It's been a long time coming but, a new season of A-League Women is finally upon us.
Seventeen years into the competition, there have never been so many games to watch and stories to follow. As always, those stories exist on and off the pitch but if we focus solely on the field, history could be made in 2024-25.
Sydney FC are looking to win a third-consecutive championship, equal Melbourne City's record, and further cement themselves as the most successful club in Dub history. Naturally, every other team will be hoping to spoil that party, with City looming as the best challenger.
A number of coaches will be enjoying a first full preseason in charge of their respective teams, including Kat Smith at Western United and Robbie Hooker at Western Sydney Wanderers. All will be hoping to shape their teams in their image in a way they couldn't achieve last time out.
After a brief flirtation with West Ham United, Michelle Heyman will look to lead Canberra United up from the bottom, while superstar Singapore international Danelle Tan will hope to make an immediate impact on her new side, Brisbane Roar.
Thousands of questions will be answered over the course of the next 23 rounds of action but here are some of the most pressing heading into season 17.
1. Can Sydney FC defend their crown?
For the second season in a row, the Sky Blues are dealing with some pretty major departures. Consequently, there are some question marks about how the team will go without the likes of Cortnee Vine, Charlotte McLean, and Jada Whyman.
When those same questions were asked at the start of the last season -- but with names like Mackenzie Hawkesby, Charlie Rule, Sarah Hunter, and Madison Haley in their place -- Ante Juric's side answered them emphatically, winning a fourth championship.
Sydney FC should once again be making the Grand Final at a minimum, not only based on the players they have retained, but the ones they have brought in to cover those who have left, and those they are set to regain over the course of the year in Nat Tobin and Kirsty Fenton.
The potential for Hana Lowry and Hawkesby to combine in the midfield makes for an interesting proposition, while the acquisition of Millie Farrow from Perth Glory is fascinating. The England youth international didn't score nearly as much as expected in purple; will her fortunes change when surrounded by a new cast? Meanwhile, Kyah Simon has made no secret of her desire to work her way back into Matildas contention by re-joining the Sky Blues.
All of this to say, Sydney FC is absolutely capable of defending their crown, but it won't be an easy defence with the likes of Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory looking threatening on paper.
2. Who will win the Julie Dolan medal?
The highest honour in the women's league has been won by some stars of the world game. Even before a ball has been kicked this season, there are a handful of names who feel like obvious contenders. Hawkesby and Alex Chidiac both had wonderful seasons in 2023-24 but weren't there for the whole campaign. This time around, the midfielders will be leading Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory respectively and their form will be a great indicator of how their sides go.
Heyman is another option after the veteran striker re-signed with Canberra United. If she can find the back of the net with the same frequency she did last season, and her team notches up a few more wins this time around, the 36-year-old Matildas star could become the first three-time winner of the medal.
3. Which manager will make the most impact?
There are a number of managers who will be enjoying a first full preseason after coming into their respective gigs part way through last campaign. There will be plenty of eyes on them and how they can impact their teams. But the focus should be on the three new coaches heading into their debut season.
Michael Matricciani has already had a solid start to life at Melbourne City, guiding the team through to the quarterfinal stage of the Women's Asian Champions League. Antoni Jagarinec is tasked with the challenging task of sorting out Canberra United on the field while issues off it loom large. And then there is Stephen Peters.
Peters is yet another head coach who has been plucked from the NPLW NSW and has an impressive CV in the competition. He steered the Macarthur Rams to three straight championships and did the double in 2024. However, NPLW success isn't a straightforward path to A-League success -- just ask his predecessor Alex Epakis.
While Peters will not have to deal with Covid complications as Epakis did, he will still need to navigate the step up to A-League level as well as the travel considerations that are built into the Perth Glory gig. He has been able to lure some of his Rams players out west which says plenty about how willing players are to play for him. He also inherits some talented players like Georgia Cassidy, co-captain Isobel Dalton, and Susan Phonsongkham. Peters must take Glory back to the finals and looks capable of doing so.
4. What does success look like for Canberra United this season?
Defining success for Canberra this season is tricky. How can we talk about Canberra in any context without acknowledging the elephant in the room?
Yes, the team was successfully saved by a cash injection from the ACT government to participate in season 17, but does anything that happens on the pitch this season really matter if the club doesn't exist beyond these 23 rounds?
The quest to secure more money -- and their future beyond this season -- will continue in the background and the players and coaches cannot and will not shrink away from this campaign for fear of what might or might not happen at the end of it.
The club will be desperate to better its 11th placed finish from last year and new coach Jagarinec has called on a patchwork quilt of proven A-League talent from other clubs to build his squad. In an ideal world, these off field issues are sorted sooner rather than later so there can be a total focus on the football.
5. With three trophies on offer this season, how many will Melbourne City claim?
A treble is on offer for Melbourne City with the premiership, championship, and Women's Champions League. While the aim for Matricciani and his team will be winning the lot, two out of three feels more realistic. Another way of looking at this is that it would be extremely surprising and ultimately very disappointing if City are unable to pick up at least one piece of silverware this season.
They have also lost some big names in the form of Daniela Galic, who made her Matildas debut recently, Emina Ekic, and Hannah Wilkinson, who retired from football. But they should welcome back Holly McNamara, which is an enormous win, and have picked up goal-scorer Mariana Speckmaier from Wellington Phoenix and Alexia Apostolakis from the Wanderers.
6. Sarina Bolden is gone, Melina Ayres is taking a break from football, are the Jets' chances of playing finals again gone too?
The short answer is yes. The impact of both Bolden and Ayres at the Newcastle Jets cannot be overstated. The duo departed under very different circumstances -- Bolden to take up an opportunity in Italy, Ayres to take a break from the game after nine consecutive seasons of football.
Losing one but retaining the other would have been a big loss but the Jets' chances of another finals appearance still felt possible. With both players gone, it feels as if Newcastle's finals hopes have gone too. There are still plenty of good players in the Hunter, but none have the X-factor that Bolden or Ayres brought to the club which propelled them to last season's finals series.
Their respective departures are also illustrative of the challenges that the league as a whole still face from the lure of overseas leagues to the effect of the grind on players bodies and lives.
7. Is the only way up for Adelaide United?
The Reds finished another season down the bottom of the ladder, heaping misery onto a fanbase that has already suffered plenty. In a literal sense, the Reds can't sink any lower than they currently are -- they can't suddenly finish 13th out of 12 teams.
And even though the return of Matilda McNamara to bolster the defence after some time abroad is a positive, as is the signing of Fiona Worts -- who won a Julie Dolan medal in her last season in Adelaide, the very same season the Reds last made finals -- it still feels like there isn't enough in this Adelaide squad to turn the tides. A midtable finish and flirt with finals would be a marked improvement for this team.
8. Are a slew of Victorian homecomings enough to propel Victory back to the Grand Final?
Even though Melbourne Victory have not missed finals since the 2018-19 season, there is a feeling that in the last couple of years they have underachieved. Most of that stems from the bar they set by winning back-to-back Grand Finals in 2021 and 2022 and consequently failing to make the decider in either of the following two seasons.
On paper, Victory have a squad that should have been making Grand Finals and a return to the big dance will be the marker of a successful season. Victorians Alana Jancevski and Sofia Sakalis return home after time at other clubs in the league while Football Fern Claudia Bunge, an honourary Victorian after winning two titles with Victory, is back in navy after a stint in Denmark.
Throw in the signing of Nickoletta Flannery from Canberra United, plus the host of talented players who have been retained from last season and Jeff Hopkins and his team should be winning trophies again.