Wellington Phoenix head coach Bev Priestman is seeking a response from her players this weekend.
The Phoenix have travelled to Australia’s capital to play high-flying Canberra United at McKellar Park on Saturday evening.
Canberra are unbeaten in their past seven matches and enter the weekend in second place on the Ninja A-League ladder, while the Nix have slipped to eighth after a 2-1 home defeat to Melbourne City last Saturday.
There are only six points between the two sides on a congested ladder and Wellington have a game in hand.
“It doesn’t feel like a do or die game but it’s a big opportunity,” Priestman told media before the team’s departure on Thursday. “Anybody who is ahead of you on the table if you can take points on the road from them it’s big for us.
“And we’re excited. We left that last game feeling a little bit like we didn’t give our best or we tried our best, but we didn’t show our best.
“What I’m after is a response and I’ve seen that this week in training.
“We’re getting after the little things and holding ourselves to a level that I know that we can and we’ve showed we can.
“We’ve just got to do it every day in training so that when the bright lights are shining in a game, it shows up.”
Captain CJ Bott will sit out her third straight game. She didn’t travel to Canberra on Thursday as she’s still nursing the knee injury she suffered against Western Sydney Wanderers in the team’s final match of 2025.
“It’s not just one player it’s the overall personality, character and communication on the pitch that you lose.
“She is a big player for us and she organises a lot, but now collectively the group have to step up and take the reins.
“We did a bit of a reflection of where we’re at in those spaces and I’ve seen some real intent from the group this week to grab it by the scruff of the neck and organise and commit to that, because when we’re organised we’ve had some great defensive records.
“Uncharacteristically we’ve conceded some [of late], but we’ve put some attention on that. It’s a bit like when we couldn’t score, you fix that and then a hole appears somewhere else, and you’ve got to plug that hole.”
American forward Makala Woods is poised for a bigger role after scoring on her debut as a halftime substitute against City.
“She’s had more training in the legs. She’d been training between seasons, but team training on a big pitch is where you develop that robustness.
“She now is available for more minutes, which is great and what we saw at the weekend is what we’ve seen on the pitch. She’s a handful and a great signing for us.
“What I’ve seen from her there’s not a lot that rocks her. She knows what she is, the team knows what she is [and] she’s incredibly strong, that’s the biggest thing.
“You think about a Mack Barry and there’s not many players that go in with Mack Barry and those two this week it’s been brilliant in training.
“That’s nice to know that one of the best defenders in the league, she’s causing problems in our environment.”
Canberra and Wellington played out a 1-1 draw in round two. It was a performance Priestman labelled frustrating, but she believes her side is better equipped now.
“I think so and if anything, there’s been more talk about them, so we can get to work and do our thing.
“They’ve had a great start. They’re a hard team to play against because they’re so player orientated and it’s not what you’re used to playing up against.
“But if you’re asking me, do I think we’re a better footballing team…there are some big holes missing but since then we’ve become a more tactically equipped team but also know who we are.
“Hopefully we can show who we are this game because I didn’t feel we did that in the first game against them.”
The round 13 Ninja A-League match between the Wellington Phoenix and Canberra United is scheduled to kick-off at McKellar Park in Canberra at 7:30pm (5:30pm AEDT) Saturday and will be broadcast LIVE on Sky Sport 1 in New Zealand, and on Paramount+ in Australia.
Most recent meeting: 8 November 2025 – Wellington Phoenix 1 Canberra United 1
All-time A-League head to head: Phoenix 3W, Canberra 4W, 1D.
Wellington Phoenix squad (two to be omitted): 1. Victoria ESSON (gk), 4. Mackenzie BARRY, 5. Ellie WALKER, 7. Grace JALE, 11. Manaia ELLIOTT, 13. Brooke NEARY (gk), 14. Lucía LEÓN, 15. Daisy BRAZENDALE, 16. Marisa VAN DER MEER, 17. Ela JEREZ, 20. Emma MAIN, 21. Lara WALL, 22. Aimee DANIELI (gk), 23. Brooke NUNN, 24. Pia VLOK, 27. Zoe BENSON, 28. Grace BARTLETT, 31. Makala WOODS, 32. Emma PIJNENBURG.
Unavailable: 2. CJ BOTT (c) (injured), 6. Tessel MIDDAG (injured), 9. Sabitra BHANDARI (injured), 10. Alyssa WHINHAM (injured), 18. Ella MCCANN (injured).
Canberra United squad (two to be omitted): 1. Sally JAMES (gk), 2. Alex McKENZIE, 5. Jazmin WARDLOW, 6. Josie AULICINO, 7. Emma HAWKINS, 8. Sasha GROVE, 3. Elizabeth ANTON, 10. Mary STANIC-FLOODY, 11. Emma ROBERS, 12. Hayley TAYLOR-YOUNG, 13. Sofia CHRISTOPHERSON, 18. Coco MAJSTOROVIC (gk), 19. Sienna DALE, 23. Michelle HEYMAN (c), 25. Darcey MALONE, 28. Tegan BERTOLISSIO, 32. Bethany GORDON, 33. Nanako SASAKI, 44. Ava BRIEDIS.
Unavailable: Nil.
Main image: Wellington Phoenix players in good spirits as they warm up for a training session at NZCIS. Photo: Cam McIntosh/Photomac.
