After one of the most exhilarating rounds in recent memory, it’s time to take a breath, take stock, and survey the lay of the land with the Isuzu UTE A-League now on hold for the 2022 FIFA Men’s World Cup.
While a lot of teams have been hit or miss, there have been a couple of sides that have caught my eye… not always for the best reasons.
It’s very, very early on, and the table is a long way from being set in stone, but there are already a few patterns starting to emerge.
Here’s my take on the first six rounds of the season.
Melbourne City: A+
You can’t help but think last year’s Asian Champions League campaign cost Melbourne City the championship. They simply ran out of steam at the most important time of the year. They’ve begun this season in ominous fashion.
Five wins and a draw from the opening six rounds have them sitting pretty on top of the ladder. If not for a final 15-minute fadeout against Wellington, where the Phoenix gave a decent account, it probably would have been six from six.
They are blessed with big names and the form of Jamie Maclaren, who has eight goals in six games, and Mathew Leckie, who looks fresh and has been instrumental in their fast start. The World Cup has certainly given the pair an extra reason to hit the ground running.
It hasn’t all been smooth sailing, with injuries and suspensions forcing them to reshuffle their back six, which even saw skipper Scott Jamieson fill in at centre back.
Jordy Bos and Taras Gomulka are two youngsters making a name for themselves on the best team in the league.
Clearly premiership/championship favourites through the first part of the season.
Western Sydney Wanderers: A
A Sydney Derby win, the club’s first at Allianz Stadium since 2013, is fresh in the mind, and it seems like the feel-good factor is back at the Wanderers.
Coming into the season, there was a huge amount of pressure and expectation on Marko Rudan after he completely rebuilt the team during the off-season. So far, so good.
Sitting second on the ladder has given them the ideal start, and the win over their cross-town rivals has taken some of the pressure off. The Wanderers had to start well, or the questions of the management would have come very early on once again.
Let’s be honest, it’s not the most attractive football you’ve ever seen, but they look solid as a unit and hard to break down.
They failed to turn up against Brisbane and Central Coast and dropped points at home. With only six goals in six games, there’s still work to be done in the front third. Its not enough for a team boasting so much quality.
The signing of Milos Ninkovic felt like a massive risk at the start of the season to me, but the gamble has paid off so far.
Calem Nieuwenhof is a serious player. Unwanted at Sydney FC, the 21-year-old is playing with composure beyond his years and was the best player on the park in the derby.
The biggest improvement seems to have come at the back. Two towering, physical centre backs, backed up by Lawrence Thomas, who already has four clean sheets, make for a solid foundation.
Western Sydney look more than equipped to end a long finals drought.
Adelaide United: B+
Three away games to start the season made life a little difficult for the Reds, but they’d be pretty pleased to be sitting third after six rounds.
Their finishing has been the biggest concern over the past 18 months, but they seem to have turned a corner. Three straight wins heading into the break would have given Carl Veart and his side plenty of belief after the World Cup.
Craig Goodwin has been the obvious standout, and his decision-making and ability to find the back of the net should see him start against France in Australia’s opening World Cup fixture. Goodwin has made 59 crosses so far this season, 21 more than the next best.
Defensively, United would want to be a little better. They have the fourth-best defence in the league but have been opened up a little too easily at times. Joe Gauci has made a number of fine saves and continues to show why he’s so highly rated.
If Adelaide can bring in a creative midfielder to help supply the impressive Hiroshi Ibusuki, they’ll be a force to be reckoned with.
Macarthur FC: B
After romping to the Australia Cup title, the start to the season has been a little slower for Dwight Yorke and his men.
A last-gasp winner from Jed Drew against the Mariners gave them their second win of the campaign, which saw them jump from 10th to 4th on the table heading into the break.
Having only played one A-League Men side in their run to the title, it was always going to be a little more difficult to get a gauge on the Bulls.
Defensively, they haven’t been anywhere near as solid, conceding nine goals in the last three games. They let a 10-man Mariners squad back into the game despite holding a 2-0 lead with 25 minutes to play.
