Opinion
Perth Glory’s season could be over before it even begins considering the horrendous schedule the West Australian club have for the upcoming season.
The Glory kick-off their 2021-22 A-League Men’s campaign on Saturday 20 November at home to Adelaide United, but after that, they have at least nine games in 46 days away from home.
That includes an unexpected ‘home’ FFA Cup preliminary round game against the Melbourne Victory in Adelaide.
WA’s strict border controls have made it challenging to cater for the Perth Glory home games, with travellers from interstate required to quarantine for 14 days at their own cost.
In a further development, which is sure to upset Glory fans, the WA government plans to allow the England and Australia cricket teams to quarantine for only five days in a bid to save the Ashes Test in Perth.
This is similar to the rules imposed on AFL teams for this year’s finals.
The Glory’s FFA Cup preliminary round game has been moved to 24 November at MARS Sporting Complex in Adelaide, a game that was significantly delayed after the Victory declined to travel to Perth and undertake the mandatory 14-day quarantine required.
(Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
The Glory may have an additional away game should they progress to the Round of 32, with the winner of their game against the Victory set to take on former NSL club Adelaide City in Adelaide in December.
After the Cup game against the Victory, the Glory travel to Melbourne for three games in 13 days, after which they head straight to Brisbane for ten days, before playing two games in Brisbane and Adelaide in the space of five days before Christmas.
This means players – a number with young families – are away from home for 31 days.
After being home for Christmas, the Glory then start the new year with three games within a week in Sydney.
Their next home game, after Round 1, is on 15 January 2022 against the Wellington Phoenix.
Apart from a compromised draw, player welfare is a key concern, with the amount of travel likely to impact player recovery as well as compromise their mental health considering the extended time away from their families.
(Photo by Malcolm Couzens/Getty Images)
Considering the limited number of home games, selling memberships early in the season has also been challenging for the club, significantly impacting their cash flow.
In contrast to Perth’s situation, clubs in NSW will not travel interstate for the first part of the season.
Sydney FC play their first away interstate game in Round 8 on 7 January 2022 against Western United.
The Western Sydney Wanderers first travel beyond NSW to Melbourne on 22 December in Round 6.
Central Coast play Brisbane in Round 8 on 9 January 2022 on their first interstate trip.
Macarthur FC travel to Melbourne on 9 January 2022 in Round 9.
The Newcastle Jets won’t go interstate until Round 11 when they visit Perth on 22 January.
Are you the ultimate team manager? Pick your own superstar team and go head to head with other football fans for glory and cash prizes on Draftstars. Imagine what you could be buying instead. Set a deposit limit.
Mathew Leckie played a pivotal part in Melbourne City claiming an 8-nil win; playing a role in several of his team's goals.
The loser of the Sydney Derby will be under immense pressure entering the final three matches of the season.
A good performance from Michael Ruhs, scoring twice to beat Macarthur and doubling his season goal tally in the process.
Sydney moved into fourth with their point but Glory's finals hopes are now officially extinguished.
Anthony Caceres is a player with immense talent and has a fantastic work rate, broke the deadlock against the Mariners in the 74th minute.
The Wanderers coach admits he has stuff going on in his personal life, and insists he has full support of playing group.
