ALW Head Coach Stephen Peters believes that his Glory side are in a good place heading into Saturday’s top-of-the-table clash with Central Coast Mariners at Polytec Stadium (kick-off at 2pm WST, watch live and FREE on 10.com.au).
Click HERE to watch his full pre-match media conference.
Glory remain second in the early-season ALW table despite Saturday’s narrow home defeat at the hands of Canberra United, while the Mariners are top having secured three wins and one draw from their opening four games.
And Peters feels that his charges are ready to bounce back in what is undoubtedly the biggest game of the ALW season thus far.
“It’s the right game for us,” he said.
“There’s a good vibe around the contest and I think there’s a good level of respect between the two teams and we’re looking forward to it.
“I think this weekend will give us a very good indication of where we sit.
“We have to just concentrate on the next job in front of us which is a very good, very physical, very mobile and happy Central Coast side.
“We’re super-grateful that it’s first versus second and there’s a little bit of hype around it, but we’re just focusing on the opposition analysis which is that they’re a very good side, they’re well- coached and they’re scoring freely, so they’re a good outfit.
“But also, we’re concentrating on what we need to do and I think the most important takeaway from the Canberra game was that we need to penetrate that final third more and take the game, particularly if we’ve got territorial and possession dominance.”
The Head Coach went on to reflect further upon the Canberra game and the lessons he hopes his players will have gleaned from it.
“It was the first time we’d played with scoreboard pressure against us this season and it was interesting to see how we reacted to that,” he said.
“It wasn’t a great reaction, but it was also a learning opportunity for us to work on that and bring a couple of different things to the table if we’re in that position again.
“In essence, we feel like we’ve only had one bad half of football in the four games we’ve played so far, so we’re really trying to look for the positives in everything and not just dwell on what was a very low-energy second half for us [against Canberra].”
Peters went on to acknowledge the impressive start made by Saturday’s opponents who are the league’s top scorers having bagged 12 in four games.
“They’re doing a phenomenal job, especially when you consider the little lead-in time they had to get the team together and find a coach,” he said.
“They’ve relied a lot on NSW NPL players, a lot of whom I know quite well and I think [Head Coach] Dean [Heffernan] is doing a very good job in getting the best out of all those players.
“So it’s going to be a massive test for our pretty tight defence and hopefully it stays tight.”
Leading the way on the scoring front for the Mariners has been Talia Kapetanellis who has bagged five and Skye Halmarick who has claimed three.
Danika Matos, meanwhile, has contributed a league-high three assists and former Glory favourite Morgan Aquino has made 15 saves, the second-highest amount in the competition.
The Glory connection continues in the Central Coast dugout where Head Coach Heffernan is assisted by another man who previously wore the famous purple, Oliver Bozanic.
And there will also be a family feud to savour at Polytec Stadium as Glory’s Ella Buchanan goes head-to-head with sister Kaiya.
Saturday will mark the ninth meeting between the two sides, with Glory having claimed just one win to the Mariners’ four, but the last three clashes have all ended in draws.
Match Details
Ninja A-League 2026/27 Season Round 5
Central Coast Mariners v Perth Glory
Polytec Stadium
Saturday 14 November 2026
Kick-off: 2pm WST
ALW
Central Coast Mariners squad: 1. Morgan AQUINO, 2. Rebecca LAKE, 4. Alexia KARRYS-STAHL, 5. Charlotte LANCASTER, 6. Te Reremoana WALKER, 7. Morgan WITZ, 8. Talia KAPETANELLIS, 9. Skye HALMARICK, 11. Danika MATOS, 12. Tiana FULLER, 13. Kaiya BUCHANAN, 14. Greta KRASZULA, 15. Annalee GROVE, 16. Tess QUILLIGAN, 17. Kiara DE DOMIZIO, 18. Taren KING, 19. Fiorina IARIA, 21. Eliza FAMILTON, 22. Peta TRIMIS, 23. Lorenna BAUMANN
Perth Glory Squad: 1.Teresa MORRISSEY (GK), 2.Mischa ANDERSON, 3.Ella BUCHANAN, 5.Baxter THEW, 6.Emma TOVAR, 7.Megan WYNNE, 8.Georgia CASSIDY, 9.Maggie JENKINS, 10.Susan PHONSONGKHAM, 11.Ella ABDUL MASSIH, 12.Bronte TREW, 14.Charli WAINWRIGHT, 17.Rola BADAWIYA, 18.Theodora MOUITHYS, 19.Clancy WESTAWAY, 21.Alyssa DALL’OSTE (GK), 23.Isobel DALTON (C), 24.Julia SARDO, 25.Ella LINCOLN, 29.Onyinyechi ZOGG
* two to be omitted
Ins: 18.Theodora MOUITHYS
Outs: None
Unavailable: 16.Olivia WOOD (injured)
#ONEGlory
ALW Match Preview: “It’s the right game for us” – Peters
