Phillips Ready To Cap Breakout Season With Grand Final Glory

2026 has seen Bulls FC Academy’s Petria Phillips solidify herself as one of the standout young stars of the NPL Women’s NSW competition.

The crafty midfielder has enjoyed a sensational breakout year, helping guide her side to another Premiership and now a second consecutive Grand Final appearance.

After bagging a brace in last season’s Premiership-deciding clash, Phillips has carried that momentum into 2026 and continued to showcase her quality in a stacked Bulls side.

Ahead of Sunday’s Grand Final between Bulls FC Academy and UNSW FC, Phillips spoke to Football NSW about the excitement of returning to the biggest game of the season.

“It’s two Grand Finals in a row now, I feel like people could have said it was lucky the first time, but something’s obviously going right and we’re back again,” she said.

“It excites us because you want to play the best, you want good competition and this is a good challenge for us.”

While 2025 marked the beginning of Phillips’ development and saw her start to hone her craft at this level, 2026 has been the year in which she has truly announced herself.

“Last year I wasn’t playing consistently in terms of keeping ball possession, I was growing a bit,” she said.

“This season, I feel like I’ve learnt a lot of other attributes towards the game and that really comes down to the players I’m surrounded with.

“Also, Marti [Garces] takes a lot of time to pull videos out of past games to help us improve.”

The influence of Championship-winning coach Marti Garces has been a key component not only in the Bulls’ sustained success, but also in Phillips’ individual development.

“He’s a really good communicator, he’s created personal relationships with all of us. I think it comes to the point when he says something to you, you buy into what he’s saying and you believe what he’s saying because you’ve made that genuine connection with him,” she said.

“When the time comes for him to be brutal, he is, but you’re at a good point in the relationship where you can take it.”

That relationship between coach and players has helped create the environment that has allowed Phillips and her teammates to continue improving.

The Bulls’ lone loss of the regular season came at the hands of UNSW in March, and Phillips admits that result helped spark an important turning point within the squad.

“At the start of the season we weren’t as synchronised as we wanted to be,” she said.

“We had a point early in the season where we had a pretty direct chat to each other and got everything out. You need to be on the same page.”

That conversation helped strengthen the connection within the group, with Garces continually reinforcing the importance of togetherness.

“Marti always talks about it. We’ve got a word going around, ‘synergy’. We’re stronger together, we’re more united together.”

That sense of unity will be put to the ultimate test on Sunday.

The Bulls have already secured another Premiership and then produced a commanding 6-2 Semi-Final victory over Western Sydney Wanderers to book their place in the decider.

Now, they have the chance to make history by completing back-to-back Premiership and Championship doubles.

For Phillips, the opportunity is difficult to put into words.

“It would be honestly amazing. I’m getting goosebumps speaking about it. It would mean a lot on a personal level and team level, it would mean everything,” she said.

“Even for the club trying to get that A-League Women’s team in there, it would be a really good reminder as to why it’ll be a great investment.”

The Grand Final represents another opportunity for Phillips to showcase just how far she has come in the space of 12 months.

From a young midfielder continuing to develop her game to one of the key players in a Premiership-winning side, her rapid progression has been one of the many stories behind the Bulls’ continued success.

Now, one final challenge awaits.

Bulls FC Academy and UNSW FC will meet at St George Venues Jubilee Stadium on Sunday at 12:00pm, with the NPL Women’s NSW Championship on the line.

For Phillips, the goal is simple.

Another Grand Final.

Another trophy.

And another chance to finish the season at the very top.

By Dominic Criniti