After the twists and turns of its opening round, something closer to standard programming returned to the A-League Women in its second week. Melbourne City and Melbourne Victory recorded thumping wins to get on the board for the first time, Brisbane Roar continued its hot start, and Sydney FC and Adelaide United were forced to share the spoils. After a bye week in Round One, the Bev Priestman era officially began at Wellington Phoenix, who showed flashes of promise but were forced to settle for a draw with Canberra United.
But Victory didn't just grab its first three points of 2025-26 with their win over the Western Sydney Wanderers. They also celebrated their coach Jeff Hopkins in style: the Welsh-born, adopted Aussie coaching his 200th A-League Women's game in the 4-1 triumph at Wanderers Football Park. And given his trailblazing role in the competition, to say nothing of the resume he's built up over the years, it was fitting that the 61-year-old was the first to achieve the honour.
Still here in its 18th season, Hopkins was also there in the league's first: on the sideline as then-Queensland Roar downed Adelaide 4-1 at QSAC Stadium on the opening day of the new W-League. He went on to lead the Queenslanders to a premiership and championship double in that campaign, the first of four titles that he's won across what is now up to 14 years in the league -- more than any other manager in its history. After winning a further title with the Roar, he arrived at AAMI Park in 2016 and helped rebuild a Victory program left reeling by the entrance of Melbourne City, turning them into a perennial power that won back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022.
Illustrative of how consistent Hopkins' sides have been, in 13 Grand Finals that the A-League Women has staged whilst he's been employed as a coach, seven of them -- more than half -- have featured his teams; the most recent coming in last year's decider, in which his Victory fell to the Central Coast Mariners on penalties. Hopkins' sides have reflected his values: talented but hardworking and, above all else, committed to working for each other.
There have been plenty of fantastic coaches that have graced the A-League Women over the years, including several that have gone on to lead the Matildas like current coach Joe Montemurro and assistant Emily Husband. But when it comes to longevity -- when the W-League first started, its regular season was a mere 10 games and resourcing was, to put it charitably, threadbare -- few can match Hopkins. From serving as a renowned hardman in English football during the 1980s, to landing in Gippsland to play in the NSL, to moving to Queensland and becoming one of the key figures in the growth of women's football Down Under, it's been an unlikely, remarkable journey -- one that Australian football should celebrate.
Adelaide United
Stocks Up: A final, killer touch was absent for Erin Healy on Saturday -- reflective of her side in general in their 0-0 draw with Sydney, more on that below -- but if one subscribes to the theory that strikers need to get into good positions and the goals will eventually flow, Healy's opening two weeks suggests she'll soon find herself amongst them. With nine shots and 10 touches in her opponent's penalty area, the reigning Dianne Alagich Medalist led both sides at ServiceFM Stadium this weekend, and trailed only Sydney's Kirsty Fenton for successful dribbles and duels won.
Stocks Down: It's now 180 minutes into the 2025-26 A-League Women season, and the Reds are still looking for their first goal -- the only side in the league yet to find the back of the net. After doing so early against the Mariners last week, only to eventually fall to a 3-0 defeat, they regularly worked the ball into dangerous areas of the park in their home opener, boasting 59% of the ball, completing 202 passes in their opponent's territory, and had 21 shots to the Sky Blues' six. However, just three of the host's attempts on Heather Hinz's goal were sent on target, and their 1.12 expected goals (xG) from their 21 efforts, giving them an average of 0.05 xG per attempt, suggest a level of quantity over quality.
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Brisbane Roar
Stocks Up: In Bente Jansen, it looks like Brisbane have signed a real difference-maker. Fresh off providing a goal and an assist in her new side's opening round win over the Victory, the Dutch striker shook off a quiet start on Friday to nab a brace that powered her side to a 3-2 win over Perth Glory, putting them in a match-winning position after Grace Kuilamu's opener had been cancelled out by Rola Badawiya. Signed from Ajax and previously on the books of Dutch powers FC Twente, Jansen has already surpassed the goal involvements of the Roar's foreign attacking signing from last season, Evdokiya Popadinova, after just two games, which bodes well for an outfit that needed to replace Laini Freier and provide extra support for Tameka Yallop and Sharn Freier -- the latter of whom had two assists.
