After Perth Glory took out the 2014-15 premiership and Canberra the championship, the new W-League season looks to be a cracker, especially with Matildas spots up for grabs and the addition of Melbourne City.
Add in Fox Sports coverage of games, double headers with the A-League, and internationals arriving on loan from the USA, what does the season have in store?
Can Canberra go back-to-back?
Yes. That was easy, but I genuinely believe the girls in green have what it takes to claim the championship again this season. The travel factor isn’t too bad for Canberra-based players to go north to Sydney or south to Melbourne. Losing their home ground for the start of season could be a blessing, as the back-end of the season is stacked with home games to compensate for the away-from-home start.
Ash Sykes was in career-best form at the end of the season, earning her game time in the World Cup for the Matildas, and Michelle Heyman has been finding the net in the USA.
Will City feel the blues?
As a fresh team in the competition, everything is new and shiny. The players haven’t been around each other and developed the bonds that the more rusted-on players have. I honestly see City being a middle-of-the-road team this season.
The coaching staff has a task ahead of them getting a new team to gel and build a winning culture. The short nature of the W-League season doesn’t give them a long time to find their feet. Early wins will be key to playing finals; if they wait a few weeks to find their feet, they won’t be able to reel in the leaders of the competition.
Will Olympic qualifying spots in the Matildas change anything?
For fringe players from the World Cup side, the W-League season gives the girls a chance to show Alen Stajcic why they should be in the squad. The World Cup squad was full of heartbreak stories for girls who didn’t make it, with plenty of players spending the winter either overseas or training hard locally in Australia in the domestic competitions.
I would expect the selectors to primarily have the same squad, but there is always room for changes. The goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold started as the reserve keeper at Canberra and is now in the Matildas squad just a couple of years later. There’s always a chance if you put the effort in.
Will last seasons ‘Big Four’ lose a member?
A fancy way of saying, of Perth Glory, Melbourne Victory, Canberra United and Sydney FC, which side will make way for another contender? Brisbane Roar are too good a side to not be in the top four but I don’t see them knocking one of the current lot out.
I have already elaborated on City, and although I would love to see Newcastle, Wanderers or Adelaide push for the finals, I don’t see them beating those teams for a spot. Of the teams that might be in danger, it could honestly be Sydney or Victory. But this is a guess only, early season form will be key for all teams.
Will I stop getting confused by wording of championship and premiership?
Probably not soon. In football, the premiership, as with the EPL, is for first past the post at the end of the regular home-and-away season. The championship is the finals series where the winners of 1v4 and 2v3 play each other. Last season’s premiers (Perth) lost the championship match to the third-placed Canberra United.
The W-League season kicks off next week with Adelaide taking on Western Sydney Wanderers. The ‘Game of the Round’ is Brisbane Roar versus Canberra United. If last season’s match is anything to go by, this game should be a cracker.
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