Jeff Hopkins is excited to see the off-season’s hard work come to fruition against Brisbane Roar this weekend.
Melbourne Victory get their 2025/26 Ninja A-League Women’s campaign underway in Queensland on Saturday, November 1, kick-off 5pm AEDT, looking to fire up another silverware tilt after they finished as runners-up in both the regular season and Grand Final last term.
They have since said goodbye to a trio of Matildas, but have restocked impressively to complement the exisiting playing group, including picking up Championship winner Taylor Ray and former Melbourne City attacking midfielder Rhianna Pollicina.
Speaking during his pre-match press conference, Hopkins assessed the body of work undertaken to gear up for the new season, his 10th in charge of the Club.
“We’ve trained really hard over the past seven weeks. We’ve had some great support from our support staff. They’ve been working so hard to get the girls fit and prepared, and we’re ready to go. We can’t wait to get on the plane and get up there.
“I think it’s the perfect time (seven weeks) for us. We’ve been allowed to get five really good quality, different games that have tested us, but also allowed us to play. I feel we’re as well prepared as we can be.”
Brisbane have also been busy in the transfer market, looking to build on the positives from a season that started so brightly before they missed out on Finals football.
Hopkins gave his expectations for the test the Roar will pose this season, but wants his team to take the initiative when they take to the field.
“With Alex (Smith), he sets up a very positive side that look to go forward, look to score goals, look to get on the front foot. So, that’s what we’re preparing for. Last year, they played in a number of different ways, different setups, different formations. So we’re preparing for one or two different scenarios.
“But also, we understand that they did concede a lot of goals last year. So there’s going to be opportunities for us, and that’s what we’ll be focusing on. Those opportunities that we get to take the game to them, because our philosophy is all about winning. We go to win games every week, whether we’re at home, whether we’re away, and whoever the opposition are.”
Watch Hopkins’ full press conference below.