Stocks Down: After being one of the major reasons that her side was able to defeat Victory in Round One, Chloe Lincoln had a few lapses she'll want to avoid in the future in Perth. "Credited" with an error that led to a goal when she came off her line in the 92nd minute only to fail to clear tackle Ella Lincoln, who promptly finished into an open net, the Matildas keeper also collided with teammate Leia Varley and spilled an Isobel Dalton corner on the hour mark, leading to a Badawiya effort that was cleared off the line by Marianna Seidl.
Canberra United
Stocks Up: Earning an A-League Women contract after serving as a key cog in Box Hill United's drought-breaking NPLW Victoria triumph this year, Josie Aulicino has continued that momentum into the new season, starting both of her new side's games across the opening fortnight. And while there was plenty of fortune about what happened when it left her boot, the American attacker did really well to lose a 16-time New Zealand international in Mackenzie Barry before her opening cross-cum-shot goal against the Phoenix. Back in Canberra after Western United's enforced hibernation, Sasha Grove was good, too: providing the second-most defensive contributions for her side as well as creating the most chances.
Stocks Down: After being unlucky not to grab more than one goal against Newcastle last week, Michelle Heyman struggled to make an impact in the tough, windswept surroundings of Sky Stadium. The veteran produced just a single shot in the contest -- an 83rd-minute header saved by Victoria Esson -- while her 27 touches were the fewest of any outfielder who logged 90 minutes, with just two of them coming in the Wellington penalty area.
Central Coast Mariners
Stocks Up: Losing 4-0 in horrifically wet and windy conditions on the road doesn't exactly lend itself to fond memories, but Isabella Coco-Di Sipio showed a few flashes of brilliance for the Mariners in their loss to Melbourne City. Not only were her three chances created the equal-most in the contest, they were more than the rest of her team combined, and, in the slippery conditions, she was one of only four players credited with completing a dribble. After dealing with a series of injuries at the start of her career, Coco-Di Sipio has earned a first A-League Women opportunity with the Mariners this season after a strong NPLW NSW campaign with the Macarthur Bulls and looks to be taking her opportunity in stride.
Stocks Down: Thanks in no small part to the returning Peta Trimis, the Mariners were able to see off an early storm and record a comfortable 3-0 win over Adelaide in Round One. However, against a City side filled with the talent and ambition to be targeting a treble this season, an outfit that lost its championship-winning coach and several key players was soundly beaten this weekend. You can't write anyone off at this stage of the campaign -- let alone the Mariners, given what they did last year -- but there's a huge hole that has been left by the offseason exits of Bianca Galic, Taylor Ray, and Jessika Nash.
Melbourne City
Stocks Up: Holly McNamara is eventually going to score goals. You know it, ESPN knows it, and, much to their chagrin, opponents certainly know it. After being forced to settle for an assist against Sydney last week (she got another one in this game), the Matildas attacker got off the mark in City's thumping 4-0 win over Central Coast on Saturday, grabbing the opener in the 32nd minute before adding another from the spot in the 54th. She was joined in netting a brace by Shelby McMahon, who now has three goals in her opening two games after scoring against the Sky Blues last week, as the teenager seeks to fill the goalscoring void left by Mariana Speckmaier.
Stocks Down: There can't be too many complaints when you knock off the defending champions 4-0 in your first home game, attaining some measure of revenge for your heartbreaking semifinal loss from last year, but it's worth noting that the Mariners produced four of the first five shots of the game, with a defensive mix-up forcing Malena Mieres to dive at the feet of Trimis -- probably not a player you want to be giving looks on goal near the six-yard-box, even if she was on an angle -- and make a good save in the 25th minute.
Melbourne Victory
Stocks Up: It was a White-Out at Wanderers Football Park on Sunday afternoon, as newly signed American striker Kennedy White hammered in a 10-minute hat trick to help Victory erase an early deficit and record a thumping 4-1 win on Hopkins' big day. White joined Victory during the offseason from Hungarian outfit Győri ETO, with whom she had fired in a staggering 32 goals and registered a further 17 assists during the 2024-25 season -- a record that suggested she'd be lethal. And while the relative obscurity of the Hungarian league, the Női NB I, meant there were questions on just how this form would carry over, four goals in White's first two games bode well.
