by Ben Gilby (7/10/26)
Above: Perth Glory central defender Mischa Anderson looks ahead to the forthcoming A-League Women season. Image: Perth Glory.
Positivity is high in the Perth Glory camp as they prepare for their final pre-season outing ahead of the A-League Women’s big kick-off in 10 days time.
The Western Australian side go into the new campaign with four new signings – Ella Buchanan, Maggie Jenkins, and locally produced Junior Matilda Sakura Leong joined by Baxter Thew who returns home from Central Coast Mariners.
Additionally, another trio of teen starlets Theodora Mouithys, Daisy McGreadie-Cole and Hayley Muir have come in under YDA contracts.
Head coach Stephen Peters and defender Mischa Anderson emphasised the benefit of having 14 of last season’s squad return – with the experience of Izzy Dalton, Susan Phonsongkham, and Megan Wynne vital, alongside another season in goal for the hugely impressive Theresa Morrisey.
“I’m very happy. It’s great to come in with so many familiar faces, so we’ve picked up where we left off in many ways, and the new additions have been really good, adding some quality for us,” Peters said.
Anderson added: “Keeping our returning players has been a positive, and slotting in the new arrivals and giving them our identity and an idea of the way we want to play is what we’ve been (focusing on).
“Our pre-season has been super smooth as we’ve retained lots of girls, and they know how to play well together, and that’s a positive we have got.”
However, on the negative side of the ledger, the Glory have lost a number of key players from last season, with the likes of Naomi Chinnama, Sarah O’Donoghue, Nat Tatham, Tijan McKenna, and Grace Johnston all moving to pastures new. Those are big holes to fill, but Peters believes he has the players at his disposal to do so.
“The new additions have added quality. We’re in a better position than we have been in terms of people being able to step into those roles (when players are injured) which we saw at the back end of last season with a couple of key personnel out.”
In terms of preparation, Peters has faced the eternal conundrum of how to integrate players with differing loads into pre-season training with some coming off the back of a full NPLW season, and others not having played since the end of the previous A-League Women season.
“The ones who have played NPL and have not brought an injury in have brought a good chronic loading, so you can pick up where they have left off in that sense, which is great. The other ones (who have not played NPL), you have to build them up more slowly, and be more careful with them, but we have fantastic medical staff that do that for us.”
Looking ahead more widely to the battles to come, Anderson, who has played her NPLW football in Victoria with Heidelberg United during the off season, believes it will be from that state where the biggest challenge will come from in 2026/27 as she was asked to name her would-be champions.
“Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory. They both have great set ups and facilities. They have brought in some great recruits so I am expecting them to be up the top…and Perth Glory! There’s been a lot of movement around the league, so I think it will be a tight race around the top.”
In order for the Glory to make Finals for the first time in eight seasons, the keys will be a laser like focus on a game plan that takes into account opponents specific strengths, and improving on their ability to score goals.
Last season, the club managed just 20, with only the bottom two clubs Western Sydney Wanderers and Sydney FC scoring fewer goals as the Western Australian side fell four points short of the top six.
Peters believes that the situation will improve this time round.
“The signs are good, so far in training and in the practice matches that we’ve had. I think we’ve found a good combination there. It’s important that players don’t think about that (scoring record) too much and just back themselves and express themselves as they do in training and the goals will come, definitely.”
The Glory go into the final pre-season game this weekend against a Western Australian State XI who won the fixture between the two sides last season.
Anderson recognises that the game is a unique challenge against a group of talented players with everything to prove and nothing to lose.
“We can’t take the state team lightly, they have got lots of ex (Perth Glory) players, and lots of players who want to prove themselves against us.”
The Glory head coach knows what to expect, but also emphasised the fact that the game is a last chance to formulate his starting line-up for the season opener against Newcastle Jets on 17th October.
“I’ve watched a lot of NPL, and by all accounts they have got quite a good side, an experienced side, but we’re pretty keen to put that result from last season to rights.”
“You want to give the players who you think have an opportunity to be earmarked for Round One an opportunity to be out there together, but equally you want to give everyone to have an opportunity to be selected for Round One, so it’s a bit of a balancing act.”
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