We also look at our annual 2025-26 Ninja A-League regular season review and examine the eleven sides in the league, with six qualifying for the playoffs: Melbourne City, Wellington Phoenix, Canberra United, Brisbane Roar, Adelaide United and Melbourne Victory, and we present the post-season schedule.
2025-26 Ninja A-League Regular Season Review
In 2024-25, six teams made the playoffs: Melbourne City, Melbourne Victory, Adelaide United, Central Coast Mariners, Canberra United and Western United, but the latter team dropped out of the A-League (men, women and academy sides) for this season—officially in hibernation—due to financial struggles and their return to the league for next season or beyond is still undetermined. For the 2025-26 season, Melbourne City, Adelaide United, Canberra United and Melbourne Victory qualified again for the playoffs while Wellington Phoenix and Brisbane Roar replaced Western United and Central Coast Mariners, who won the Grand Final last season against Melbourne Victory on penalties 5-4 after a 1-1 tie; the Mariners narrowly missed their third consecutive playoff berth since returning to the league for the 2023-24 season on goal difference to Melbourne Victory, with both teams finishing with 28 points.
Melbourne City (12-4-4 W-D-L, 40 points—First)
Melbourne City won their fifth A-League Women Premiership title as the regular season champions in their eleventh campaign in the league (since 2015-16), winning four Grand Finals for the league championship and losing in one other during that time period.
City was third in the league in scoring with 36 goals, behind Wellington (38) and Brisbane (37). They were second in the league in team defense with only 20 goals allowed, three behind leaders Wellington (17 goals). Individually, Matilda international forward Holly McNamara (23)—who played with Australia at last month’s AFC Women’s Asian Cup Final—finished as the team’s and the league’s top goal scorer with 12.
City could do a double of A-League and Asian Women’s Champions League titles, as they qualified for the semifinals of the latter for the second consecutive season (see: The Week in Women's Football: Martin Sjogren exclusive; Denver Summit open to 63,000 crowd - TribalFootball.com).
Wellington Phoenix (10-4-6, 34 points, Second)
2025-26 was a fantastic season for Wellington as they captured their first ever playoff berth in five years; it turned out even better as they finished three points above Canberra for second place and a first round playoff bye. Wellington finished only six points behind Melbourne City and will rue a few late season upsets or they might have won the Premiership title. They had a hiccup in Round 21, losing 1-0 to Western Sydney Wanderers in the New Zealand capital, which at that time could have cost them second place and a top two finish, which provides an automatic semifinal spot in the playoffs and thus avoiding the difficult first round of the third place team versus sixth place and the fourth seed versus the fifth place finisher.
The Phoenix also lost four days before the WSW home match, falling to Central Coast Mariners 2-1 in Gosford on March 25—a make-up game from Round 5. However, a Round 22 victory away over Adelaide United (2-0) assured Wellington of second place. Despite a lot of injuries this season—including their Nepalese superstar international forward Sabitra “Samba” Bhandari (29) for the season, who brought such energy to the team and attracted many Nepalese diaspora to her games across the league, the side stayed consistent and got a big boost from local player Pia Vlok, who was capped by the Football Ferns this year during the OFC group stage for the 2027 Women’s World Cup qualifiers.
Vlok was the joint leader in goals on the team with English native Brooke Nunn with six goals each, leaving both tied for eighth in the league, ahead of American Makala Woods, who had five goals for Wellington. New Zealand international Victoria Esson tied for the league lead in shutouts with seven (with Courtney Newbon of Melbourne Victory) in her first season in the A-League Women (see our interview with her in February: The Week in Women's Football: Victoria Esson exclusive; A-League deep-dive - TribalFootball.com).
The Phoenix had the best team offense in the A-League with 38 goals, while also allowing the fewest goals among the 11 A-League teams with 17. Wellington did have a five game unbeaten streak from Rounds 6-10 with two ties. Rounds 12-17 saw the Nix go unbeaten in four of five games, with two ties.
On March 27, Wellington Phoenix announced that they had re-signed American centre-back Ellie Walker (23), who was the only Phoenix player to have played every minute of the regular season during the 2026-27 Ninja A-League campaign. She played at the University of Portland and three seasons in Portugal before joining the Nix this season.
