The Westfield W League begins its 2019/20 campaign when Round One takes place over four days from tomorrow night to Sunday.
With the women’s game more popular than ever following a World Cup where Sam Kerr confirmed her status as one of the superstars of the global game, the Matildas have just broken their all-time attendance record, and the W League clubs will be looking to build on this as the curtain rises on the new campaign.
Whilst Kerr will not be back at her home state side Perth Glory this season having just confirmed a high profile move to Chelsea, all of the Matildas’ other shining stars, including Ellie Carpenter and Hayley Raso will be on Aussie soil.
Will Perth Glory suffer from the loss of Kerr? Can Sydney FC retain their crown, or will Melbourne City’s star-studded squad bring the title to Victoria? Check out our club by club guide below:
ADELAIDE UNITED:
Whilst the South Australian side to not appear to have the big names of several of their W League rivals, they just might have enough players with enough to prove in terms of pushing international claims to spark an X-Factor this time round. Emily Hodgson, who has been very promising in the Matildas U20 side will be one of the key players on show. This is a side that will be looking to establish itself in the top six this season.
BRISBANE ROAR:
The Queenslanders boast several players with extensive international experience such as Tameka Yallop, Clare Polkinghorne, Elise Kellond-Knight and Hayley Raso. Matildas legend Polkinghorne will lend her experience as a player-coach this time round. Raso will offer a significant threat, and we would expect the Roar to be sealing a top four place this season and mount a serious quest in the finals to bring the crown to the Sunshine state.
CANBERRA UNITED:
The W League’s only side not linked to a men’s professional A League side will be aiming to go better than their three wins from last time round. Their key player will undoubtedly be Karley Roestbakken, who represented the Matildas at the World Cup. For us it looks like a successful season will be avoiding the bottom three.
MELBOURNE CITY:
City will be looking to ensure the Minor Premiers title will remain in Victoria this season after their cross-city rivals Melbourne Victory earned it last year. The Sky Blues have put together an impressive roster for 2019/20 which includes Ellie Carpenter, the 19 year-old international with the potential to be an absolute superstar, as well as fellow Matildas Emily van Egmond, Steph Catley and Lydia Williams. Scotland’s Claire Emslie is also on board. City will be hoping that their strong and exciting looking squad boosts their disappointing crowds from last time round. A final position outside of the top three will be a significant disappointment.
MELBOURNE VICTORY:
Victory were devastated to go out in the first week of the finals after sealing the minor Premiership at the end of the regular league season. This time round it is possible that they won’t even finish as the highest placed team from Melbourne. On the positive side, they have the exciting defender Jenna McCormick on their roster. McCormick has previously represented Adelaide Crows in the Women’s Australian Rules Football Grand Final as well as playing W League soccer for Adelaide United, Canberra United and Brisbane Roar. Despite her presence, we suspect that Victory may not make the top four this time round.
NEWCASTLE JETS:
The Jets just missed out on finals football by three points at the end of last season, and they are likely to be battling it out with the likes of Perth, Adelaide and Canberra to finish in the middle of the pack. The vast majority of last season’s squad has been retained, and there is a core of Newcastle region born and bred players. Gema Simon went to the World Cup with Australia in the summer and they will also benefit from the experience of Cassidy Davis and Hannah Brewer.
PERTH GLORY:
Last season’s beaten Grand Finalists have lost their captain and Western Australian icon Sam Kerr to Chelsea, but they can boast some of Australia’s best young talent in Leticia McKenna and Lexie Moreno. The Glory have a large percentage of their players hailing from Western Australian and have also called up the state Premier League’s top scorer Sarah Carroll. It would appear that 2019/20 will see less Glory then the previous time round as Bobby Despotovski’s charges are more likely to be hovering among a group of three or four sides pushing for the last place in the finals.
SYDNEY FC:
The reigning champions have assembled another imperious looking squad as they aim to keep the crown in the Harbour City. Matildas stars Alana Kennedy, Caitlin Foord and Chloe Logarzo along with talented Americans Veronica Latsko and Sofia Huerta should guarantee a finals place, but we suspect that this time round Brisbane Roar or Melbourne City could be tough nuts to crack.
WESTERN SYDNEY WANDERERS:
Last season was a tough one all round for the Wanderers with just one win and a draw on the positive side of the ledger with a lack of goals (just 11 in 12 games) being a real concern. Things are likely to be equally tough in 2019/20, but they will look to young starlets Courtney Nevin (17 years-old) and 19 year-old Aboriginal keeper Jada Whyman to push them towards better times, along with 23 year-old Amy Harrison who played in both of the Matildas recent games with Chile. Harrison was a W League winner with inner-city neighbours Sydney FC, where she had been since the age of 16. Despite the presence of these three players, Wanderers are likely to be battling it out with Canberra once more to avoid bottom place.
Our guide to the key fixtures and dates for the season can be seen here: https://impetus885775742.wordpress.com/2019/10/21/w-league-announces-2019-20-schedule/
Impetus will be providing regular news, reports and updates from the 2019/20 W League season.
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