Melbourne Victory can announce its Captain and Vice-Captains for the A-League Women’s First Team for 2025/26.
Kayla Morrison, for the fifth successive season, will wear the captain’s armband for Jeff Hopkins’ side that reached the Grand Final last campaign.
The California-born defender first joined Victory in late 2020 and has established herself as a mainstay on the field, as well as an exceptional ambassador of the Club’s values.
It is anticipated that she will bring up a century of appearances for Victory in the coming months as she strives to win a third Championship.
Morrison will be joined in the Women’s leadership group by New Zealand international Claudia Bunge, who was also part of the squads that lifted the Championship in 2021 and 2022.
Another all-action defender, she has recorded 70 Victory appearances to date, and now boasts 35 caps for her country, currently being a member of the Ferns’ squad for international matches versus Mexico and the U.S.
Completing the leadership trio is attacking force Rhianna Pollicina, an off-season recruit who has most recently played for cross-town rivals Melbourne City.
Her CV includes two Premierships, 31 A-League Women’s goals, and a place in the 2023/24 A-League All-Stars team, along with a hat-trick of PFA Team of the Season selections.
Women’s Head Coach, Hopkins, commented on the composition of the leadership group, which was determined by a player vote.
“Kayla and Bunge were part of the leadership group last year. They were the two that I was very determined to have in that group, natural leaders, both of them, and then the players overwhelmingly voted for Mini (Rhianna).
“You can see from just watching Kayla play that she dominates out on the field. Players look up to her for a real example of how we want to play the game. And she does that really well. People listen to her off the park as well.
“Bunge is turning into that type of player as well. Having those two playing alongside each other and pulling the strings for us is a really important aspect of our game – kind of what we build our game off.
“Now Mini’s come into the side, and the more I see of her, the better a leader I see of her. I’m really happy that the girls spotted that a little bit before me as well. So they’re pretty smart, the team! They voted overwhelmingly for her, and she’s responded really well to that.”