Walker paired well with New Zealand international Mackenzie Barry (24) and New Zealand youth international Marisa van der Meer (24) in Wellington’s back three. Walker joined imported Brooke Nunn (England) and Makala Woods (U.S.) by signing on for a second season with the Phoenix for 2026-27. Makala Woods signed an injury replacement contact with Wellington at the turn of the year after her 2025 season in Iceland ended in October and she made a huge impression with four goals.
Canberra United (9-4-7, 31 points, Tied for Third)
Canberra made the playoffs for the second consecutive season and third time out of six seasons since 2020-21. Michelle Heyman finished the season with six goals and three assists while Australian midfielder Bethan Gordon had four goals and three assists and Australian youth international defender Sasha Grove (20) and American midfielder Jose Aulicion both had three goals and one assist. Aulicion played five seasons at Northwestern University in Chicago and her father played soccer at Michigan State University.
Off the field, Capital Football—the Australian Capital Territory’s Football Federation and the only Australian regional football federation running an A-League team in the league—has been looking for new ownership to take over Canberra United since the off-season. With their strong regular season campaign, if the club can make their fourth Grand Final—having won two titles and finished runners-up once, but not since the 2014 season—it could help in finalizing an agreement with new potential owners and sponsors.
To date, the Capital Territory government has pledged AU$400,000 for the 2026-27 season, but the team’s total expenses for a season is pegged between AU$800,000 to AU$1,000,000, so there is still a gap to make up. Despite numerous discussions over the years, Canberra still doesn’t have a men’s A-League team, which could assist on marketing and other organizational issues and alleviate some expenses—again United is unique as a women’s independent team in a league where all the other teams are linked with men’s sides.
Fan groups are trying to raise money, but some feel that the government should underwrite all the expenses, as they contribute AU$28.5 million into Greater Western Sydney Giants over a 10 year period to bring three men’s AFL (Australian Football League or Aussie Rules Football) and two Women’s AFL games to the city each season.
The city has struggled with past professional football teams, including the National Soccer League’s (men’s processor to the A-League) Canberra Cosmos, who played for six seasons from 1995/96-2000/01. Other sports teams’ franchises have struggled in the city, including the National Basketball League’s Canberra Cannons, who ran into financial problems in 2002-03 after many years in the city and moved the team to Newcastle. Canberra Comets had a short spell in the national cricket league.
The Canberra Bushrangers played in the Australian Baseball League but folded after the 1994-95 season with heavy financial losses. The Canberra Calvary, also of the ABL, launched in 2010-11 and won an Asian title and two league titles—the last in 2024-25—before they folded ahead of the next season, as the league was retrenching. We truly hope that Canberra United does not get added to that list of defunct teams in the city; we are optimistic that the club will play in 2026-27 and beyond in the Capital city.
Brisbane Roar (9-4-7, 31 points, Tied for Third)
Thanks to a 2-1 final regular season game win in Canberra, the Roar jumped from sixth place to finish in a deadlock for third in the table—with Canberra—though the latter clinched second with a better goal difference (+6) than the Roar (-2). Chloe Lincoln (21)—who started Australia’s first two victories of the AFC Women’s Asian Cup win over Philippines and Iran, where she wasn’t originally on the Matildas’ squad of 26—was outstanding in goal for the Roar, making nine saves including a last second penalty kick save from her former teammate while at Canberra Mary Stanic-Floody (20)—who was an Australian youth international but decided to switch last year to Serbia at the senior level, but has not yet appeared in a match.
The Roar made the playoffs for only the second season from their last six (since 2020-21), having missed the post-season during the past four consecutive campaigns. They are hoping to win their third Grand Final and make their sixth Grand Final appearance all-time, but none since the 2013-14 season.
