Melbourne Victory Women host Brisbane Roar in Round 12 of the Ninja A-League on Sunday, January 11, kick-off 5pm AEDT.
Jeff Hopkins’ side are set for their first match of 2026, with the schedule having granted them a bye on the first weekend of January after a three-game festive feast.
This run of away fixtures delivered mixed results, but Victory, following an amazing comeback against Central Coast Mariners, will have a spring in their step as they bid to record back-to-back home wins.
They last played as hosts in mid-December, beating Adelaide United 1-0 at AAMI Park, the opponent Victory face on the road in a Round 13 A-League Women’s and Men’s double header.
The Girls in Blue
Christmas produced a selection box of results for Melbourne Victory, as the road triple header served up all possible results to close off an action-packed 12 months of A-League Women’s action.
The win at Newcastle Jets, conceding late aside, was a textbook away performance, kick-started by Kennedy White’s sixth goal of the season, with the returning Nicki Flannery also on the scoresheet.
Just a few days later, Victory battled determinedly against Melbourne City and deservedly led at the break through Rhianna Pollicina’s second goal in as many matches, only for the derby spoils to be snatched away in the second half.
Midfield heartbeat Pollicina netted again on the other side of Christmas, although her stoppage-time strike appeared to be just a consolation on the Central Coast. That was until Jeff Hopkins’ players lifted themselves off the canvas to net a second and third during a scarcely believable period of injury-time – coming from 3-0 down to take a point home from Gosford.
Victory begin Round 12 third on the ladder, just two points behind current leaders Canberra United, who they visit on the final day of the month.
Round 12 squad: 1. Courtney NEWBON, 3. Claudia BUNGE, 4. Chelsea BLISSETT, 5. Sofia SAKALIS, 6. Taylor RAY, 7. Ella O’GRADY, 8. Sienna SAVESKA, 9. Holly FURPHY, 10. Rhianna POLLICINA, 11. Nicki FLANNERY, 16. Kennedy WHITE, 17. Poppy O’KEEFFE, 18. Kayla MORRISON, 23. Rachel LOWE, 24. Laura PICKETT, 27. Rosie CURTIS, 30. Payton WOODWARD, 41. Jessica YOUNG, 66. Alana JANCEVSKI
Ins: 17. Poppy O’KEEFFE (returns from concussion protocol),
Outs: 14. Fiorina Iaria, 20. Leyla HUSSEIN
Unavailable: 19. Zoe MCMEEKEN (injured), 81. Grace MAHER (injured)
Roar’s record
Brisbane Roar have suffered a small drop off since starting the 2025/26 campaign by recording three wins from four, including an opening day success over Melbourne Victory at Spencer Park.
Their ability to build forward momentum has been hamstrung by two byes, meaning they have played three fewer games than Victory, and a run of three straight away matches to close off 2025.
This included back-to-back trips to New South Wales, either side of Christmas, where they lost to both the Newcastle Jets and Central Coast Mariners. Conceding thrice in each fixture, Brisbane are yet to record a clean sheet this term.
A return to winning ways seemed on the cards last weekend at home to Wellington Phoenix, only for a 98th-minute effort from Brooke Nunn to split the points.
The Roar’s trip to the Home of the Matildas is the first of five more matches before January ends for Alex Smith’s side, and they will be hoping that leading scorer Bente Jansen, an off-season recruit from Ajax, can find the scoresheet for the first time since early-December’s win at Adelaide United.
Run it back
A weather-affected Round 1 clash between Brisbane Roar and Melbourne Victory, which was delayed more than once by lightning strikes, went the way of the hosts.
Debut goals for Kennedy White and Rhianna Pollicina, who spectacularly fired in from distance, overturned a Bente Jansen finish to put Victory in front at the interval.
Unfortunately, a second-half fightback from the Roar, started by Shana Freier’s equaliser and completed by Tameka Yallop with four minutes left on the clock, kept the points in Queensland.
Last time out
Melbourne Victory produced an all-time A-Leagues comeback, scoring three goals in injury time at polytec Stadium to claim a draw away to Central Coast Mariners.
The final outing of 2025 was on course for defeat when the Mariners, through Peta Trimis’ first-half rocket and an Annalise Rasmussen double, led 3-0 just after the hour mark.
But as the clock ran down, Victory turned it up. Rhianna Pollicina pulled one back, and with that, the floodgates opened. Sofia Sakalis volleyed home at the far post, and just 60 seconds later, laid on by Sienna Techera, Ella O’Grady burst clear to fire home an improbable equaliser.
In contrast, Brisbane Roar were on the receiving end of a late leveller when they took on Wellington Phoenix last weekend.
Manaia Elliott’s speculative effort on the quarter-hour mark gave the visitors a short-lived lead, as Ashlyn Miller equalised just two minutes later.
Ava Piazza’s goal-of-the-season contender then put the Roar in front going into the rooms.
However, leading for more than an hour would prove too precarious a position to manage, and the trajectory of Brooke Nunn’s looping cross beat Chloe Lincoln to make it 2-2 at the death.
