Glory ALW Head Coach Stephen Peters is expecting fireworks in Friday’s Round 2 clash with Brisbane Roar at HBF Park (kick-off at 4pm, tickets available HERE).
Last season’s two meetings between the sides were both feisty encounters, with the Queenslanders running out 3-0 winners in Round 3 before Glory claimed a last-gasp 3-2 victory at the Sam Kerr Football Centre in the return fixture.
And with both teams having started this season with impressive wins, Peters believes the Members and fans attending Friday’s ALW/ALM double-header will have plenty to keep them entertained.
“We’ve got a nice little rivalry building with Roar, I think,” he said.
“We certainly haven’t forgotten the game there at Perry Park [last season] which was a difficult night for us, but there were also a lot of learnings that we took out of that as a group.
“And obviously we got them one back in the return fixture, so I don’t think [Roar Head Coach] Alex [Smith] will have forgotten that one and I think there’ll be a bit of spice in it.”
Glory will head into the game bolstered by a first away win on the road in almost two years and Peters was understandably delighted with the performance against Western Sydney Wanderers, particularly after kick-off was delayed by a severe electrical storm.
“It was really good,” he said.
“I think we travelled well, we put a few things in place that we were pretty happy with and I think that laid the platform for us to really empty the tank.
“I was particularly proud of the fact that we managed that [storm] delay in the fashion we managed it.
“I thought in the first 20 minutes, they [Wanderers] were quite good and posed a few problems, so I was quite happy we weathered the storm there, excuse the pun!
“But it was nice to then take a little bit of control… I was happy with how we ground that first half out and then the reaction in the second, to be honest, surprised me a little bit.
“Scoring the second goal and then conceding a sloppy goal and then the response… I was very pleased.
“There were lots of positives for us.”
Returning to Friday’s game, the Head Coach is under no illusions of the threat posed by a Roar side who upset last season’s beaten Grand Finalists Melbourne Victory in Round One.
“They’ve got good pedigree up front and we’re very much aware of that,” he said.
“It’s going to be a tough ask for our defenders, no doubt, but I think if we show the resolve we had [against Western Sydney], there’s no reason why we can’t pose a threat to them.
“I’m quietly confident, but I don’t want to be too confident because it’s just one win and Brisbane are a very good side.
“Alex [Smith] is going to have them ready to go and we’ve got to be ready for that.
“It’s our only home game in the first five rounds, so we’ve got to maximise that.”
In terms of early team news, the Glory squad appeared to come through the Western Sydney trip unscathed and goalkeeper Jess Skinner could return to the selection frame after recovering from illness.
Last season’s corresponding fixture between the two sides proved to be a memorable one for Glory midfielder Ella Abdul Massih who fired home a superb, last-minute free-kick to claim her first ever A-League goal and secure a memorable 3-2 victory at the Sam Kerr Football Centre.
That result took Glory’s overall total of home wins against Roar to six, with the visitors having prevailed on four occasions.
Players to look out for in the visitors’ ranks include pacy forward Sharn Freier, who has returned to Roar on loan from German club Wolfsburg, skipper Tameka Yallop, who has won more than 130 caps for the Matildas and Netherland U23 representative Bente Jansen.
All three opened their goalscoring accounts for the new season in the win over Melbourne Victory, with Jansen receiving rave reviews on what was her ALW debut following an off-season move from Ajax.
Match Details
Ninja A-League 2025/26 Season Round 2
Perth Glory v Brisbane Roar
HBF Park
Friday 7 November 2025
Kick-off: 4:00pm WST
#ONEGlory