Bente Jansen (26), a former youth international forward with the Netherlands, tied for third in the league’s scorers race with eight goals, tied with American Kennedy White of Melbourne Victory and Australian youth international Melina Ayers of the Newcastle Jets. Australian youth international Daisy Brown (19), who signed a two year academy scholarship at the beginning of the 2025-26 season, scored seven goals in a fantastic first season in the league. Sharn Frier, on loan from VfL Wolfsburg who she was transferred to late last season from the Roar, contributed three goals and three assists. The Roar was second in the league in team scoring with 37 goals.
Adelaide United (9-3-8, 30 points, Fifth)
The Adelaide United Reds made the playoffs for the second consecutive season and third in the last five seasons, after missing the playoffs in thirteen consecutive seasons since they became an A-League founding member for the 2008-09 campaign.
American-born Irish international Erin Healy led the club with four goals and two assists. Six players had two goals during the season. English import Fiona Worts (3) had three goals and one assist but was transferred for a club record fee in March to Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels of Korea Republic. She left the club with 32 goals in 73 games, joint top of the Reds all-time goalscorers list with Australian youth international and South Australian native Chelsea Dawber, who had one goal in 19 games this season.
Melbourne Victory (8-4-8, 28 points, Tied for Sixth)
The Victory made a late run for the playoffs with one loss in their final six games (with three wins and two ties). Melbourne Victory entered the final weekend in seventh place but their last regular season match victory away to Perth Glory (1-0) in Western Australia secured them a playoff berth, thanks to New Zealand international defender Claudia Bunge’s (26) goal midway through the first half. Bunge to date has 40 caps with one goal for the Football Ferns.
Their loss in the Big Blue match with Sydney FC 2-1 in the penultimate round of the season put the Victory into danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons (since winning the Premiership in 2018/19) and during which they won two Grand Finals and lost one during that run.
American Kennedy White (25) and Australian international Rhianna Pollicina (29) had eight and seven goals respectively, contributing 15 of Melbourne Victory’s 27 goals this season. Tasmania native Courtney Newbon (25) had seven shutouts in the net in her second season at the Victory, tying Wellington’s Vicky Esson for the league lead.
Central Coast Mariners (7-7-6, 28 points, Tied for Sixth)
Central Coast Mariners entered their last regular season match in sixth place, but a combination of their 0-0 home deadlock with Sydney FC, Melbourne Victory’s 1-0 win in Perth and Brisbane’s 2-1 win away against Canberra left the 2024-25 reigning champions out of the playoffs—even on 28 points with Melbourne Victory but having a slightly worse goal differential (+3 to +1). The Mariners were a key contributor to a very tight playoff race this season. There is some promising news in terms of new owners for the franchise, which was taken over by league management during the season (see more below).
TribalFootball.com talked exclusively to Australian international midfielder Isabel “Izzy” Gomez on March 23, just ahead of a crucial trio of games to end the regular season. On March 25, she scored the ultimate winner in the 83rd minute of a vital 2-1 home win over Wellington Phoenix, with the latter’s goal coming from New Zealand senior international midfielder Macy Fraser in the 93rd minute (her only goal of the season); the win moved the Mariners from eighth in the table to fifth and right into the playoff mix with two games left.
We asked Izzy Gomez about her reflections on winning the A-League title last season, with her contributions essential, including a late goal in the last minute of overtime to dispatch Melbourne City in the semifinals second leg (1-0 for a 3-2 aggregate victory over two legs) and the Mariners’ only goal in 120 minutes for CCM as well as a successful fourth penalty kick after the Mariners and Melbourne Victory tied for 120 minutes, which Mariners won 5-4 on penalties in the Grand Final.
She explained: “It has been a bit (of time) but it is still fresh in my memory. It was such an exciting time and achievement because the Central Coast has only come back in the league for its second year. It was a great achievement. For me, I’ve been in the league for six years so to get a championship under my belt was an amazing achievement. I’m super proud of not only myself but the whole team (and) for the club, something great to achieve together.”
Gomez then talked about the changes on the field in 2025-26 with head coach Emily Husband going to the Matildas and Kory Babbington stepping in as head coach: “There has been a bit of a change due to the coaches and also players as well—we brought different players in which has changed the whole dynamic and not as (many) experienced players, so Kory has been teaching us the fundamentals again and transitioning to what Kory wants; it’s been a bit different style of play but we have all been jelling well and playing well and (are) in contention for finals again, which is great.”