Stocks Down: While they would eventually explode to life, Victory started Sunday's contest slowly as their midfield struggled to impose itself against the Wanderers' less heralded unit. This was then compounded when Holly Caspers, Amy Chessari and Ella Buchanan combined to allow the latter to tee up Danika Matos for a simple opening goal. That deficit very easily could have grown to two, had Caspers' cross-cum-shot not been tipped onto the crossbar by Courtney Newbon. Victory would eventually accelerate away from there, but they're still growing into the season.
Newcastle Jets
Stocks Up: Re-fueling in the bye week.
Stocks Down: Being grounded during the bye week.
Perth Glory
Stocks Up: Her latest tally came in a loss, but with two goals in two games to start her tenure in Perth, Rola Badawiya looks like she's going to be a very handy addition for the Glory. Her goal against the Roar on Friday evening will instantly be earmarked for the end-of-season highlight reel, too: the Californian utilising a backheel turn to take the ball away from her marker before smashing an unsavable left-footed effort into the top corner of the net.
Stocks Down: With the clash preceding an A-League Men fixture between Glory and the Central Coast, Perth's loss on Friday kicked off at a rather unusual 4 p.m. local time. And while that meant that it was an easy watch for those on the East Coast, as well as ensuring Glory's women were able to stage their fixture at a venue a level above their regular home at the Sam Kerr Football Centre, one has to wonder if the potential crowd and community benefits derived from playing one's women's and men's games back-to-back are cancelled out by the A-League scheduling the first game to kick off during work hours on a Friday.
Sydney FC
Stocks Up: If you're going to absorb as much pressure and see off as many shots as Sydney did in their 0-0 draw with Adelaide, your defenders need to stand up to be counted. And that's what Willa Pearson, Kirsty Fenton, Madison Ayson, and Tori Tumeth did on Saturday. The Sky Blues made 22 interceptions and blocked 10 shots against the Reds, with Pearson's game-leading 12 clearances and three blocks (the latter figure equalled by Ayson) pacing all players on the park as the teenager made a game-high 19 defensive contributions. Fenton, meanwhile, led all players in interceptions and duels won in the game, and added some level of forward momentum with a game-high four completed dribbles.
Stocks Down: It's now back-to-back draws for Sydney to start the season, and while that's a damn sight better than two defeats, coach Ante Juric will be hoping his side begins to click into gear in the coming weeks. After showing signs of promise against City last week, the Sky Blues' midfield struggled to impose itself on much of anything against the Reds and across their two games thus far, Sydney has produced just 0.58 xG from open play while averaging 35.1% of the ball.
Wellington Phoenix
Stocks Up: There were plenty of positive signs to take from the first game of the Priestman era in Wellington, with Marisa van der Meer proving influential in addition to her goal and Grace Jale looking promising in the second stanza as she saw more of the ball in the midfield. New signing Sabitra Bhandari, one of the league's most intriguing new additions, also got into plenty of promising positions, particularly in transition, and flashed potential game-breaking ability when she ran onto a long ball from Jale in the 12th minute, bullying Hayley Taylor-Young off it in the process, and forced Sally James into a really good save when she pulled up early for a shot.
Stocks Down: Given the excitement and expectation surrounding this Phoenix side in 2025-26, falling behind in the way that they did almost felt like something of a wet thud: Van der Meer completely fluffed her attempt to clear Aulicino's cross and leaving Victoria Esson scrambling one way and then the other, with her desperate flail as she went back across her body ultimately unable to keep it out. In a game where neither side produced a heck of a lot of good chances in tough conditions, they're the type of mix-ups that will haunt.
Western Sydney Wanderers
Stocks Up: It was ultimately washed away by White's hat trick and Zoe McMeeken's late sealer, but amidst a back-and-forth opening, the Wanderers' opening goal was a genuine display of crisp, incisive football. Amy Chessari's ball to set Ella Buchanan up for her assist was put on an absolute plate, and if they can begin to regularly put together passages of play like that, it should bode well.
Stocks Down: Two weeks in and the Wanderers are now the lone team in the A-League Women yet to pick up a point, with their seven goals conceded three more than any other side. Much has been written over the years about the dichotomy that is Western Sydney's women's team: the talent hotbed they occupy and the resourcing that the club's ownership could bestow suggesting they should be far better than the actual results they put on the park. If they want to avoid adding another chapter to that, they'll need to start putting together some results soon, which is easier said than done, given they've got top-of-the-table Brisbane next week.