By Impetus Writers 1/11/24
Above: Michelle Heyman for Canberra United. Photo: Canberra United
Impetus writers Ben Gilby, Jonathon Hagger, Kieran Yap, and Emma Burke look at the season ahead and make some specific predictions.
Next-gen stars from the West take the league by storm
by Ben Gilby
Perth Glory never quite managed to reach their potential over the last three years of the competition – but a large group of locally produced young stars could be about to change that.
Two years missing out on Finals football on goal difference, then a point, before last season’s dramatic fall from grace which saw them fall from the top of the ladder to third-bottom after a dire run of form post-Christmas.
With Alex Epakis having departed and Stephen Peters replacing him as head coach, there has been a real shake-up of the squad. Whilst the arrival of Naomi Chinnama and Casey Dumont has taken the headlines, it is a large number of hugely talented local young stars coming in who have really enthused the Western Australian women’s football community.
Last season saw the duo of Georgia Cassidy and Grace Johnston give a hint of their quality. Cassidy has the combination of centimetre perfect passing, superb set-pieces, and thumping challenges. Johnston has a never-ending work rate and an elegant range of delivery. But this season offers the return of that pair and a whole heap more.
Young Matilda Tijan McKenna has been a shining light in the NPLW WA with Perth SC. Back in her preferred centre midfield role, McKenna is showing all the class that has marked her out as a star for a while. Exceptional vision in bringing teammates into the game and a physical presence. She is back at the Glory where she was never previously given the game time she deserved which resulted in her departure to Melbourne City.
Three other names that will be potentially new to those outside Western Australia also have so much to offer. Charli Wainwright, 20, is a player of endless potential. With exceptional passing vision in the midfield and hugely intelligent runs in the channels mark her as a real star of the future.
The remaining pair are two of the hottest attackers that Western Australia has produced in recent times. Tanika Lala has been talked up locally for several years. Last year, despite Glory’s post-Christmas struggles, she wasn’t used until the final week of the campaign. This season though she can become one of the league’s top players. Explosive pace, real physical strength as well as the confidence to score from both long-range and inside the six yard box, the kid from Kalgoorlie has it all.
Then there’s Ella Lincoln. Just 20 and off the back of scoring 26 goals in 21 NPLW WA matches for Perth SC. Comfortable on the left side of the attack as well as the central zone, Lincoln exudes confidence in the final third and is capable of popping all over the place. A true team player who gives her all for the shirt, Lincoln is a player who once she gets on the scoresheet just cannot stop.
Canberra Resurgence
By Jonathon Hagger
The Canberra United team will turn their previous seasons fortunes around in the 2024/2025 season, finishing in the top four, securing a home semifinal. Canberra have refreshed their playing lineup, following some amazing off season signings and transfers, that will sure up their competitiveness.
With incoming players –
• Liz Anton from Perth Glory
• Beth Gordon from Western Sydney Wanderers,
• Emma Robers from Western United
• Maja Markovski from Melbourne Victory
Canberra will start the season with a LOT of talent both on the park and on the bench. While Michelle Heyman isn’t getting any younger, her form is phenomenal and when Michelle does well, Canberra does well. Watch out for Emma Robers to guide the midfield, providing the go forward needed for goals to be scored by a stellar attacking frontline.
Nikki Flannery- Senior Matilda
By Kieran Yap
Flannery’s arrival at Melbourne Victory continued the club’s tradition of a statement signing every season. However unlike the previous big name arrivals, she is not a Matilda. That could be set to change.
Flannery was on the cusp of international football before a knee injury at a National Team Talent ID camp cruelly hampered her progress. In the last two seasons, she has been a consistent and selfless forward for Canberra United.
At Victory, Flannery will join an attack featuring Alex Chidiac, Emily Gielnik and Alana Jancevski. In a team that generally plays on the attack, she will have opportunities and time to terrorise already stretched defences.
Flannery can play on either wing, can score goals and is dangerous in any attacking setup.
The Matildas have Hayley Raso as an outstanding pure winger, but outside of the Tottenham star, that spot seems to be up for grabs, and options are being explored.
Flannery’s game seems built for international football, of she plays to her potential at Victory, she could receive a call up by the end of the season.
City to win three trophies
By Emma Burke
My bold prediction for the 2024/25 season is that Melbourne City will complete the Treble.
City winning the A-League Women’s Premiership and Championship, and the Asian Women’s Champions League, is a very possible feat for the club.
With new striking power in the form of Venezuelan international Mariana Speckmaier, and the ability to score goals in a number of ways, City has the power up top to be very successful this season.
It’s well known, however, that Defence’s win Championships, and City’s backline made up of Captain Rebekah Stott, Taylor Otto, Karly Roestbakken, Bryleeh Henry, and new arrival from Western Sydney Wanderers Alexia Apostolakis, is one that can easily be envisioned securing silverware.
The Treble would be a marker of huge success for Melbourne City as a Club, as they haven’t done a double since 2020, and it would be done under a new head coach in Michael Matricciani.
Also it would just be really funny, wouldn’t it?
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