by Ben Gilby (28/2/25)
Above: Perth Glory’s Megan Wynne speaking to the media ahead of Saturday’s game with Newcastle Jets. Image: Perth Glory.
Perth Glory’s Welsh international Megan Wynne has highlighted the team’s determination to try everything possible to ensure they finally earn their first away win of the season at Newcastle Jets tomorrow.
Whilst the Glory have picked up four wins at home, and are unbeaten in their last three games on Western Australian soil, Perth have only taken two points on the road in 2024/25, and this weekend’s showdown in New South Wales has real significance among the lower reaches of the ladder.
With Western Sydney Wanderers starting to pick up wins, the winner of Saturday’s encounter will keep in touch with mid-table and faint hopes of making the Finals. For the losers, it will be all about finishing top of a three-way battle to avoid the wooden spoon.
Wynne outlined how the team has used their additional week due to the international window to work on how to give themselves the best chance of finally delivering that first away win.
“It’s been tough, especially the longer ones where you’ve got to get one flight, then a different flight.
“We’re getting used to it…we’ve changed the schedule a little bit this week to see if that helps how we travel…instead of training we will be catching an earlier flight and get there and have time to settle. We obviously haven’t had great results on the road, so it’s about adapting things and finding better ways of doing things.
“There’s no hiding from the fact that we haven’t travelled well this season. If you look at those results and if we’d managed to score (more) away from home, the season could be looking a lot different, but mathematically it’s (making top six) possible, so we keep going.”
Perth have produced some good performances and results at the Sam Kerr Football Centre, and the confidence earned, particularly from the victory over Wellington Phoenix prior to the international window, has got the confidence flowing ahead of the game in Newcastle.
“Our last result showed how we have adapted,” explained the midfielder. “We’ve got players back from injury now and the squad is very positive. At home we are a very different team so it’s now about focusing on those points away from home.”
Whilst Perth have suffered a seemingly endless injury list this season, particularly among their midfield and strike force, Wynne has thankfully remained able to play regularly. But it has been far from plain sailing for the Welsh star, after being jokingly accused of “costing the club thousands of dollars in having to have the knee taped up each week.”
Explaining the need for that tape, Wynne said: “Its been a tough season for me personally. I’m probably in a better place now than I was at the start of the season. I’ve basically got loose bodies of cartilage floating around in my knee, and it’s been about managing it. I’m back in full training. I’m probably looking at having an operation in the off season to get those loose bodies, but there’s nothing that I can’t manage at the moment.”
Focusing specifically on tomorrow’s game at the No. 2 Sportsground, Wynne knows it will be a physical battle, but one she is confident can end in victory.
“We know what they are like. We’ve seen all season the intensity that they play at. We know it’s going to be a tough game, but we can take a lot of confidence from the last game we played against them (a 3-2 win at HBF Park in Round Two), but now it’s about doing it away from home.”
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