Sydney FC Head Coach Ante Juric has praised his youthful squad’s character and growth during a challenging yet promising 2024-25 Ninja A-League Women’s season, as the Sky Blues narrowly missed out on extending their record Finals Series streak to 17 consecutive years.
Despite a slow start, brought on by the departure of key players Cortnee Vine, Jada Whyman and Charlotte McLean, and injury setbacks to experienced internationals Kyah Simon and Hana Lowry, Juric’s side showed tremendous fight, winning five of their last seven matches to finish just shy of the top six.
“We again lost some really important players to overseas clubs from last season and had some injuries that hit us hard early,” Juric admitted.
“So with that it took a little longer than usual to get going. On top of that we threw away a large amount of points in the first half of the season via some extremely poor defensive errors at vital parts of games. But the way the group stuck together and pushed right to the end says a lot about the character and belief in this team.”
Juric was particularly pleased with the emergence of several young stars who stepped up throughout the campaign.
“Players like Indiana Dos Santos, Maddie Caspers, Caley Tallon-Henniker, Jasmine Black and Rubi Sullivan – they’ve all taken huge strides this season,” he said.
“They’re still teenagers in many cases, but they’ve handled themselves incredibly well against top opposition. That experience will be invaluable moving forward.”
The continued development of Sydney FC’s next tier of talent also drew praise from the long-serving coach.
“Tori Tumeth was very solid all year. Nat Tobin, coming back from an ACL injury, showed real leadership and class. Jordan Thompson continues to improve with every game and Mackenzie Hawkesby just gives you everything every week. And to see Kirsty Fenton make her return in the final round was a real bright spot.”
Juric believes the club is well-positioned for the 2025-26 campaign, with a strong foundation now in place.
“Missing Finals hurts – especially after all the unprecedented success we’ve had recently– but we will get up and dust ourselves off and learn from this year to make us even stronger than we have ever been before. Positives can also be taken from the way we finished the season and how these young players have matured, it definitely bodes well for next year.”
“We know we need to be better in the future and we’ll be building around a group who now have that bit more experience and understanding of what it takes. I’m really proud of how the squad kept giving their all to the very end. That spirit and resilience is what Sydney FC is all about.”
A number of the Sky Blues players will return to their National Premier League (NPL) clubs in the coming weeks to continue playing while others will take a break.
The Sky Blues will take some time to consider the structure and make-up of their squad for next season before making players announcements.
