Player Profile: Holly McNamara

Holly McNamara plays as a forward for A-League club Melbourne City and the Australian national team, also known as the Matildas. She is one of the A-League’s best attackers, and Australia’s future is bright in the hands of McNamara. In just this season alone, she has played 15 games, scoring 12 goals and assisting one.

At only 22 years old, her career has been very disrupted through injuries, suffering three Anterior Cruciate Ligament ruptures but that didn’t get in her way of being named the Young Footballer of the Year at the 2022 Dolan Warren Awards.

McNamara’s first ACL injury happened in 2018. She was part of the Junior Matilda’s squad for the 2019 AFC U-16 Women’s Championship, but suffered the injury before she was given the chance to make her debut.

In December 2021, McNamara made her A-League debut for Melbourne City against Canberra United, she played the full 90 minutes and scored the only goal of the game. Only two months after her debut, in a match against Sydney FC, McNamara suffered her second ACL injury, ending her season prematurely.

The first time McNamara received a senior team call up was for the 2022 AFC Women’s Asian Cup. After impressing the coaches, she was added to the official squad list for the tournament.

Following her second ACL injury, McNamara returned to the Matildas squad in November 2023 for two friendly matches against Canada. Just days before reporting for duty, she suffered her third ACL injury withdrawing from the squad. McNamara returned to the pitch for Melbourne City in December 2024 and returned to the Matilda’s squad for the SheBelieves Cup in February 2025, coming on as a substitute against Japan after 1,119 days away.