Establishment Following on from the previous top-division
Women's National Soccer League, Melbourne Victory Women linked with the
Hyundai A-League men's club but run by Football Federation Victoria (FFV), was a foundation club of the
Westfield W-League. With a strong roster boasting Australia's number one goalkeeper
Melissa Barbieri and former Matildas star
Tal Karp as captain, expectations were high.
2008–09: Inaugural season Early signs were positive in the
first season with New Zealand international
Marlies Oostdam scoring the club's first goal as Victory won their first competitive fixture, defeating
Central Coast Mariners 2–0. Despite being on top of the table at the conclusion of Round 3, the next few rounds were lean for Melbourne, and it found itself in the position of needing a win in the final round to make the finals series. With the final round match in the balance, Central Coast Mariners came back to haunt Victory with goals in the 89th and 90th minutes to deny the Victory a play-off spot in the inaugural year. Melissa Barbieri was awarded Goalkeeper of the Year by the league.
2009 The
second season proved even more painful as once again Melbourne's finals prospects came down to a last-round showdown, this time against
Perth Glory. Needing only a draw to claim fourth spot, late goals again cost Victory as Perth scored in the 81st and 87th meaning the Victorians missed out on finals to Canberra via goal difference.
2010–11 2010–11 season saw a change of personnel for Melbourne Victory with new coach Vicki Linton taking charge of a re-shuffled squad. Adjusting to a new system and new teammates, it was a slow start with the team having to wait until Round 4 to claim its first win of the season before finishing the regular season off with a five-match undefeated run. Finishing in fourth spot, Victory made the finals but succumbed to a strong
Sydney FC team 5–1. The team was not quite ready for a title challenge but a maiden finals campaign was an important step forward. This also saw the club win its first silverware with a win over
Canberra United, seeing it awarded the OCRF Trophy while also taking out the W-League Fair Play Award.
2011–12 If 2010–11 was an important step forward,
2011/12 was a giant leap for Melbourne Victory as it consolidated its place as one of the top teams in Australia. Its most consistent season so far saw it never out of finals contention. Going the entire season undefeated at home – including going within minutes of beating the undefeated Canberra United – Victory finished fourth in the tightest season of the Westfield W-League in history. Despite a tight 1–0 loss to Canberra in the semi-final it was a successful season with
Steph Catley,
Ashley Brown,
Brianna Davey and
Katrina Gorry all making their
Matildas debuts while Catley and Brown won Footballer of the Year (Australian Football Fan Awards) and W-League Young Player of the Season respectively. Melbourne Victory also won its second successive W-League Fair Play Award, sharing with Canberra, and retained the OCRF Trophy.
2012–13 Hoping to build on their strong 2011/12 season, the Victory got off to a shaky start in
2012/13 with head coach Vicki Linton resigning only weeks before the season was to kick-off. With her departure Darren Tan was appointed as interim coach until former Gold Coast United coach
Mike Mulvey was given the job just days before the opening round. Having only a squad of 12 players registered going into the match, Melbourne Victory was forced to sign three more players due to FFA regulations before going on to lose 2–0 to Perth. Despite another loss in Round 2 leaving the team on the bottom of the ladder, a combination of international signings – including stars
Petra Larsson and
Jessica Fishlock – and players beginning to understand Mulvey's playing system led to a turnaround in form. With the league's best defence, Melbourne finished the regular season in third place losing only a single match after Round 2. Even so, the team had to contend with more issues as Mulvey left following Round 9 to take up an A-League contract with
Brisbane Roar, while Fishlock's guest contract ended after Round 10. A dramatic semi-final win over Perth Glory extended the side's historic undefeated streak to seven and allowed it to host the 2012/13 Westfield W-League grand final at
AAMI Park, although it fell to Sydney FC 3–1. Despite this, Steph Catley was awarded W-League Young Player of the Year and Mike Mulvey W-League Coach of the Year.
2013–14: First Championship Victory began the
2013–14 season by signing
Lisa De Vanna and
Emma Checker. With these additions as well as the signings of Swedish footballer
Jessica Samuelsson and
Katie Hoyle Victory was building toward Championship Season. Victory would finish third place in the
regular season with an equal club record points tally with 23 points. Victory Would beat second place
Sydney FC thanks to a
penalty goal from
Lauren Barnes in the 71st minute of the match to qualify them to the
2014 W-League Grand Final (February). Melbourne Victory would play
Brisbane Roar at
Lakeside Stadium,in front of a crowd of 2,504 on 23 February 2014. Victory would win the match 2-0 thanks to goals from
Lisa De Vanna and
Lauren Barnes. this would be Victory's First W-League Championship. Lisa De Vanna was also named Female Footballer of the Year and Stephanie Catley were awarded Female U20 Footballer of the Year. Coach
Dave Edmondson departed the club following Grand Final to join
Bristol Academy 2014: Montemurro era coaching Melbourne Victory in the home defeat versus
Perth Glory at
Lakeside Stadium on November 2, 2014.
