Perth Glory have confirmed Adam Griffiths as the club’s head coach for the next two seasons, with Griffiths declaring his ambition to make the club “great again”. The question now is whether the Glory have made the right call.
Not long after the regular season concluded, we put that exact question to fans on our Facebook page: had Griffiths done enough to earn a contract extension and a full pre-season? By and large, the response was positive. Most fans were willing to back the former interim boss for another year and see what greater continuity might deliver.
It’s a conversation we’ve revisited consistently throughout the season on the Far Post Perth podcast. While I’ve probably been the most sceptical voice on the panel, the debate itself on our final episode ultimately centred around three broader questions that divided opinion.
Jaxon Bassett’s question was: Will continuity help this football team improve?
Neil Sherwin’s question was: What calibre of coach can Perth Glory realistically attract in their current position?
Mine was simpler, but perhaps more confronting: Why has the club accepted such a limited ceiling?
Because in truth, this was never purely a “keep or sack” debate. It was a discussion about direction. Should Perth Glory prioritise stability given the reality of the club’s current circumstances, or should they be pushing harder to redefine what those circumstances are altogether?
Ross Pelligra and the club hierarchy have clearly opted for stability and continuity, where to be fair to them, there is logic behind that approach. As Ben Smith pointed out in The West Australian this week, Glory have now had four coaches in five years. That level of turnover creates an almost impossible environment for meaningful long-term growth, both stylistically and culturally. Constant resets make it difficult to establish a clear football identity, let alone sustain one.
Across the 2025/26 campaign, largely under Griffiths’ stewardship, there were undeniably moments that offered encouragement. There were signs of greater structure, improved competitiveness and a clearer sense of organisation. With a full pre-season, more time on the training pitch and a recruitment strategy tailored towards Griffiths’ stylistic preferences, there is at least a reasonable argument that greater consistency and sustainability could follow next season.
That’s the theory, anyway.
Those who remain sceptical would argue there is still limited evidence that Griffiths can elevate this side beyond its current level. Is there enough tangible proof that exists that a pre-season and a handful of new signings will suddenly transform Perth into a finals-calibre side? Particularly when both the head coach and CEO, Anthony Radich, have publicly declared finals football as the expectation for next season.
It’s a gamble and a significant one.
Only nine of the 24 games coached by Griffiths this season saw Perth Glory generate a higher expected goals figure than their opponents, according to FotMob. Several underlying metrics point towards ongoing concerns surrounding the club’s attacking process. The issue wasn’t simply poor finishing or bad luck; rather, the volume and quality of chances created often weren’t sufficient.
The numbers reinforce that concern. Perth ranked 11th for total shots, 11th for shots on target, ninth for shot accuracy percentage, 10th for expected goals and 10th for touches inside the opposition box. Collectively, those figures paint the picture of a bottom-four attacking side.
Defensively, however, there was measurable improvement, particularly relative to a team that had conceded a combined 125 goals across the previous two seasons. The Glory also performed relatively well at limiting the quality of opposition chances, recording the best percentage of opposition shots faced that were on target. Structurally, there were signs of progress.
Looking ahead to what shapes as a crucial off-season, Griffiths has made the expectations abundantly clear:
Now we go and deliver. Finals football is the expectation… The expectations of the fans for us to play finals football is something we need to relish, because if we as a group are not expecting ourselves to get to that level, we may as well quit.
There should be no illusions about the pressure attached to next season. Griffiths deserves the opportunity to be properly backed heading into 2026/27, but with that backing comes the expectation of tangible improvement, particularly in the final third. Recruitment will need to prioritise technical quality, creativity and players capable of contributing consistently in attack after the Glory managed just 32 goals this season.
Personally, I’ve been fortunate enough to have a few long-form conversations with Adam Griffiths, including at the club’s Most Glorious Player awards night, where much of the discussion centred around what genuine progression next season actually needs to look like. Not just improved results, but evolution in the sustainability and identity of the overall game model.
The reality is that Perth Glory’s style of play now needs to resemble that of a genuine finals-calibre side; one that is progressive in possession, looks to dominate the opposition, press high and suffocate teams, particularly at home. A side that is proactive rather than reactive and one that looks to dictate matches instead of simply surviving them.
That is ultimately the key. The hope for Perth Glory isn’t simply that continuity brings stability, but that it creates the platform for meaningful evolution. Because while stability can stop a club from falling further behind, only evolution can push it forward.
