Wanderers controlled the first 45, with the visitors dominating the second half.
For the home side, it marks a second straight game with a result and a goal scored, and things are going in the right direction, as they moved out of last place and into 11th on the table.
Whatever Robbie Hooker has had his side doing since the international break, he needs to keep it up, and perhaps the Wanderers might still be an outside chance at cracking the top six, albeit with a very tough run of fixtures ahead in the next month.
Perth Glory: C+
Amassing a whopping 26 shots (nine on target) throughout the match, the Glory will feel hard done by to not have found all three points at Wanderers Football Park on Friday night, but a point on the road is a point on the road.
They controlled the second half, creating a number of chances, dictating the pace of play, and looked the superior team as the game went on.
The draw marks their third result in the last four games, with the fourth being a late loss to the Victory, and the Glory seem to be on the up under Stephen Peters.
After starting last season like a house on fire before falling away and crashing down the table with each passing week, they have started off this season to mixed results, but improving each week, and sit just outside the top six.
It is a mixed run of fixtures over the next month for the Glory, with some winnable and loseable games involved, but if Peters can keep the side clicking, they could well find themselves entrenched in the top six in a very tight middle of the table.
Poletti
Wellington Phoenix vs Sydney FC (2-0)
Wellington Phoenix: B
After three straight losses to start the season, Wellington are now unbeaten in their last four and have quietly moved into fourth place on the ladder following a wet and stormy contest at Porirua Park.
Grace Jale scored her first goal of the season with a shot from distance as the ball skidded along the wet and greasy surface when it landed just in front of Tahlia Franco, before Zoe McMeeken sealed the game in the 88th minute with a header from a corner, her first A-Leagues goal.
The match itself was a rather even contest, with the big difference being Wellington’s finishing in front of goal, who amassed five shots on target to Sydney FC’s one.
With finals having been identified as a clear target pre-season by the Wellington Phoenix, and the middle of the table wide open, it is certainly achievable.
A key part of that will be the defence continuing to restrict sides from scoring, having only conceded eight goals so far this season, tied with Melbourne Victory for the second fewest goals conceded, with only Brisbane Roar having conceded less (seven).
Sydney FC: D
After Friday’s draw between the Western Sydney Wanderers and the Perth Glory, Sydney now find themselves sitting at the bottom of the table by themselves after failing to collect a point in Wellington.
Perhaps the biggest sign that it was not going to be Sydney’s day was the number 1 on Abbey Lemon’s number 14 jersey falling off in the first half, leaving her with just an off-centre 4 on the back of the jersey.
Despite matching it with the Phoenix in key statistics, with an equal number of shots, near equal possession, pass accuracy, and number of passes, they fell behind where it mattered most. They managed just one shot on target, which produced a one-handed save from Carolina Vilão.
It does not get easier for the Sky Blues, with their run of fixtures seeing them face the Melbourne Victory (3rd), Melbourne City (1st), Perth Glory (8th), Canberra United (10th), Central Coast Mariners (7th), and Melbourne Victory again in the next month, with four of the six at home.
With the side already five points out of the top six and a -6 goal differential, if Sydney FC are to turn their season around, they need to get results, and fast. Otherwise they could find their shot at finals over by the time they finish their matches with the Mariners (January 19) and Victory (January 24).
Poletti
Newcastle Jets vs Brisbane Roar (1-6)
Newcastle Jets: D
It started in the worst fashion for Newcastle as they conceded after only 90 seconds and things did not drastically improve from there.
While the end scoreline likely flattered their opponents, it was clear there was a gap in class between a top shelf Brisbane Roar outfit and the home side.
There was a glimpse of positivity as captain Cassidy Davis managed to pull the Jets level after just over half an hour of action, however a quick response from the Roar and another in the shadows of half time all but killed off the fight back of the Jets, as they headed to half time tail firmly between their legs.
Three unanswered second half goals to the Roar added salt to the wounds for Newcastle, who despite creating some chances were much less efficient at finishing than their opponents.
Coach Ryan Campbell summed up the showing from Newcastle, saying the side let themselves down.
“We proved last week [against Sydney] we can do it. This week we let ourselves down,” Campbell said.
“We weren’t disorganised, but the lack of responsibility and individuals winning their moments, we were poor in that aspect.”
The Jets will head back to the drawing board as they host a mid-week friendly with a Chinese Super League opponent on Tuesday ahead of a trip to Canberra next Sunday.
