The Wellington Phoenix have handed three players their maiden professional contracts.
Goalkeeper Brooke Neary and midfielder Mikaela Bangalan have signed three-year scholarship deals with the club, while defender Alyssha Eglinton has penned a two-year contract.
All three represented New Zealand at the recent FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland, and they all also featured in the women’s reserves’ run to the semi-finals of this year’s Kate Sheppard Cup.
Head coach Bev Priestman is confident she has a trio of highly promising players.
“All three of them have shown they can live at this level whenever they’ve been with us,” she said.
“We’re excited to invest in three players who could represent New Zealand in the future.”
Eglinton and Neary being Wellingtonians adds an extra layer to the signings.
“Brooke, she started her goalkeeping journey very late, but we truly believe she has a huge ceiling for a goalkeeper.
“We’re very big as a club on investing in the greatest talent that New Zealand has, someone like Brooke, she’s put a lot of work in during the short period she’s been a goalkeeper.
“She can only go on to bigger and better things, so delighted to have her secured as part of the future of this programme.
“Alyssha has shown over the past 12 months that she’s accelerated in terms of leadership, and she’s a very consistent player.
“What you look for in a centre-back is someone who can consistently deliver a level, and whenever she’s come in with the senior team, she’s done that and impressed me over the last 12 months.”
Priestman has been impressed by how Bangalan has acclimatised to a professional environment.
“Mikaela came in with us last season from the academy, and she very quickly had a big impact in the programme.
“She definitely fits the profile and matches the identity of any player that puts on the shirt.
“We’re delighted to offer her a scholarship contract, and she could be a big feature of the team this year.”
Brooke Neary, 18, has been with the first team for the last two seasons on consecutive youth development agreements, making her A-League debut in April 2025.
“I felt like I improved massively over the course of the season,” Neary said.
“I had a conversation with Bev and Gilly, they said they’d love to bring me back for longer. Thankfully I got offered the deal.
“I think we’ve got a really good goalkeeping group. Vic’s [Esson] got exceptional experience, Aimee [Danieli] is Aimee, she’s awesome.
“It’ll be great to have the same group again, same goalkeeping coach [Nick Stanton], we experienced and developed a lot last year.”
Having previously been a midfielder at Wainuiomata AFC, Neary joined the Nix academy in 2023 and earned a first senior Football Ferns call up in May 2026.
“The contract is huge for me, it goes to the amount of hard work I’ve put in over the last two seasons, not just as a player but as a person too.
“I’m really grateful to have that opportunity given to me. I want to keep working as hard as I can.
“I’ve been very fortunate to have the opportunity to go away with the Football Ferns, I’d love to be part of the World Cup next year, that’s a big goal, but right now we’re just seeing what happens.”
Alyssha Eglinton, 19, joined the academy in 2021 from Petone FC and has been a key player for the women’s reserves over the last three years, captaining the side this season.
Having initially joined as a midfielder, she has also dropped into the backline over recent seasons.
“The contract happened just before I went to the U-20 World Cup, which was a real boost for me,” Eglinton said.
“They said they’d been watching me for the reserves, and seeing how well I’d done. It was pretty cool to get that call up.
“It hasn’t really sunk in yet. It’s super exciting. My family know how hard I’ve been working to try and get in this position, so that hard work has finally paid off.”
And she is happy to contribute in whatever way is required.
“I’ve been playing centre back a little bit recently, but at the start of the academy I was more of a midfielder. I can do both, I’m comfortable in both positions.
“100%, one of my goals is just to see if I can get any minutes. Obviously I want to push my way into the squad, but just getting a contract to start with is a good start.”
Mikaela Bangalan, 18, only joined the Phoenix academy from Fencibles at the beginning of 2026 but provided a quick first impression, making her A-League bow in the semi-final first leg against Brisbane Roar.
She represented the junior Football Ferns at both last year’s U-17 World Cup and this year’s U-20 World Cup.
“It’s definitely surreal,” Bangalan said. “Growing up this has always been what I wanted to do.
“It’s a dream come true and I’m just blessed that the people around me have helped me get here.
“My mum, she’s done a lot for me and sacrificed a lot for me, so without her I wouldn’t be here.”
She’s taking it all in her stride.
“Coming from the academy and having the chance to come up to the first team was definitely a big jump, especially from club level.
“It’s different, you can see what it takes to be a professional. I won’t take that for granted.”
And her plans for the season are clear.
“I want to get on the teamsheet. There’s so many experienced players and a lot to look up to, so much learning as the season goes on.
“It’ll be cool to have the fans cheering us on and hearing them. They’re the best fans in the league, so I’ll be waiting for that!”
The three scholarship signings take the Wellington Phoenix women to 22 players contracted for the upcoming A-League Women season, which will begin on Sunday, October 18 at Hnry Stadium against Melbourne City.
