Melbourne City has finished on top of the table at the end of the A-League Women's regular season – with a little bit of help from arch-rivals Melbourne Victory.
Read our review of the tense final weekend below.
The final round got underway on Thursday evening when the Central Coast Mariners and Western United played out a 1-1 draw. Mariners academy product Annalise Rasmussen opened the scoring in the second half before a maiden league goal to Kiara De Domizio levelled it for Western. Kyah Simon played the first half for the home side, while Chloe Logarzo remains unavailable for Western due to injury.
The result means that Western United finished third – and will host an elimination final after the international break – while the Mariners will also travel to Melbourne for the first final, taking on Victory after finishing fifth in their first season back in the league.
The Newcastle Jets will head into their elimination final in outstanding form, smashing Adelaide United 8-0 on Friday night. CommBank Young Matildas Lara Gooch scored a brace, as well as Melina Ayres after coming off the bench, while 21-year-old goalkeeper Tiahna Robertson made seven saves on debut.
The Jets squeezed into finals in sixth place after other results, meaning they’ll be the team to travel to take on Western United. Adelaide finishes the regular season in last place.
The Wellington Phoenix broke Wanderers’ hearts, denying them a finals place with a 2-0 victory on Saturday. The Phoenix played like a team with nothing to lose, thrilling the home crowd with their skill on the ball, and an Emma Main brace lifted them to victory. Sophie Harding looked threatening for the Wanderers, but the team in red were ultimately outplayed by an inspired Wellington.
The Phoenix finished the season in eighth, a disappointing result considering their early season form, but still marks their best-ever season, finishing with more than double the points of their previous best campaign. Due to results elsewhere, the Wanderers were squeezed out of finals, finishing seventh on goal difference.
Michelle Heyman did Michelle Heyman things yet again on Saturday, scoring the equaliser as Canberra United came from behind to defeat the Brisbane Roar 2-1. Jenna McCormick’s header gave Brisbane the lead late in the first half, but Heyman and Vesna Milivojevic overhauled the result in the final minutes of regular time. Sharn Freier started and played the full match for Brisbane.
It was Heyman’s 17th goal of the season, equalling Sam Kerr’s all-time record for goals in a season (including finals). Canberra finished the season in 11th – but nine points from the bottom – while Brisbane ended the season in ninth.
Melbourne Victory defeated Sydney FC 4-0 in a dramatic Big Blue that secured Victory’s finals place and denied Sydney the chance to secure a fourth-straight premiership. Victory were clinical, scoring four of their ten shots and denying the Sky Blues any major clear-cut chances at the other end.
Emily Gielnik and Alex Chidiac both started and scored in the second half, while Elise Kellond-Knight made her return from injury in the 75th minute. Lydia Williams remained unavailable through injury.
Cortnee Vine looked lively throughout the game for Sydney FC but was unable to convert her chances into goals. Jada Whyman had a game that she would prefer to forget, conceding four and giving away a penalty in the first half.
Sydney premiership’s hopes rested on Perth Glory overturning Melbourne City in the game later on Sunday – but no such result would arise. City defeated Glory 2-1 and sealed themselves the Premier’s Plate thanks to goals from Rhianna Pollicina and 15-year-old CommBank Junior Matilda Shelby McMahon. Glory got themselves a late consolation through academy product Tanika Lala, but it always looked like City’s afternoon, and the win cued wild celebrations.
Daniela Galic came off the bench in the 64th minute and added some attacking impetus, as did goal-scorer – and ultimately match-winner - McMahon when she came on twenty minutes later.
The result marked City’s third A-League Women’s premiership, while Perth Glory ended in tenth place, and still without a win in 2024.