By Kieran Yap 31/10/25
Above: Sasha Grove with the Young Matildas Photo Football Australia
With the A-League Women about to begin, Impetus Football looks at some of the most exciting transfers of the pre-season.
Paige Zois: Melbourne Victory to Adelaide United
Adelaide United have recruited aggressively this off-season. Following a third place finish in 2024/25 they needed to bridge the rapidly closing gap between them and the likes of Melbourne Victory.
To help with that, they have signed one of Victory’s brightest young prospects. Paige Zois has been in the A-League system since 2020, so it can sometimes be easy to forget that her career is still starting. The 22 year-old has a wealth of experience, prodigious talent and an enviable highlights reel. Only bad luck has really prevented her from being a real star of this competition.
Zois is a central midfielder who can deputise at fullback or in a more attacking role. She will add composure and a rare passing range to Adelaide United’s midfield. In the likes of Dylan Holmes, and the Taranto twins, The Reds have some of the best box-to-box midfielders in the country, but Zois can control the tempo of the game, can hold a midfield together and can launch quick attacks with her long passing. She brings a versatility to the team, not just in her ability to play multiple positions, but in that she opens up new ways for them to play.
Zois also adds another weapon to Adelaide’s set-piece arsenal. She can score from free-kicks and deliver corners with pinpoint accuracy. Opportunity was limited at Victory, where she remains a cult hero to the fans, but when she played she always made an impact. Adelaide United have signed a young midfielder with the potential to be one of the best in the league.
Sienna Saveska: Western Sydney Wanderers to Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Victory have signed one of the nation’s best young forwards. Sienna Saveska is a creative and deadly attacker with a wand for a left foot. The former Wanderer and Sydney FC player has joined last season’s runners up following her most consistent club campaign and as a key part of the current Young Matildas setup.
Saveska scored seven goals and added three assists in 2024/25. The 19 year old most at home as a central attacking midfielder, and can be damaging anywhere within 30 yards of goal. She joins a talented and deep Victory attack. Jeff Hopkins has a plethora of combinations to consider, and it is easy to visualise how she would fit with any of Alana Jancevski, Ella O’Grady, Nikki Flannery, or Rachel Lowe.
Saveska is stylish, brave on the ball and as creative as she is powerful. Her set piece delivery is among the best in the country and two of her goals came as Olimpico’s last season.
She has long been considered one of the rising stars of Australian football, and last season she began to deliver on that potential. If she can build on that at Melbourne Victory, Sienna Saveska could be one of the best signings of the pre-season.
Sasha Grove: Western United to Canberra United
She’s back! After a season away with Western United, Sasha Grove has returned to Canberra United. The versatile and crowd pleasing fullback would have been one of the most sough after players from the hibernating club, and has come home to the delight of fans.
Grove is a tough tackling, tireless running machine from defence, who can also deliver a killer cross in the final third. She played a key role in the Australian Under 23 side that claimed the AFF Championship and played in the 2024 Under 20 World Cup.
Canberra United are not lacking for quality, but do have some concerns with depth, and Grove’s versatility can pretty much solve any positional problem that might arise.
With Hayley Taylor-Young and Tegan Bertolissio performing well at fullback last season, Antoni Jagarinec could have the luxury of playing Grove in a more advanced role, where the tricky feet and excellent finishing of her youth football could thrive.
Sasha Grove is a weapon that could be deployed almost anywhere on the pitch and even at 20 years of age, brings much needed experience to the team.
Chloe Lincoln: Western United to Brisbane Roar
The capped Matilda and former Western United goalkeeper solves a problem that Brisbane Roar have needed to solve. In previous season’s Hensley Hancuff and Jordan Silkowitz have both been the first choice shot stoppers at Brisbane, but both had to return to their NWSL clubs early. From the outside, it felt questionable to sign overseas goalkeepers when Australia has more than enough capable ones, and Alex Smith has now signed an excellent goalkeeper, and one who can stay for the entirety of the season.
That could be incredibly important for a club that reached some incredible high’s last season but fell short of finals due to inconsistency. Lincoln is still a young player, but was a regular starter at Canberra United and looks comfortable playing for Australia in the U20’s and U23’s.
She competed with Alyssa Dall Oste’ for the number one spot at Western United but still earned her first senior national team call up and cap and although she experienced one nightmare game at Western, that was against Brisbane themselves which will obviously not be repeated this season.
Lincoln was one of the first transfers announced this pre-season, and could be a player that Brisbane can rely on for multiple years.
Macey Fraser: Utah Royals to Wellington Phoenix
The freestyle footballer, the free- kick expert, the thrilling forward. Macey Fraser is back at Wellington Phoenix following her time in the NWSL. The Football Fern has signed a three year deal under new coach Bev Priestman and joins the likes of CJ Bott and Brooke Nunn as new additions to the roster.
Fraser earned Phoenix a record fee with her move to the US and although the only played nine times for the Utah Royals, she could have come back as an improved player.
Fraser is an entertainer, as popular among fans as she is unpopular with goalkeepers. She is creative, tricky and could make for a potent combination with Alyssa Whinham.
Wellington Phoenix have big ambitions for this season, and Fraser’s return was a statement signing in a pre-season filled with them.
Sarah Hunter: Paris FC to Sydney FC
Sarah Hunter left Sydney FC as an A-League champion, premier and as officially the best young player in the country. She returns with a Matildas cap, Champions League experience and needing to play regular football after two injury-hit years with Paris FC.
Hunter’s return to the A-League Women should see her rediscover her best form, and with Alana Murphy on her own European adventure, the Sydney FC midfielder could re-establish herself as the best holding midfielder or deep lying playmaker in the country.
Hunter is composed on the ball, has an enviable range of passing and can score by either arriving late in the box or with one of her thunderous shots.
She has the ability to be an alite number six. The sort of midfielder that Australian football needs in the next few years, and Sydney FC will be hoping that her impact for them is immediate.
She will join a midfield boasting Shay Hollman, Maddie Caspers, Indiana Dos Santos and Hana Lowry (with the latter two also returning from injury.)
That suddenly makes Sydney FC look a lot more deep and threatening in the centre of the pitch. They struggled to control games last season, if Sarah Hunter is anywhere near her best, that will not be a problem this year.
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