Insight Body & Mind Women’s Match Preview: Royals Face Red-Hot Bulleen Without Their Leading Scorer
Our 2026 Women’s Match Previews are proudly presented by Insight Body & Mind.
Football has a habit of asking the hardest questions at the most inconvenient moments.
Saturday at the Veneto Club, the Royals face a Bulleen Lions side that has found its groove at exactly the wrong time. Eight goals in two matches. Back-to-back wins. Maja Markovski looking like the most dangerous forward
in the competition. And Essendon will face it all without Kelli McGroarty.
The suspension following that second yellow at Dorothy Laver, a card the post-match evidence suggests was harsh, removes the Royals’ joint-fifth top scorer in the NPLW (three goals in four rounds) and most direct attacking outlet. It is the kind of absence that reshapes a game plan, not just a teamsheet.
The Alamein defeat stung. Forty seconds. Anna Liacopoulos spotted Zara Board off her line from distance and produced a lob before the match had drawn its first breath. Eighty-nine minutes of probing possession that could not find a way through a side built to defend a lead. Board responded with several second-half saves that prevented worse. That composure will be needed again.
Bulleen’s season has been a tale of two halves. Two opening defeats without scoring, 0-1 to Melbourne Victory at home then 3-0 at Avondale where Sloane Young’s hat-trick tore them apart. It looked like the loss of Dani Butrus, last year’s Golden Boot winner, to Melbourne City had left a hole too large to fill.
Two matches later, that narrative is dead.
The 4-0 demolition of Keilor Park in Round 3 was the spark. Alana Cortellino (32′) and captain Sarah Cain (44′) set the tone before Markovski added two of her own. Then today, Melbourne City 0-4. Markovski struck inside six minutes, doubled her tally on 56′, Rosie Rodger added a third (68′) and Cain capped it off (77′). Four goals in four rounds for Markovski. Two for Cain. Scoring threats from everywhere.
Pre-season, five coaches tipped Bulleen for the grand final. They are back-to-back semi-finalists with a squad that has added Alyssa Dall’Oste from Perth Glory in goal and Olivia Bomford from South Melbourne. This is not a side sitting 7th for long.
Both clubs are level on six points. Both have two wins and two losses. The table positions, Bulleen 7th and Royals 9th, are separated only by goal difference. This is not just a test. It is a direct contest for where both sides sit in the pecking order.
For the Royals, the question is who steps into the space McGroarty leaves. Ayano Koizumi’s set-piece delivery remains a weapon, her curling free kick the difference in the Round 3 win over Spring Hills. Isabella Sewards’ authority through the middle will need to nullify Cain’s influence. Board’s resilience in goal is a given.
The Veneto Club has not been kind to visitors this season. Bulleen hosted Victory there in Round 1 and only lost to a 14th-minute Leyla Hussein goal. The ground is tight, the crowd is close, and Bulleen play with a confidence on their home surface that their early results do not fully reflect.
Two wins, two losses. Six points each. Without their talisman. Against a side scoring for fun.
This is where seasons are shaped.
Round 5 | Saturday 14 March | 4:00 PM | Veneto Club, Bulleen (Away)
Around the Grounds – NPLW Victoria Round 5
Friday Night
Box Hill United Pythagoras FC vs South Melbourne FC
Wembley Park | 7:30pm
The headline fixture of the round. Box Hill sit second on nine points with the most prolific attack in the division, fifteen goals in four matches. Erin Keyt leads the Golden Boot race with six and Juri Kawano has four. South Melbourne are third on eight points and unbeaten, the only side other than Boroondara yet to lose. A genuine marker for both clubs’ title credentials.
Spring Hills FC vs Preston Lions FC
Springside Recreational Reserve | 8:30pm
Spring Hills have climbed to fourth on seven points after a strong start, conceding just three goals in four rounds. Preston sit tenth on four points and have lost their last two. The home side should be too organised here, but Preston showed fight with an opening round win over Heidelberg and will not roll over.
Saturday
Avondale FC vs Melbourne City
Avenger Park | 12:00pm
Avondale sit eighth on six points with eight goals scored, including Sloane Young’s four in four rounds. Melbourne City are still searching for their first point after three defeats and a goal difference of minus eight. Avondale will expect three points here.
Alamein FC vs Bentleigh Greens SC
Dorothy Laver West Reserve | 3:00pm
The most lopsided fixture on paper this round. Alamein have not conceded a goal in three matches and sit fifth on seven points. Bentleigh have shipped twenty-two in four rounds and are yet to register a point. Alamein’s defensive structure should ensure a comfortable afternoon.
Boroondara Eagles FC vs Heidelberg United FC
Veneto Club | 8:30pm
The league leaders continue their march. Boroondara are perfect through four rounds, twelve points, fourteen goals scored. Sarah Brunner’s five goals lead their attack. Heidelberg are still without a win this season and will need something remarkable to end Boroondara’s run.
Sunday
Melbourne Victory FC vs Keilor Park SC
Home of the Matildas | 3:00pm
Victory sit sixth on seven points and will want to bounce back after a difficult Round 4. Keilor Park are twelfth on two points with just two draws and two defeats. Victory’s quality should be too much at the Home of the Matildas.