Regarding her individual style of play—she is clearly the engine of the Mariners midfield with her perceptive passing and attacks—she reflected: “For myself this year, I feel like the role has changed a bit. I feel I have to be more of a leader in the midfield; someone who creates opportunities and defensively has to be switched on and be disciplined at the same time. Just getting the ball, doing what I can with the team, driving with the ball into space; one of my strengths is dribbling so creating those 2 v 1 overloads in the final third or me assisting the other girls, and being disciplined on the other side and winning those 1 v 1 duels.”
Gomez has been capped by Australia at the U-23 level in 2024 and has one cap in 2025 with the senior Matildas. She also qualifies for Mexico through FIFA’s family rules but had never heard from the federation at any level. She would be open to playing in Liga MX Femenil in the future. Matilda and veteran A-League forward Emily Gielnik is currently playing in Monterrey and has eight goals and two assists in 19 matches since joining for the 2025-26 Apertura (Opening Championship); Monterrey currently tops the 2025-26 Clausura (Closing Championship) with one game left from a 12-4-0 (W-D-L) record for 40 points, one point ahead of Club America.
Some nations are more comprehensive in searching for and recruiting their diaspora around the world—this writer has discussed for years how the Liga MX Femenil teams and the Mexican women’s national team program scouts frequently hold tryout camps in the United States at all levels—but she said that, for youth teams or the senior team: “No I haven’t been contacted—this is all new.”
As far as playing abroad at some point in her career, she said that she could go to America or “somewhere in Europe or even stay in the A-League at the moment. It’s been an interest of mine and I’d love to go and experience it for myself… Going overseas is in the back of my mind. I’m focusing on now and the next couple of games (for the Mariners).”
We asked if she felt that it was an advantage to play in Australia to be considered for the Matildas, particularly with reduced travel for camps and games in Australia compared to those playing in Europe or America, but she cogently explained that she thought there was no difference in consideration for A-League players versus those abroad: “They watch the Aussies all over the world. We’re wanting experience overseas. They select all over. They keep watching the Aussies girls in where-ever they go… In terms of travel, I am closer (but) they are not just looking at A-League girls. They also want those girls that have that experience overseas and (can) bring that back into the national team.”
Izzy Gomez finished the 2025-26 Ninja A-League regular season with five goals and six assists. Annalise Rasmussen (20), who won two U-23 Australian caps last season, was tied for the league lead in scoring with 11 tallies in 14 games for the Mariners, but moved to Juventus in February for a record transfer fee for the club. Rasmussen still finished second overall for the Golden Boot Race. Australian youth international Petra Trimis (19) finished with five goals and four assists.
In terms of an update as the club’s is up for sale, that we discussed in February (see: The Week in Women's Football: Victoria Esson exclusive; A-League deep-dive - TribalFootball.com), there had been no news as the A-League’s parent organization—Australian Professional Leagues (APL)—is running the men’s and women’s side and folded their academy—are still looking for new owners for the Gosford side, which has won three A-league titles while the women’s team has made the playoffs four of their five league seasons—including the first two years of the league—plus their glorious Grand Final victory last season.
Just before going to press however, news came that London’s Queen Park Rangers of the English Championship (men’s) would buy the Central Coast Mariners franchise for AU$38 million. QPR is currently tied for ninth in the 24 team second tier on the men’s side while QPR women are currently in the fourth tier FA Women’s National League Division One Southeast, currently in fifth place in the 12 team league with 30 points, streets behind champions Fulham FC Women (56 points) with two games left in the season.
There is speculation that the purpose in buying the Mariners on the men’s side is to turn CCM into QPR’s developmental side, with five-to-six players coming every season to the A-League from the London side. Multi-club ownership is a goal for many clubs, it has been popular for years on the men’s side (Melbourne City, Manchester City, New York City FC and other clubs are part of the City group) and is starting to become prioritized on the women’s side.
