The second matchday of the 2026-27 A-League Women season is in the books and there is plenty of action to dissect.
Here's the lowdown on whose stocks are up, whose stocks are down, and what has the people talking coming out of the weekend.
Stocks up: Melbourne City flex their muscle
Heading into Sunday evening, it was looking like it was going to be pretty easy to declare the Central Coast Mariners the obvious standout for the second straight week. Returning to Gosford for the first time since their rescue by the Holman Barnes Group (HBG), their remarkable start to the campaign had continued, recording a thumping 5-1 win over a Canberra United side that, on paper, perhaps represented a sterner test than the Brisbane Roar side they downed 4-2 last week.
And there were young standouts all over the park. 18-year-old Skye Halmarick fired them ahead after just six minutes, making it goals in back-to-back games for the Young Matilda. And, in just the latest example of the Western Sydney Wanderers allowing a talented youngster to escape -- as well as the boon of the APIA to Mariners pipeline being fostered by HBG, which retains a stake in both -- 21-year-old Talia Kapetanellis was massive in her home debut: not only netting twice but also creating more chances than any other player on the park. And a year on from seemingly being touted as having her stocks rise every other week in this column, Peta Trimis was once again an attacking menace, constantly threatening Sally James' goal and setting up Kapetanellis' first.
Melbourne Victory had made some noise, too, if one was looking for an alternative. On paper, Victory has the squad to challenge this season if it all clicks, but that's a big if, given the same could have been said about them ahead of a disappointing campaign last year. But in travelling to Wellington, taking the lead, and coming away with a point against the Phoenix, in a game that coach Jeff Hopkins had earmarked as being one they'd learn a lot in, they had a very promising weekend.
But then Melbourne City played Sydney FC in the late kickoff on Sunday and ... well... they fired a hell of a 5-0 warning shot to the rest of the competition.
After a lightning-delayed kickoff, Michael Matricciani's side came out as if they were trying to make up for lost time, netting through former Sky-Blue hero Cortnee Vine just 13 minutes in and leading 4-0 by the time half an hour had been played. From there, they cruised, adding one more second-half goal via a Melina Ayres spot kick and seeing the game out with one eye on their upcoming AFC Women's Champions League match. Sydney were depleted -- they led their post-game media release with a list of the 16 players on international duty or injured -- but City was on a different level.
Coming into 2026-27, everyone recognised the sheer amount of talent assembled down at Casey Fields. The question was always going to be how well and how quickly it clicked, as Alexia Apostolakis, Bryleeh Henry, Laura Hughes, Leah Davidson, Taylor Otto, Chinaza Uchendu, Leticia McKenna, and Holly McNamara didn't just represent the loss of immense talent, but also significant continuity. Injuries to Davidson and Hughes, for instance, had a significant impact on their midfield form last season.
Unfortunately for the rest of the competition, City already looks to have brought its new guns to bear.
Stocks down: Not so Roar-some
The A-League Women can be an incredibly forgiving league. Thanks to the parity that grips (most) of the competition, teams are liable to drop points to each other at any moment, regardless of form. Further, six of its 11 teams play finals football. So, a challenging opening stretch to a new season doesn't necessarily need to portend doom. Just ask last year's Wellington, who won one of their first five games only to reach the Grand Final.
But after losing not just a host of key talents during the offseason, but also important leaders and standard-setters, as well as coach Alex Smith, back-to-back losses are not how Brisbane Roar wanted 2026-27 to start.
Though Johnathan Clemente's side was able to take the lead against Western Sydney -- who are still yet to provide an official update on Rhianna Pollicina after her suspected ACL injury -- when Sofia Sakalis inadvertently turned a Murphy Agnew free kick into her own net after just seven minutes, said advantage only lasted to the 15th minute. First, Sofia Palywoda -- one of the best young talents in NPLW Victoria over the past two seasons -- turned in a Talia Younis' corner. They then surrendered two second-half goals and fell to successive defeats.
All of a sudden, next Saturday's clash between the Roar and Sydney feels like it's taking on extra meaning: two sides limping in after early season defeats and desperately needing to start building a level of momentum, lest their campaign start to really go off the rails. Win, and you can look forward with a new sense of purpose. "Season starts here" and all that. Lose, though, against a side whose form you'll have looked at and probably thought you could beat, and it may feel like the walls are closing in.
Moment of the weekend: A little bit of Momo magic
HAYASHI WITH A STUNNER! 🔥 Momo Hayashi strikes from distance and City double their lead within minutes of their opener 📺 Paramount+ https://t.co/qEQnSksnmn
— Ninja A-League (@aleaguewomen) October 25, 2026
Momo Hayashi doesn't always mark her arrival at a new club by scoring goals in back-to-back games, but when she does, she does it with long-range bombas.
The week ahead: An Uzbekistan undertaking
Melby City won't have long to celebrate their thumping win over Sydney. Nor will they have much chance to relax after flying home on Monday morning. Because 24 hours later they'll begin the long journey to Qarshi, Uzbekistan -- a small city about 500km south of the capital, Tashkent, that is home to Uzbek champions Nasaf and City's group stage slate in this year's AFC Women's Champions League.
It's going to be a long and arduous journey, too, involving a 14-hour layover in Abu Dhabi and, once they're actually in Uzbekistan, half a day spent on a bus to actually get to Qarshi. City -- whose willingness to invest in their women's program explains their ability to reload, not rebuild -- is doing what they can to make the journey easier, leaving two days earlier than the AFC requires, securing hotel rooms for the stopover rather than having players sleep in the terminal, and renting multiple buses so they can stretch out. But it's still challenging.
"We definitely don't take it for granted," Matricciani said. "When the culture of winning starts from the top, and they understand what is necessary to win, then these things that seem like small details are actually massive for player performance. And no stone gets left unturned. We want to do well in this Champions League."
Set to face Nasaf on Nov. 1, City will then face Filipino outfit Kaya FC-Iloilo three days later, before ending their Group C slate against Chinese side Beijing Jingtan. The top two sides from each of the three groups will advance through to the quarterfinal stage -- City are desperate to be seeded high enough to host that fixture and prevent another road trip -- where they'll be joined by the two best-performing third-placed sides.
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