Joe Montemurro would become Victory's new coach. Victory would then compete in the
2014 W-League season. Due to Australia hosting the
2015 AFC Asian Cup, the season was scheduled to take place entirely in the 2014 calendar year instead of continuing in to 2015. The club would place second in the
regular season with 20 points. victory would play
Canberra United. the match would finnish 0-0 after
extra time and Victory would lose 4-5 in a
penalty shootout due to
Gülcan Koca missing Victory's final penalty. Coach
Joe Montemurro would depart the club after the season to join
Melbourne City.
2015–16: Struggles for Victory After
Joe Montemurro's departure the club appointed championship winning coach
Dave Edmondson to manage Victory. Melbourne Victory would play in the
2015–16 W-League season. Melbourne Victory would finish last in the regular season with a record low points tally of 7 points and a record low 2 wins across the whole season. Victory failed to make the finals series and was the worst season Victory had at that point.
Dave Edmondson would depart the club as coach at the end of the season.
Hopkins era (2016–present) Beginning Struggles (2016-2018) The Hopkins era began after the 2015–16 season, when
Jeff Hopkins took over the vacant position following the departure of
Dave Edmondson. Hopkins came to the job at Victory with "a wealth of experience both as a coach and a player" through his coaching performance with
Brisbane Roar, winning multiple pieces of silverware including a double in his first season. Hopkins would sign
Rachel Alonso,
Alex Cheal,
Lia Privitelli, and
Ayesha Norrie to begin building a squad for the future. Hopkins' first two seasons would start off Shakey with another ninth place finish with a total of 9 points in the
2016–17 W-League season and a seventh place finish in the
2017-18 W-League Season. Hopkins struggled in these first two seasons but major improvements for the team to come.
First Premiership (2018–2019) Victory would go into the
2018-19 Season by signing
Emily Gielnik from
Brisbane Roar and
Grace Maher from
Canberra United. Hopkins would also
loan in American duo from
Orlando Pride,
Dani Weatherholt and
Christine Nairn. Despite failing to make finals since the
2014 season Hopkins' Victory was predicted by media to finish in the top four, as well as former player
Gülcan Koca suggesting they could win the premiership/championship double. Victory would start the season playing
Adelaide United in a nil-all draw, despite Victory's 21 shots at goal. Victory would gain there first win after a 2-1 win against
Newcastle Jets. A 2–1 victory over
Perth Glory at
Dorrien Gardens secured the club's first W-League premiership. The Victory entered the match needing a point to win the trophy after Brisbane Roar were unexpectedly defeated. This would be the clubs First W-League Premiership for the club. Victory would then play fourth place
Perth Glory in the semi final. The match reached a 2-2 draw at regular time, but a completed
hattrick from
Sam Kerr during extra time gave Perth Glory the 4–2 win. Victory's Performance in the regular season would qualify them to the
2019 AFC Women's Club Championship. Before the beginning of the season Hopkins signed New Zealander
Annalie Longo as well as signing
Jenna McCormick and
Melissa Maizels. Hopkins would begin the
2019-20 W-League Season with a 3-0 loss against
Sydney FC and a 3-2 win Against
Brisbane Roar. Victory would then compete in the
2019 AFC Women's Club Championship. Victory would begin with a 4-0 loss against
Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels. Victory would then draw 1-1 against Chinese club
Jiangsu Suning with a goal from
Grace Maher and the team would finish its club woman's championship campaign with a 5-0 loss against Japanese club
Nippon TV Beleza. Melbourne Victory would finish fourth place in the club championship with only one point. Hopkins' Victory squad would continue the season by finishing second in the regular season and making finals. In the finals series Melbourne Victory would play
Sydney FC in the
semi final. Sydney FC would defeat Hopkins' side thanks to a 14th minute goal by
Veronica Latsko.
Two Championships in a row (2020–2022) Hopkins would go into the
2020-21 season by signing American duo
Catherine Zimmerman and
Kayla Morrison.
Lisa De Vanna would also re-join the club alongside new signings of
Kyra Cooney-Cross,
Paige Zois, and New Zealander
Claudia Bunge. Victory would begin there season with a nil-all draw against
Brisbane Roar followed up by a 6-0 win over
Melbourne City in a
Melbourne derby. Victory would continue a relatively successful campaign placing third in the
regular season and qualifying themselves for finals. Melbourne Victory would play second placed
Brisbane Roar in a
semi final in
Brisbane. Victory would win 6-3 thanks to a
hattrick by
Melina Ayres. This win qualified Victory to the
2021 W-League Grand Final. The match was played between
Sydney FC and
Melbourne Victory at
Netstrata Jubilee Stadium on 11 April 2021. The match would end nil-all after 90 minutes leading to extra time. The match would finish in a 1-0 win after a 120th minute goal by
Kyra Cooney-Cross. this was Victory's second championship. Hopkins would extend his contract with the club after this championship season. For the
2021-22 season the W-League was Rebranded by
Australian Professional Leagues to the A-League Women. After extending his contract Hopkins would then sign
Alana Murphy. On 5 October 2021
Casey Dumont would also sign for the club. The
2021-22 season would begin with a 5-1 win against
Adelaide United. This result was followed up by the club signing
Alex Chidiac on loan from Japanese club
JEF United Chiba on 9 December 2021. Victory would continue the season strong including a 5-0 win over
Western Sydney Wanderers. Victory would finish the
regular season by finishing fourth place with a points tally of 24 points. Melbourne Victory would play
Adelaide United in the
semi-final at
Coopers Stadium on 13 March 2022. Goals from
Lia Privitelli and
Melina Ayres would lead to a 2-1 win leading Victory to play Melbourne City in the
Preliminary Final. A 3-1 win for Victory at
AAMI Park in front of 1,306 people in attendance, would qualify Victory into the
2022 A-League Women grand final. The match was played at
Netstrata Jubilee Stadium against
Sydney FC, on 27 March 2022 in front of a crowd of 5,027 people. the match was a strong contest for both sides with no goals scored in the first half. In the beginning of the second half
Amy Jackson would score a goal in the 49th minute followed up by a goal by
Catherine Zimmerman in the 64th minute leading to a 2-0 lead.