Top-class A-League announcer and occasional World Soccer contributor Simon Hill analyzed the issue and said that QPR CEO, Christian Nourry, was quoted in The Guardian in 2023 in his previous role at football advisory firm Retexo Intelligence, as saying the following about multi-club ownership: “They (owners) decide their multi-club structure must be everything at once: producing incredible young players, span multiple markets, despite inter-club communication being hindered by genuine language barriers, achieve a style of play that transcends all the clubs they own, and see every club they own achieve impressive on-pitch results.”
There has not been anything written from the women’s perspective on this prospective sale but given that the Mariners are the reigning Ninja A-League Women champions and QPR Women are in the fourth tier, the Mariners may reverse that script and drive setting the plan on how the two sides will interact. The Mariners could send younger academy players to QPR to help the side move up the English pyramid, but then the Mariners would have to restart the Academy, which was closed down when the Australian Professional Leagues took over the club earlier this year. We certainly will keep the reader updated on updates through the summer off-season.
Perth Glory (7-3-10, 24 points, Eighth)
Perth Glory missed the post-season for the seventh consecutive season, but this season were just four points off of sixth place, with the 2021-22 and 2022-23 season also being narrow misses. One point in their last four games—a 0-0 tie at home with Central Coast Mariners on March 21—was particularly detrimental to both sides as the pair ended up outside of the top six. American forward Rola Badawiya scored five goals and one assist in her first season with the club to lead the side.
American forward Gabby Hollar (25), in her second season in Perth after playing collegiately at West Virginia University, Purdue University and the University of South Alabama, was second with three goals along with five year Perth Glory stalwart Susan Phongsongkham (25). Their other American, Emma Tovar (23), played for Valencia’s A and B sides in Spain since the 2021-22 season and scored once in 19 games—was invited to a Philippines WNT training camp last year. Perth needs more goalscoring support for 2026-27, as their 19 team goals was ninth in the league, just ahead of the two Sydney sides who scored 18 goals each.
Newcastle Jets (7-2-11, 23 points, Ninth)
Despite their ninth place finish, Newcastle recorded their second highest number of wins (7) and points (23) for any season in their history except for the 2023-24 season when they finished in sixth and made the semifinals of the playoffs, led by Philippines international Sarina Bolden (20)—who then went to Como of Italy for the 2024-25 season but tore her ACL in April of 2025; she is recovering and since she and the Serie A club have mutually cancelled her contract, she is free to sign with another side.
Australian international Melina Ayers finished with eight goals (and one assist) to finish tied for third in the goalscoring race along with Bente Jansen of Brisbane and Kennedy White of Melbourne Victory. New Zealand international forward Kelli Brown (25) added six goals and one assist in her first season with the Jets.
Charlotte Lancaster, who was called into the Football Ferns senior squad during the 2027 Oceania WWC qualifiers earlier this year, starting in the 8-0 win over Solomon Islands and as a substitute in their 8-0 win over Samoa and 3-0 victory over American Samoa, had three goals and one assist in her first season with the club. Australian midfielder Sophie Hoban (24) scored three goals in her third season with the club—she played collegiately in the States from 2018-2020 with Iowa Western Community College. Australian Lauren Allen (28), who has been with the club since the 2019-20 season and is a native of the Newcastle region, also chipped in three goals.
Sydney FC (4-7-9, 17 points, Tied for Tenth)
Sydney FC tied with Western Sydney Wanderers at the bottom of the table with 17 points, but pipped the suburban side with a better goal difference (-11 to -16) for tenth and avoided the hypothetical wooden spoon for finishing at the bottom of the table. Sydney started the season unbeaten in their first five matches (three ties and two wins) but only won two games in their last 15 as they slid down the table. They have missed the postseason for the second straight season after 16 consecutive playoff berths since the league started in 2008-09.
American-born Panamanian international Riley Tanner (26) led the squad with five goals, with two coming in a late season Round 21 2-1 upset of Melbourne Victory at Leichhardt Oval, which almost cost the latter a playoff spot (see above). Tanner scored two goals after MV’s Rachel Lowe scored the first goal in the 23rd minute.
