Brisbane Roar is gearing up for a demanding month, facing six matches in the A-League Women (ALW) over a span of just 24 days. Coach Alex Smith emphasized the importance of this rigorous schedule and the opportunities it presents for the team. The Roar will first meet the Central Coast Mariners on January 10, 2024, before returning home to play against Wellington on January 13, 2024. Following these matches, they will participate in four additional fixtures within the next three weeks.
“The month of January is really crucial for us this season,” Smith remarked. “We have pretty much half our games in the next six weeks, so it is a different sort of challenge. The girls have been training really hard, and we are ready.” Smith detailed the team’s approach as a cycle of “play, recover, train,” emphasizing the need for precise tactical preparation with each training session.
The current standings in the ALW table are notably uneven. Brisbane Roar occupies sixth place with nine points after just five matches, while Melbourne City, in second place, has already completed ten games. The disparity in games played complicates assessments of the league’s frontrunners. Smith acknowledged the challenges posed by the schedule, noting that the withdrawal of Western United from the league affected fixture arrangements. “They had to make those rounds byes, and we just managed to get two of those in three or four weeks,” he explained.
Despite the challenges, Smith remains optimistic about achieving consistency. He pointed out that many teams have been trading wins and losses, resulting in a tightly contested league. The recent results indicate a competitive landscape, with the gap between teams being relatively small.
The Roar will face a significant setback with the absence of team captain Tameka Yallop, who is sidelined for several months due to a hamstring injury. Smith acknowledged this loss as “massive” but expressed confidence in the squad’s depth to cope with her absence. In Yallop’s place, Momo Hayashi will take on the captaincy role. Smith is also counting on Kijah Stephenson and Bente Jansen to step up and provide the necessary creativity in attack.
“Meeks (Yallop) has only started two games this year, and one of those was a loss, so the girls who have come in for her have already stepped up,” Smith noted. He praised Jansen, a Dutch import, for her impressive performance, having scored five goals in as many matches. “Bente is someone I went after pretty hard in the off-season, and she is in the prime of her career,” Smith remarked. “The difference in technical ability is quite evident for someone who has been raised in the Netherlands.”
As the Roar prepares for their upcoming clash with the Mariners, Smith confirmed that, aside from Yallop, the squad is in good health and ready for the challenges ahead. The team’s ability to navigate this demanding period will be critical in shaping their season trajectory.
