The second season of the Ross Pelligra era at Perth Glory comes to a conclusion tonight, one which has had numerous twists, turns and surprises, both good and bad.
Just two games in, David Zdrillic was shown the door after being backed in by the off-field leaders to change the fortune of the team on the pitch.
New assistant coach Adam Griffiths was given the role of interim manager. He quickly found his feet, leading the club to three consecutive wins in late November/early December.
Away at Melbourne City, star signing Tom Lawrence announced himself to the A-League, bagging a hattrick in a big away win to round off 2025.
A 3-0 home win over the Mariners, featuring a Lawrence Olimpico, had the Glory in eighth spot, one point from the top six and just two away from the Jets at the time.
At the end of January, following a come-from-behind win against Auckland, the gap to the top six was two points. Unfortunately from there, things went south.
Losses to Newcastle, Adelaide and Wellington, coupled with a few draws, opened the gap between a return to the finals. A gap which proved too big to recover.
The last hurdle for 2025/26 comes in the form of Brisbane, a side who showed lots of upside in the early stages of the campaign but faded away very quickly in the back half.
In fact, Brisbane’s last win came at HBF Park back in January. Eleven games have passed since then, leaving them second from bottom on the table.
The Roar can finish ahead of the Glory with a win tonight. Ladder position and pride is at stake, as two former powerhouses aim to end disappointing seasons on a high.
Will Josh Risdon start in his farewell match?
Three days ago, it was revealed defender Josh Risdon had called time on his professional career of 16 years.
The 33-year-old made his debut aged 18 and went on to make 170 appearances for the club, the most of any in the A-League era.
His career highlights include a Grand Final appearance for Glory in 2012, being named MGP in the same year, playing for the Socceroos in the 2018 World Cup and captaining Western United to an A-League title in 2022.
Game time has been limited for Risdon with the emergence of Charbel Shamoon at right-back. The veteran has made two appearances off the bench in 2026, against the New Zealand sides early last month.
Risdon is deserving of a longer stint on the pitch in this game for what he has brought and given to the Glory over the years. Everyone at the club loves him, and I’m sure the fans would love to see him out there to properly say goodbye.
Have Glory learned from January’s defeat to the Roar?
Brisbane’s style under Michael Valkanis is a little old school. They have prided themselves on being a solid defensive unit, bringing the physicality and utilising the dark arts to some degree.
On the road, this tends to be more evident. Once they got into the lead against the Glory in their last win, which they fully deserved, the Roar did a great job defending compactly, frustrating their opposition and using up the clock later in the match.
It’s been clear for a while the Glory haven’t been good at finding openings when teams leave numbers behind the ball.
The progress in recent weeks will be tested tonight. If the Glory have actually turned a corner in their attacking mindset and quality, they will make Dean Bouzanis work and put a few past him.
For the loyal fanbase who make the trip to HBF Park for the last time this season, it would be nice to finish off with a bit of sexy football and flair.
Predicted lineup
Taggart – Despotovski
Pennington – Freney – De Abreu – Kucharski
Sutton – Wootton – Kaltak – Risdon
Sutton
All images courtesy of Tom McCarthy.