Tanner countered in the 31st minute and just before halftime. American forward Jodi Ülkekul (28), who played with Tanner with the Spokane Zephyr of the Gainbridge Super League and played locally at Gonzaga University and then in Italy and Spain earlier in her career, almost gave Sydney a 3-1 lead just after the hour mark; she played in 18 games but did not score a goal during the 2025-26 season.
Bianca (nee Galic) Gittany (26) scored once in 14 games after moving from Central Coast Mariners and is a full international for Croatia.
At the end of March, Sydney FC signed Willa Pearson (15) to a new two year contract through the 2027-28 season. She has been a revelation in the Ninja A-League this season and is mentioned as a future Matilda. She is the A-League Women record holder as the youngest player in history to make her debut at age 14. She is also the all-time youngest goalscorer in the history of the league at 15 years and 51 days. This season, she made 18 appearances, with 15 starts and the one goal. She is also a current U-17 Junior Matilda player and played cricket competitive at the club level growing up.
On March 26, Sydney FC re-signed Championship and Premiership winning defender Charlotte McLean (26) for the final two matches of the Ninja A-League season. McLean won two Grand Finals and three Premiership titles with the Sky Blues from the 2020-21 through the 2023-24 seasons; she returned to the club to help a thin defense corp at the end of the season due to call-ups from the Young Matildas.
In the summer of 2024, she signed with the North Carolina Courage of the NWSL and at the end of 2025 was on loan with the Tampa Bay Sun of the Super League, but played little for either club and struggled at the Sun with a foot injury. McLean said: “It feels really special to be back at Sydney FC. This club means a lot to me and the girls have made me feel very welcome again over the past few weeks in training. I’ve really enjoyed being back in the environment and I’m excited for the chance to help the team in these last two games. Hopefully I can contribute however the coaches need me and help us finish the season strongly.”
Laurie-Ann Moise (24), born in Quebec, Canada, played in one game for Sydney FC and then joined Ljuboten in North Macedonia for the 2026 season. She has been a full international for Haiti since 2024.
James Slaveski was named as the Interim Head Coach of Sydney FC Women on February 3. He had previously coached under Matildas head coach Joe Montemurro, and has been with Sydney FC for three years, working on both the men’s and women’s side with the academy and development side. With the Matildas, he was an opposition scout during the 2023 WWC in Australia/New Zealand. Slaveski replaced Ante Juric who had coached the team since 2017-18; he stepped down after winning three Grand Finals and finishing as runner-up in four other Grand Finals.
Western Sydney Wanderers (5-4-11, 19 points, Tied for Tenth)
The Wanderers of Western Sydney had a few highlights during the season, including their Round 21 defeat of Wellington away (1-0) and a four match unbeaten rum from January 16 through February 4, in which they tied Brisbane at home (1-1) and then won three consecutive road games, including a win over Central Coast Mariners (2-1), the derby victory against Sydney FC (3-2) and a stunning victory over 2025-26 Shield winners Melbourne City (1-0).
The Wanderers were joint bottom of the league in team scoring with 18 and need to improve their attacking options for next year. Chinese international forward Yuan Cong (25) and Australian youth international Talia Younis (17) tied for the team lead in goals with three. Younis qualifies through FIFA parentage to play internationally for Lebanon as well as Australia. Her father Ray played in the old National Soccer League and is a coach within the Wanderers organization.
Ninja A-League Women 2026 Finals Series Schedule
Week 1: Elimination Finals, Saturday April 25
Canberra United vs Melbourne Victory
Brisbane Roar FC vs Adelaide United
Week 2: Semi Finals (Leg 1), May 2-3
Lowest Placed Elimination Final Winner vs Melbourne City
Highest Placed Elimination Final Winner vs Wellington Phoenix
Week 3: Semi Finals (Leg 2), May 9-10
Melbourne City vs Lowest Placed Elimination Final Winner
Wellington Phoenix vs Highest Placed Elimination Final Winner
Week 4: Grand Final, May 16-17
Highest ranked Semi Final Winner vs Lowest ranked Semi Final Winner
Tim Grainey is a contributor to Tribal Football. His latest book Beyond Bend it Like Beckham on the global game of women’s football. Get your copy today. Follow Tim on X: @TimGrainey