We’re arrived at the business end of the Ninja A-League season. Who will win the Premiership? Can Melbourne City go undefeated? Who will reach the Finals Series? Who will win the Golden Boot? This is the state of play.
There is so much still to play for in the Ninja A-League in an exciting finale to the 2024-25 season.
The Premiership
Melbourne City remain the team to beat but will there be one final twist in their pursuit of back-to-back Premierships?
Unbeaten and top of the table, the record-breaking 2023-24 Grand Finalists are on track to retain the Premier’s Plate thanks to their five-point buffer at the summit but rivals Melbourne Victory are hot on their tail.
City face the prospect of three of their final four regular-season games being away from home as they also juggle AFC Women’s Champions League commitments.
While Victory are five points adrift, the Premiership and Championship contenders have a game in hand. Should the navy blue of Melbourne win that match, they would cut that gap to just two points with four games to play.
Jeff Hopkins’ Victory are in form too amid an eight-match undefeated streak, while they have only lost once in their past 16 matches.
Then there’s Adelaide United. From cellar-dwellers in 2023-24, to contenders this season. It has been an incredible turnaround from the Reds, who are third and seven points behind the league leaders following last week’s thrilling 4-3 defeat to City.
Winning the Premier’s Plate will not only mean silverware but qualification for next season’s AFC Women’s Champions League.
Remaining fixtures
Melbourne City: Brisbane Roar (A), Wellington Phoenix (A), Newcastle Jets (H), Perth Glory (A).
Melbourne Victory: Newcastle Jets (H), Adelaide United (H), Central Coast Mariners (A), Brisbane Roar (H), Western Sydney Wanderers (A – TBC).
Adelaide United: Brisbane Roar (H), Melbourne Victory (A), Western United (A), Sydney FC (H).
Invincible?
Top of the table amid a record-breaking 19-game unbeaten streak, Michael Matricciani’s Melbourne City are closing in on another slice of history.
With four regular season games left to play, City – who are also in the AFC Women’s Champions League quarter-finals – are on track for an invincible season and you would not put it past them at this rate especially when you consider they have done it before… not once but twice!
In the history of the Ninja A-League, only three teams have gone an entire season without defeat: Canberra United (2011-12 – P10, W7, D3), Melbourne City in 2015-16 (P12, W12) and 2019-20 (P12, W11, D1).
The difference between the three previous invincible campaigns and City’s pursuit this term is the sheer about of games with the 2024-25 hopefuls needing to navigate a 23-round season to achieve the feat.
Top six race
The Finals Series is looming large and there are still positions up for grabs.
Outside of City, Victory and Adelaide, Western United, Brisbane Roar and Central Coast Mariners currently occupy the final three positions in the top six but there are still six other teams with finals aspirations.
Only six points separate fourth-placed Western and eighth-placed Wellington Phoenix with four rounds remaining.
In current form, Brisbane and Central Coast are clinging onto their top six spots amid respective winless runs of four matches and five games as Canberra United and Wellington breathe down their necks.
Newcastle Jets – Semi-Finalists last season – have won three games on the bounce to catapult themselves back into the mix. They are just five points adrift of the top six, while Perth Glory are a point further back.
You also can’t rule out two-time reigning champions Sydney FC and bottom side Western Sydney Wanderers, who are still mathematically in the race but need a lot of things to go right between down and the end of the campaign.
Remaining fixtures
Western United: Newcastle Jets (A), Adelaide United (H), Wellington Phoenix (A).
Brisbane Roar: Adelaide United (A), Melbourne City (H), Central Coast Mariners (A), Western Sydney Wanderers (H), Melbourne Victory (A).
Central Coast Mariners: Wellington Phoenix (A), Brisbane Roar (H), Melbourne Victory (H), Newcastle Jets (A).
Canberra United: Sydney FC (H), Perth Glory (A), Wellington Phoenix (H), Western Sydney Wanderers (A).
Wellington Phoenix: Central Coast Mariners (H), Melbourne City (H), Canberra United (A), Western United (H).
Newcastle Jets: Melbourne Victory (A), Western United (H), Melbourne City (A), Central Coast Mariners (H).
Perth Glory: Western Sydney Wanderers (H), Canberra United (H), Sydney FC (A), Melbourne City (H).
Sydney FC: Canberra United (A), Western Sydney Wanderers (A), Perth Glory (H), Adelaide United (A).
Western Sydney Wanderers: Perth Glory (A), Sydney FC (H), Brisbane Roar (A), Canberra United (H).
Golden Boot
The Golden Boot race is going right down to the wire.
There is nothing to split joint-leaders and CommBank Matildas pair Emily Gielnik (Melbourne Victory) and Holly McNamara (Melbourne City), who have scored 10 goals apiece so far.
McNamara is finishing strong following last week’s hat-trick but another Australian star is ready to pounce.
Brisbane Roar great and Matilda Tameka Yallop is only one goal shy of the pair amid her best season in the competition. With nine goals, it is her best return in the A-Leagues, though she has twice reached double-digits abroad with Norwegian outfit Klepp.
Roar teammate and Aussie sensation Laini Freier is sat on eight goals, while Adelaide United trio Fiona Worts, Chelsie Dawber and Erin Healy, as well as Western United’s Chloe Logarzo and Sienna Saveska of Western Sydney Wanderers have found the back of the net seven times.
