It is the opportune moment for Melbourne Victory to return to winning ways, says Jeff Hopkins.
The Women’s team are pursuing their first three points of 2026 when they face Canberra United in a Round 16 clash at McKellar Park on Saturday, January 31, kick-off 5:30pm AEDT.
Victory have suffered narrow defeats to Brisbane Roar and Adelaide United ahead of last weekend’s goalless draw with Sydney FC at The Home of The Matildas.
The Girls in Blue dominated the Big Blue last weekend, with it taking a standout performance from visiting goalkeeper Heather Hinz to split the points.
Speaking during his pre-match press conference, Hopkins reflected on the recent outing and how the lessons from this can inform the team’s next steps.
“I think the performance we put in was what I asked for. The thing that really made me happy was how unhappy the players were. We got into the huddle after the game, and I could see that on the faces of everybody; they’d given everything they had.
“They were really upset that we hadn’t won the game. That showed me that we’re ready to take the next step now. I thought we pushed really hard for the last half an hour of the game, and we weren’t prepared or satisfied with the draw.”
Hopkins will be able to call on Grace Maher for the second weekend in a row, after she returned to action as a substitute versus Sydney FC, but the Canberra contest is likely to come too early for a couple of other players on the sidelines.
“I’m not sure if we’re going to get Mini (Rhianna Pollicnina) back. I don’t think we will, it’s a bit early. She saw the specialist yesterday, she trained today, but not fully. I think it’s probably a week too early.
“We got Grace back last week. We’ve got another week’s training under her belt. A fit and healthy Grace is great for our team.
“Nicki’s (Flannery) still a few weeks away. She won’t be available for this week or the next.”
Watch Hopkins’ full press conference below.
