{"id":323320,"date":"2024-10-31T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-31T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/?p=323320"},"modified":"2024-10-31T16:20:40","modified_gmt":"2024-10-31T03:20:40","slug":"ninja-a-league-round-1-match-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellingtonphoenix.com\/news\/ninja-a-league-round-1-match-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"Ninja A-League Round 1 Match Preview\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Wellington Phoenix head coach Paul Temple is \u201craring to go\u201d ahead of the opening game of the 2024-25 Ninja A-League. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Nix travel to Melbourne to face Western United in round one, and will be aiming to make their first playoff appearance in their fourth season of existence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a good pre-season for us, we\u2019ve been working really hard,\u201d Temple said. \u201cI think we\u2019re just excited to get on the road and get going.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe see it at training every day. I\u2019ve been really impressed with the mentality in pre-season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re a very good group to work with, their work ethic has been extremely high, the data tells us we\u2019re a lot fitter than we were this time last year which is nice as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDay to day, you get a glimpse of what the players are capable of when it all comes together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy job is to try and piece all those things together and get it working on game day, because 100% we have the ability to be that team.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a near-clean bill of health for the match outside of long-term absentee Ella McCann, with only import striker Olivia Fergusson in doubt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rebecca Lake, Grace Jale, and Maya McCutcheon are all smiles before training. Photo credit: <\/em>Cam McIntosh\/PhotoMac <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOlivia Fergusson\u2019s probably just a slight injury concern, so we\u2019ll make a call on that just before the game but it\u2019s nothing major at this point. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a really good continuity in the group with what we were doing last year, so it\u2019s been easier to implement some of those philosophies and principles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe new players have caught up, and we have different ways to push the playing style outside of what\u2019s on the grass.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While away games were an Achilles heel for the Nix last year, Temple is confident in the team\u2019s approach this time around. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two pre-season friendlies in Australia have helped players acclimatise to the travel, both quick in-and-out trips rather than the usual approach of returning the day after a game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a fresh start for us, we\u2019ve got a chance tomorrow night to start the season well and get an away win which would be fantastic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is a different team. I don\u2019t think those things generally follow over seasons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe did it even harder than normal in the friendlies and the girls dealt with that really well, so this trip will feel a bit easier for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Tiana Jaber in training at NZCIS ahead of Friday’s season opener against Western United. Photo credit: <\/em>Cam McIntosh\/PhotoMac <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Daisy Brazendale in training at NZCIS ahead of Friday’s season opener against Western United. Photo credit: <\/em>Cam McIntosh\/PhotoMac <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s definitely things as well that we\u2019re doing to try and help with the away travel, those little one percenters that can make a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow we deal with flights and recovery, that time around the airport: we\u2019ve made a few changes and hopefully you\u2019ll see them make a difference.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Western United, who finished third last season, present a tough challenge on paper, Temple isn\u2019t sure what he will see on Friday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNobody knows what to expect in round one. Teams might change tactically, with new coaches and new players. You\u2019re going into the unknown a little bit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou\u2019re focusing mainly on yourself in round one, then once you see everyone play you start to build a bit of a profile of what people are doing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt will be up to us to work in-game on things, but we\u2019ve been practising against loads of different systems. We can adapt quickly when we need to.”\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And with a number of new players in the Phoenix squad, there will be debuts for both imports and Kiwi signings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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