Glory ALM Head Coach Adam Griffiths believes both his squad and the club in general are well placed on the eve of the new A-League Men’s campaign.
Click HERE to view his full pre-match media conference.
The men in purple will travel to Campbelltown Sports Stadium to face Macarthur FC this Saturday looking to secure a victory in Round One for the first time since 2014 (kick-off at 2pm WST, watch live on Paramount+).
And Griffiths is confident that the future looks bright.
“This is an exciting time for the club and for me as a coach,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge ahead… the boys will be firing.
“We have to aim for Finals football.
“We’re here to win, so that’s full focus of the squad, the group and the club.
“We’ve got a good collective bunch of players who are hungry, who have an appetite for success and I’m excited.”
Glory will be led on-field this year by Tom Lawrence who was confirmed as skipper at Tuesday’s Season Launch/30th Anniversary Event and Griffiths is confident that the Welsh international is the perfect man for the job.
Click HERE to watch Tom’s pre-match media conference.
“Tom is a true leader,” he said.
The boys respect him and look up to him.
“He’s got a very good pedigree and he’s got the boys’ backs.”
In terms of Round One, meanwhile, the Head Coach has been pleased with his squad’s off-season preparations, but is expecting Sasa Ognenovski’s Macarthur FC to provide a stern challenge.
“Our approach is more aligned in terms of the playing style and the playing ideas,” he said.
“We’ve had time to work on those things in the off-season which has been great.
“It’s going to be a team that’s exciting and on the front foot and we’re really looking forward to the season.
“I’ve seen a bit of their team [Macarthur FC] in pre-season and they have a new frontline.
“They have a different dynamic to their team and they’ll be tough and strong.
“But we’re just focused on ourselves as the key feature and we’ll see how that lines up against them.
“We’ll be a team that will grow into the season like any other other team.”
When asked for any early team news, Griffiths confirmed that injuries will rule out defensive trio Charbel Shamoon (foot), Matt Dench (foot) and Brian Kaltak (knee), but that goalkeeper Daniel Solsky is expected to be available for selection despite being forced off by a back spasm in last weekend’s win over the WA State Team.
As for the Bulls, they have been one of the most active clubs in terms of off-season recruitment this year, signing 16 new players in total.
Headlining that list are Ryan Fraser, the Scotland international winger who made a major impact during a short stint with Western Sydney Wanderers last term, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos who scored 17 goals for the Jets in the 2023/24 season and experienced Japanese defender Tatsuki Nara who arrives on loan from J-League side Avispa Fukuoka.
Also new to the Bulls this year are former Glory defender Jonathan Aspropotamitis, winger Connor Pain who has made more than 230 A-League appearances for Central Coast Mariners, Melbourne Victory and Western United and striker Ben Gibson who arrives having helped Newcastle secure the Premiership last term.
Glory enjoyed the better of the three meetings between the two sides last term, claiming seven points courtesy of 2-0 and 3-1 wins and a 2-2 draw.
Overall, the Bulls have enjoyed six wins in this fixture to Glory’s four and the last eight clashes have yielded an aggregate of 32 goals.
Match Details
A-League 2026/27 Season Round 1
Macarthur FC v Perth Glory
Campbelltown Sports Stadium
Saturday 17 October 2026
Kick-off: 2pm WST (5pm Local Time)
Macarthur FC: 1. Alex ROBINSON, 3. Tatsuki NARA, 5. Jonathan ASPROPOTAMITIS, 7. Connor PAIN, 8. Luke VICKERY, 9. Benjamin GIBSON,10. Ryan FRASER, 11. Bernardo OLIVEIRA, 16. Apostolos STAMATELOPOULOS, 17. Oliver RANDAZZO, 18. Dylan ROSE, 21. Nathan PAULL, 22. Liam ROSE, 24. Dean BOSNJAK, 25. Callum TALBOT, 27. Jing REEC, 30. Joshua LAKKIS, 31. Sebastian KRSLOVIC, 33. Harry MENHAM, 99. Musa TOURE
(Two to be omitted)
Ins: N/A
Outs: N/A
Unavailable: 6. Kai KENNEDY (injured); 13. James HILTON (injured); 23. Kosta GROZOS; 32. Will MCKAY (injured)
Perth Glory: 1.Matt SUTTON (GK), 3.Sam SUTTON, 5.Lachie JACKSON, 7.Stefan COLAKOVSKI, 9.Jaiden KUCHARSKI, 10.Tom LAWRENCE (C), 11.Sebastian KUKUCKA, 13.Henry HORE, 16.Lucas SCICLUNA, 17.Pieter JACOBSZ, 18.Cher DENG, 21.Matt ELLIS, 24.Andriano LEBIB, 25.Sebastian DESPOTOVSKI, 27.Will FRENEY, 28.Calem NIEUWENHOF, 29.Daniel SOLSKY (GK), 30.Tadi KUZAMBA, 39.Giovanni DE ABREU, 44.Riley FOXE
(Two to be omitted)
Ins: N/A
Outs: N/A
Unavailable: 2.Charbel SHAMOON, 12.Matt DENCH, 45.Brian KALTAK
#ONEGlory
ALM Match Preview: Griff and co ready to start with a bang against Bulls
