We tasked two Impetus writers from outside of Australia with watching A-League Women action over the Christmas period to get their first-time opinions on the competition. Here’s what they thought.
2/1/26
Above: Holly McNamara celebrates after scoring in the Melbourne derby. She was a player who seriously impressed our two first time Dub watchers. Photo: Adrian Geremia for Impetus.
Fast, intense and exhilarating
by Emmanuel Faith (based in Nigeria)
The Barclays WSL being on its Christmas break meant I had some spare time this Yuletide, and the A-League Women was a soothing segue away from the norm with exciting intensity that looked promising.
I chose a weekend with a couple of derbies, a lot of goals and what followed was an engaging stretch of games that kept me up until the early hours.
Tempo:
Fast and intense. Each team walk out of the tunnel with strong belief that they can take the full three points from their opponent, and they spend the next 90-minutes attempting to do just that.
A perfect example of this was when Canberra United snatched a 94th minute winner against Newcastle Jets, leaving the home-team crestfallen in a match where a draw would have felt good.
A more shocking one was a battle of the second and third-ranked team where Melbourne Victory scored three goals in four minutes against the Central Coast Mariners to turn a loss into a draw in the most thrilling way possible. You can catch Isabelle Campbell’s review of the game here.
Style of play;
This might have been influenced by the matches I watched but the ball was played more across the wings, than in the middle of the pitch.
In England with midfield generals like Erin Cuthbert, Yui Hasegawa, Mariona Caldentey, and more, the middle of the pitch becomes a contest ground where matches are dictated, but in the A-League, balls go through the wings a lot more than the midfield, even when the play was in the middle, there was a winger or full-back constantly overlapping to create an overload in the opponent’s box while waiting for their midfielder to pick out a pinching pass.
Audience engagement:
While attendance varied across different matches, the ebullience and exuberance of the fans was contagious and palpable.
For instance, despite being 3-0, Melbourne Victory fans stayed in the stadium and cheered loudly when one goal was scored in the 91st minute. In another league, fans might have started walking out of the stadium already and missed such a memorable come back.
Precise passes, pin-point crosses, long-range shots and mind-blowing saves.
Watching the Ninja A-League was exhilarating, and I will find time to keep watching as my schedule permits.
High intensity and focus on transitions
by Ben Tattoo (based in England)
General thoughts of the standard of play
Every game seemed like it there were high levels of intensity, with a lot of focus on transitions – I really enjoyed that. Every time a team won the ball back, they were determined to attack as soon as possible.
Some of the finishing was outstanding as well, particularly from Melbourne Victory in their comeback against Central Coast Mariners. Without it they surely would have lost!
What you thought the facilities were like?
The pitches looked really good, which probably contributed to the fast transitions. I love visiting different stadiums, and I may have to add some of the Ninja A-League to my list! The facilities look well looked after and good places to visit for fans and players
Players that particularly stood out and why
I had heard of Holly McNamara through Football Manager and she certainly lived up to the hype with her hat-trick against Perth Glory. Her movement and finish for the third goal was excellent and it looks like she oozes confidence.
I really liked City’s pressing, so I’ll keep an eye on them a bit more.
Looking at the league table, Adelaide United, seem to be struggling this season, but they looked very good against Western Sydney Wanderers, particularly Erin Healy and Chelsie Dawber. Healy’s first goal was a great piece of individual skill.
I liked how they seemed to attack in numbers and weren’t afraid to shoot from distance – I might have found my next Football Manager Team!
Crowd/atmosphere
We all know the Aussies know create a great atmosphere at sports games and that certainly came across.
I’ve been lucky enough to have spoken to a few Aussie Women’s football fans and it is clear how passionate they are about their teams and the game.
Does what you saw make you want to potentially watch again?
Yes, for sure. There were so many goals! There were some high scoring games, just like we’ve had in the WSL this season! There were some real rockets as well.
Many of the games seemed to be very end-to-end which is always entertaining, so this would draw me in to watch more for sure.
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