Burning questions: What to expect in their second season?

Home sweet home. Wellington Phoenix begin their second season in the A-League Women with their first-ever home game.

It will be a new experience for a team forced to spend their first season based entirely in Australia due to Covid19 restrictions.

To mark the occasion, the Phoenix hope to draw a crowd of 10,000 for tomorrow’s clash with Melbourne City, which would smash the previous attendance record for a standalone A-League Women match.

The home field advantage should serve as a huge boost as the Phoenix look to improve on their wooden spoon finish from season one, shaded by Western Sydney Wanderers on goal differential.

There is a new coach at the helm, new players in the squad and new expectations as well.

Here are the some key questions heading into the 2022-23 season.

What can we realistically expect this season?

There is a gulf in quality between the top four teams from last season and the rest of the pack, but the Phoenix should be aiming to finish in the top half of the table (there are 11 teams).

The Phoenix get to play their home games at home this season and it can’t be understated how much of a difference that should make after the difficulty of having to spend the entire first season based out of Australia.

They have a new coach at the helm in Natalie Lawrence. She has addressed the inexperience in the squad last season by luring Football Ferns Betsy

Hassett, Emma Rolston and Paige Satchell home to New Zealand.

Most of the key players from last season have been retained, including young stars Alyssa Whinham and Kate Taylor, but there is one notable departure in top goalscorer Grace Jale, and her switch to Canberra is a big loss as she scored the bulk of their goals.

The Phoenix have a tough start, playing City and Melbourne Victory within the first three weeks, but there is enough quality in the side to push higher up the table.

What impact will the change of coach have?

The Phoenix were dealt a setback when head coach Gemma Lewis announced she would not be seeing through a second term less than four months after signing a new deal.

The Phoenix were quick to announce their replacement though, promoting assistant Lawrence in a move which ensured that Lewis departure would cause the least amount of disruption.

Not only was Lawrence Lewis’s number two at the Phoenix, but she also served as her assistant during New Zealand’s Under-20 World Cup campaign.

Lawrence has a decent amount of head coaching experience, having coached Capital in the National League and Team Wellington in the men’s National Youth League, and she has already hinted at a more attack-minded approach.

Who is their best new signing?

Hassett, Satchell and Rolston are the three signings that leap out as they have all been capped by the Football

Ferns – in Hassett’s case a whopping 137 times.

The Phoenix had the youngest squad in the A-League Women last season, the bulk of the team made up of New Zealand age-group internationals.

But Hassett brings a decade’s worth of experience from playing overseas and on the international stage, and should offer valuable leadership and help raise the professionalism.

At the other end of the experience spectrum, keep an eye on 17-year-old striker Milly Clegg who started – and scored – at the Under-17 and Under-20 World Cups this year.

Where will the goals come from?

The Phoenix found the back of the net only 13 times last season.

Six of their goals were scored by

Jale, who has left for Canberra United, leaving them with a big hole to fill.

The Phoenix were light up top last season.

In the absence of a recognised striker, midfielder Chloe Knott spent most of the season playing out of position and while her defensive attributes were beneficial when the Phoenix pressed high up the pitch, she found the back of the net only twice.

To help remedy their lack of goals, Lawrence has brought in a handful of new attacking weapons, signing Rolston, Satchell, Clegg and Michaela Roberston.

With Hassett, Knott and Whinham in behind, and Ava Pritchard out wide, there’s potential for goals to be shared around a handful of players this season, even if no one player stands out as being a potential golden boot contender.