Cortnee Vine would score a consolation goal for
Sydney FC. The match would end in a 2-1 win for Victory. the result would win Victory the clubs third Championship. Victory would win back to back championships. Casey Dumont's great goalkeeping performance in the grand final would earn her
player of the match.
Close to the top but not there (2022–2025) Hopkins would go into the
2022-23 A-League Woman Season by re-signing
Alex Chidiac and signing
Jessika Nash,
Beattie Goad, and
Elise Kellond-Knight. Victory would finish the A-League Women season placing fourth with a point tally of 29 points. Victory would play in the
semi final against third placed
Melbourne City at Casey Fields on 15 April 2023. the match would end in a 3-3 draw after
extra time meaning the match went to
penalties. Melbourne Victory won 4-1 on penalties qualifying Victory to the
Preliminary final. Victory would play first placed
Sydney FC at
Allianz Stadium on 22 April 2023. After a long game for both sides a 89th
Madison Haley goal to put Sydney FC a goal to win them the match. Victory lost the match 1-0 meaning Victory were eliminated from the finals series.
Melina Ayres would finish third place in the Golden boot with 9 goals.
Alex Chidiac would earn herself the
Julie Dolan Medal for her extraordinary season with the club. Hopkins would re-sign to his role of coach of the club again for the next two seasons. Hopkins would go into the
2023-24 Season by signing
Rachel Lowe,
Emma Checker, and
Jamilla Rankin. These signings were followed up by the signing of Japanese forward
Kurea Okino, as well as signing
Ella O'Grady. Victory would start the season Shakey by losing its first two matches against
Brisbane Roar and
Western United. Victory would get there first win against
Adelaide United 2-0 at
AAMI Park in front of a crowd of 4,102 on 4 November 2023. On 30 December 2023 the club would announce the return of
Alex Chidiac for two and a half seasons. Victory would finish the season fourth placed with a points tally of 36 points and qualify Victory to the
finals series. Victory would play
Central Coast Mariners in the elimination final on 14 April 2024 at the
Home of the Matildas. The match went 120 minuets without a goal, with the match ending nil-all. The match went to
penalties and ended in a 4-2 loss for Victory. Melbourne Victory would go on to play in the
2024-25 A-League Women. The club would begin by signing
Alana Jancevski,
Nickoletta Flannery from
Canberra United, and
Sofia Sakalis from
Perth Glory. Hopkins would follow this up by signing English
defender,
Ellie Wilson and New Zealander,
Claudia Bunge. Victory would begin the season with a 3-2 win over
Adelaide United before losing 3-2 against
Melbourne City. Victory would go on to lose only one more match for the rest of the regular season. Victory finished the season in second place despite only losing two matches across the whole season and gaining a record 53 points, this was because rivals
Melbourne City finished the season without a single loss. This was Victory's best season by many statistics including points per game. Victory would qualify into the
semi final. they would play
Adelaide United over
two legs. Melbourne Victory won both matches 3-1 leading to a 6-2
aggregate score. This would qualify Victory to the
2025 A-League Women Grand Final. The match was played on 18 May 2025 at AAMI Park against
Central Coast Mariners. played in front of a crowd of 6,568 people in attendance both teams put up a good fight in the first half leading to a 0-0 score line at halftime. In the opening minutes of the first half,
Isabel Gomez scored a goal to put the Mariners up 1-0. Victory responded by attacking the Mariners goal fiercely with no luck due to the Mariners strong defence. The defence held strong until defender
Claudia Bunge scored a goal in the 80th minute off of a
corner kick. the goal meant the game finished with a score of 1-1, leading the match to have to go to
extra time. In extra time both sides fought hard and had their chances but failed to crate goals. With no goals in extra time the match went to a
penalty shootout. Melbourne Victory would take the first penalty kick.
Alana Jancevski missed the first penalty kick for Victory, and the rest of the penalties were scored, leading to a "fairytale" win for the Mariners. in reflection to the season Hopkins stated "Looking back over the season, (I'm) extremely proud of the efforts of the team, how the team’s progressed, individuals have progressed, how some of the younger players have done over the season." ==Support==