Liberty’s A-League Team of the Week: Elimination Final Stars Shine Bright

Stay tuned for the Ninja A-League Team of the Week, brought to you by Opta.

The opening week of the Ninja A-League Finals Series delivered a thrilling conclusion to the 2025-26 season, featuring an abundance of goals and unexpected outcomes.

In the Elimination Finals, Melbourne Victory triumphed over Canberra United with a scoreline of 3-1, while Adelaide United faced elimination at the hands of Brisbane Roar.

Leading the scoring this week is Roar’s own Kijah Stephenson, who shone with a brace during Brisbane’s impressive 3-0 victory against the Reds.

Joining Stephenson in midfield are her teammates Momo Hayashi and Alicia Woods, both of whom delivered outstanding performances to secure the win over Adelaide at Spencer Park.

Up front, Brisbane Roar’s Daisy Brown makes the cut, alongside the Melbourne Victory duo of Holly Furphy and Rhianna Pollicina, who played pivotal roles in Victory’s resilient win against Canberra.

In defence, the only Canberra United presence in this week’s selection is defender Sasha Grove. Meanwhile, Victory captain Kayla Morrison anchors the defence alongside Adelaide’s sole nominee, Matilda McNamara. Brisbane’s Josie Studer rounds out the backline at left back.

Concluding the line-up, your goalkeeper for the Elimination Finals Team of the Week is Brisbane Roar and Matildas star, Chloe Lincoln.

Opta Points is a unique scoring system that rewards players based on specific actions taken during a match. Typically, players who complete the full 90 minutes will accumulate between 10 to 40 points. (You can find the complete breakdown of Opta Points below).

Understanding: Opta’s Team of the Week through Opta Points

This scoring system differentiates between field players and goalkeepers, assigning identical points for analogous actions. A notable aspect of this system is its emphasis solely on in-game performances, without rewarding players for post-match outcomes, such as winning the game or providing extra points for a clean sheet.

Positive contributions (goals, successful passes, tackles, etc.) will enhance a player’s score, while negative actions (cards, own goals, goals conceded) will detract from it. Theoretically, there is no limit to how many points a player can earn, with the possibility of negative scores for poor performances. However, players who complete the entire game regularly finish with a point total of between 10 to 40 points.

Included in the Opta Points system are metrics such as goals, shots on target, shots off target, blocked shots, own goals, assists, passes, crosses, tackles, interceptions, fouls won, fouls conceded, offsides, yellow cards, red cards, goals conceded, penalties awarded, saves, and penalty saves.