The Wellington Phoenix are looking to build momentum into the home stretch of the A-League season.
A run of three away games in a row, broken up by the international break next week, begins with a trip to Brisbane this Saturday.
Head coach Chris Greenacre enjoyed his first win against Perth last weekend, and is treating as an important building block.
“We’ll take a lot of confidence from that performance against Perth,” he told media pre-match.
“We’ve been building over three or four weeks. I keep reiterating baby steps, but that’s what it is.
“I’m looking for a better performance against Brisbane. We’re starting to see moments of what I want to see from my team going forwards.”
While the Nix created a number of chances in the 2-0 win, Greenacre was even happier with the defensive performance and the clean sheet.
“We were quite vulnerable when I came in, with conceding goals. We’re starting to tighten that up a bit.
“When there’s clean sheets, you give yourself a chance in any game.
“With the firepower we’ve got, we’ve shown we’re a real threat. I still want to keep creating more and more opportunities than we have done in recent weeks, and I’ll always strive to want that from the team.
“We work hard on implementing that, particularly in the top third. It starts with clean sheets though.”
An early kickoff presents its own challenges, particularly with the weather forecast predicting a hot and humid afternoon in Brisbane.
“The fixture list is what it is, we won’t use it as an excuse. I’m not that type of coach.
“We’ve known about it being a two o’clock kick off for a long time so we’re more than prepared for it.
“The boys at this stage of the season are flying with their fitness levels, it’s about their performance and what we do for the 90 minutes when we get there.
“Hopefully it’s a positive outcome for us.”
With the Roar and the Phoenix equal on points, it shapes as a crucial game.
“It’s probably a cup final for us in every game leading to the end of the season, the old-fashioned six pointer.
“There’s no difference in our preparation, we still want the winning mentality.
“Every team’s lacked consistency, we’re all in that similar boat. The team that becomes the most consistent will get their rewards at the end of the year.
They’ve got a couple of boys who have injuries, crucial players to them and a couple of suspensions as well.
“They’re a team that can really surprise you in transition. They’ve shown they’ve been a threat. They’re a committed team, and they’ll grind it out until the very end.”
And chalking up his first away victory is the next step for Greenacre in in the hunt for the top six.
“Notoriously, with the distances that we travel it’s always been a difficult prospect to get points away from home.
“If we’re going to be strong contenders we’ve got to go and do that, and there’s no time like the present.
“We’re looking forward to it, and it gives us a chance to experience our strength within the group. We’re getting bodies back, and hopefully we can get right in the mix.”
The round 22 Isuzu UTE A-League match between the Wellington Phoenix and Brisbane Roar is scheduled to kick-off at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane at 5pm (2pm AEST) Saturday and will be broadcast LIVE on Sky Sport 3 in New Zealand, and on Paramount+ in Australia.
Most recent meeting: 3 January 2026 – Brisbane Roar 0 Wellington Phoenix 3
All-time A-League head-to-head: Phoenix 15W, Roar 22W & 16D.
Wellington Phoenix squad (two to be omitted): 1. Josh OLUWAYEMI (gk), 3. Corban PIPER, 4. Manjrekar JAMES, 6. Tim PAYNE, 7. Ifeanyi EZE, 8. Paulo RETRE, 10. Nikola MILEUSNIC, 11. Carlo ARMIENTO, 12. Dan EDWARDS, 14. Alex RUFER (c), 15. Isaac HUGHES, 16. Sander KARTUM, 18. Lukas KELLY-HEALD, 20. Ramy NAJJARINE, 23. Luke SUPYK, 25. Kazuki NAGASAWA, 27. Matt SHERIDAN, 28. Bill TUILOMA, 29. Luke BROOKE-SMITH, 30. Alby KELLY-HEALD (gk).
Unavailable: 9. Sarpreet SINGH (injured), 19. Nathan WALKER (injured).
Brisbane Roar squad (two to be omitted): 1. Dean BOUZANIS (gk), 2. Youstin Delfin SALAS GOMEZ, 3. Dimitri VALKANIS, 5. Marius LODE, 6. Austian LUDWIK, 7. Jacob BRAZETE, 8. Samuel KLEIN, 10. Georgios VRAKAS, 11. Macklin FREKE (gk), 13. Henry HORE, 16. Matthew DENCH, 17. Justin VIDIC, 19. Michael RUHS, 23. James MCGARRY, 26. James O’SHEA, 30. Quinn MACNICOL, 39. Naill THOM, 40. George PLUSNIN, 44. Jordan LAUTON, 50. Oscar PAGE.
Unavailable: 9. Christopher LONG (injured), 15. Hosine BILITY (injured), 22. Nathan AMANATIDIS (injured), 25. Nicholas D’AGOSTINO (injured), 77. Milorad STAJIC (injured).
Cover photo credit: Photomac/Cam McIntosh
