SAM KERR HEADS TO CHELSEA

Her absence leaves the W-League with a huge promotional hole but Sam Kerr's big-money move to English Super League club Chelsea is a huge moment for Australian football. The 26-year-old has joined the Blues on a two-and-a-half year deal reportedly worth $600,000-a-season. After alternating between Australia and the American National Women's Soccer League, the move will be Kerr's first venture into the growing European women's football scene. Kerr's qualities are widely known but expect her star to go to the next level if she can deliver in what she labelled the "best league in Europe". Her first match for Chelsea is likely to be against Reading five days after the European transfer window opens in January.

ANGE CONQUERS JAPAN

Just over two years after he quit the Socceroos following successful qualification for the 2018 World Cup, Ange Postecoglou cemented his status as Australia's greatest football coach by guiding Yokohama F.Marinos to their first J-League title in 15 years. In typically attacking style, Postecoglou's team secured the title with a 3-0 win over nearest rivals Tokyo FC in their final match to win the league by six points. The victory has many believing Postecoglou's next stop must be a job in Europe but the 54-year-old is adamant he still has work to do in Japan, including leading his club in next season's Asian Champions League and a potential meeting with A-League opposition.