Brisbane Roar: A-
It was another strong display from the team sitting second on the ladder as they travelled to Newcastle.
The Roar have surprised many so far in season 2024/25, and the crowd at No. 2 Sportsground in Newcastle can certainly count themselves on that list after 17-year-old Grace Kuilamu had put the ball in the net before many fans had taken their seats.
Brisbane made every post a winner with the exception of a goal to the Jets talismanic skipper Cassidy Davis, and it could be the headline act was the Freier sisters. Sharn Freier was the provider of two goals, as sister Laini Freier not only made her starting debut, but netted a hat trick in the process.
Add in a phenomenally struck free kick from Japanese import Momo Hayashi that would have been the talking point of almost any other game, and it was a high water marker of what Brisbane can offer.
The Brisbane Roar are taking no prisoners and will look to continue to build and hunt down the ladder leading Melbourne City.
Chris Macpherson
Canberra United vs Melbourne Victory (0-2)
Canberra United: C
Only three shots on target, and outclassed at home. While far from disgraced that makes it five games without victory for Canberra and despite being in a number of these matches they are finding a habit of not taking the points they should out of many of them.
With names like Michelle Heyman and Maja Markovski at the front of their attack, Canberra are failing to feed the weapons they possess.
It was a former Canberra player in Nikki Flannery who made Canberra see what they are missing when she opened the scoring in the fourth minute and when Sara D’Appolonia scored on the brink of halftime Canberra were down for the count.
As their opponents tightened the screws in the second half and allowed the lead to apply pressure on United, Canberra could find no real answer despite having an almost even split of ball possession.
It leaves us scratching our head to wonder is this recent form the aberration or were the opening two wins of the season the irrelevant form line.
Canberra will have the perfect chance to demonstrate which one is the real Canberra United when they play host to Newcastle Jets next Sunday in a must win clash for both sides.
Melbourne Victory: A-
Victory on the counter side made it five games without loss as they continued to mount the pressure on Brisbane in second and open a three point gap on the sides below them.
Clinical in the first half with two finishes that were too good for the experienced Sally James in goal for Canberra thanks to Flannery and D’Appolonia, the game seemed set for Victory to turn it into a cake walk in the second half.
It didn’t however turn out that way as Victory struggled to convert opportunities in the second half, but instead used their composure to tighten the screws on an out of sorts opponent to maintain their two goal lead and ensure the three points.
Captain Kayla Morrison summed up her sides efforts clearly, saying the side controlled the first half.
“I liked the way that [the first half] felt a lot more, it felt like we were dominating, we were under control, we were calm,” Morrison said.
“Towards the end of the game, it definitely gets scrappy.
“It was tense, the emotions were raising higher and higher. But we kept a clean sheet.”
Focus for the Victory now turns to a huge Big Blue clash post-Christmas against a struggling Sydney FC, with Victory carrying in all the momentum.
Chris Macpherson
Central Coast Mariners vs Western United (1-3)
Central Coast Mariners: C
Despite owning 60 per cent possession, the Mariners were not threatening enough to cause the Western United defence any sort of issues for large portions of the match.
Defensive unity is what Emily Husband’s prides herself on and is a key principle instilled in her team dating back from last season, so to ship five goals in two weeks will be a bitterly disappointing pill to swallow and accept.
Annalise Rasmussen playing in a deeper number 10 role perhaps is an experiment that can be thrown away in favour of a more attacking position as a centre-forward playing alongside a support striker. She wasn’t as effective against Western United and it showed.
Midfielder Taylor Ray was one of the few bright sparks in what was otherwise a rather lifeless display, so expect a response on Friday night against the Glory.
Western United: B+
Not tempted to give Western United an A grade just yet, because there are still a few tweaks and adjustments that need to be made. However, this was a brilliant bounce-back from their humiliating 5-1 defeat to the Western Sydney Wanderers.
20-year-old Kahli Johnson was exceptional with a brace to her name, watering doubts about being able to replace goal scoring machine Hannah Keane.
Chloe Logarzo gels impressively well with Melissa Taranto and Emily Roach in the centre of the pitch — arguably the best midfield trio in the competition.
But it’s the defence that will be Kat Smith’s most important ingredient to success this season, and if she can find that right balance as she did for most of the regular season last campaign, then this is no doubt a championship contender.
Christian Montegan