Holly McNAMARA Returns for Melbourne City in Aleague Semi-Final Squad
Holly McNAMARA returned from injury in Melbourne City’s aleague semi-final squad as the first legs were named for this weekend. Melbourne City also welcomed back Danella Butrus, Alexia Apostolakis, Shelby McMahon and Caitlin Karic, tightening a squad list built around availability as the Final Series moves into the first leg.
Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City were scheduled to meet on Saturday, May 2 at AAMI Park at 5:00pm AEST, before Brisbane Roar and Wellington Phoenix played on Sunday, May 3 at Spencer Park at 5:00pm AEST. Those squad sheets gave the clearest read on who could feature in the opening legs and who had already been ruled out.
Melbourne City Boosts
Holly McNAMARA’s return was the headline for City. She came back from injury alongside Caitlin Karic, while Danella Butrus, Alexia Apostolakis and Shelby McMahon all returned from international duty.
Ayana Aoyagi was also promoted into the squad. That group replaced several absences, with Izabella Rako, Kaya Jugovic and Keira Sarris missing because of international duty and Chinaza Uchendu unavailable through suspension.
Brisbane Roar Missing Three
Brisbane Roar named a shorter list of outs for the AAMI Park and Spencer Park double-header. Grace Kuilamu, Sharn Freier and Isabela Hoyos were unavailable because of knee injuries.
The Roar’s squad news sat alongside Wellington Phoenix’s changes for the second semi-final first leg. It was the contrast between returns and absences that shaped the opening weekend, with each club having to work from a different availability picture before a ball was kicked.
Wellington Phoenix Adjustments
Wellington Phoenix brought Lara Wall back from injury and promoted Mikaela Bangalan into the squad. CJ Bott was unavailable because she was pregnant, while Tessel Middag, Sabitra Bhandari, Alyssa Whinham and Emma Main were all out injured.
That left Phoenix managing five unavailable players for the first leg at Spencer Park. For readers tracking the semi-final matchups, the squad list was the practical detail that mattered most: who was fit, who had returned, and which names were missing before the first leg began.