The break looks as though it could be coming at the right time. They’ve played more competitive matches than any other A-League side, and the break could give them a chance to freshen up and regroup.
Central Coast: B+
After losing Mark Birighitti, Kye Rowles and Marco Urena in the off-season, you would have been forgiven for predicting a drop-off from the Mariners, but the youngest squad in the league has proven they still have plenty to offer.
Garang Kuol saved his best performance for last, coming off the bench to score a double and drag the Mariners back into the contest. We know the generational talent is leaving for English Premier League club Newcastle United in January, so the Mariners won’t be able to call on him for much longer.
While I’ve been impressed with the team’s ability to fight through adversity so far this season, the loss to Perth at home hurts, and after getting back into the contest against the Bulls, they overcommitted and walked away with nothing.
They’ve played fewer games than most teams, so they’re in a healthy position. That said, they’ve conceded too many easy goals and have been heavily reliant on Kuol’s influence in the second half of matches. They’ll need to find another way.
You are going to get errors when you have so many young players in your back six, but the likes of Jacob Farrell, Nectar Triantis, Josh Nisbet, Max Balard and Thomas Aquilina are definitely players on the rise.
They are super entertaining, and with Jason Cummings leading the line, they are never out of the contest. They dismantled the Wanderers, something no other side has been able to do.
Don’t sleep by Nick Montgomery’s side.
Sydney FC: C-
This was meant to be the year Sydney FC got back to challenging for honours after missing the finals last season, but early indications show they are some way off the league’s best. The month after the break could be telling for Steve Corica.
Robert Mak and Joe Lolley have been decent so far, but support for the pair has been few and far between. Sydney is too reliant on individuals and looks like it is playing without a plan. The balance in the midfield doesn’t seem right and while Anthony Caceres has been ok in the middle of the park, but the engine room was soundly beaten on Saturday night.
Injuries have played their part, but defensively they have been shocking. Thrown in the deep end, Aaron Gurd looks like he might have something to offer, but it remains to be seen what Sydney will look like with Alex Wilkinson alongside Jack Rodwell. Let’s not forget Rodwell isn’t really a natural centre-back. If he gets fit, he still has a lot to prove.
I really thought we were going to get a lot more from the Sky Blues in the early part of the season, but I’ve been disappointed.
The pressure is on Steve Corica.
Melbourne Victory: C-
Some were saying Melbourne Victory could go undefeated this season after the win against Sydney in the opening round of the season, but inconsistency has killed Tony Popovic’s side so far. The level between their best and worst performances has been far too large.
They have more than enough high-quality players to be at the top end of the table, and there’s no doubt in my mind that they’ll be there come finals time.
Popovic sides don’t always start that well, and it was a hallmark of this time at the Wanderers. He wants his team to hit peak performance when it matters most. So far this season, he hasn’t quite gotten it right.
Nani has shown glimpses of what he is capable of, especially over the past fortnight, and the likes of Jake Brimmer, Nick D’Agostino and Chris Ikonomidis showings have mirrored that of the team, ups and down.
Scoring goals has been a real issue in the early part of the campaign so far. MV have taken the third most shots on goal this season but sit second last for shot accuracy. So, either they are taking bad options in front of goal or the quality of chances they are creating isn’t good enough. It could be both. The signing of Bruno Fornaroli makes sense when you look at these stats; they need a finisher.
People have high expectations of this club, its manager, and its team, and rightly so. Last season, they fell short of the grand final after being in the box set against Western United. The way the season ended left a sour taste in the mouth, and it’s still there with the start they’ve made.
Victory will find them, but the start they’ve made has been poor.
Wellington: C
There was plenty of excitement around Wellington Phoenix to start the new season. Four home games against Adelaide, Central Coast, Macarthur and Western United in the first six looked a favourable draw on paper. After so long without regular matches in New Zealand you would have liked them to hit the ground running but with just one win from those games you feel like they are slightly behind where you’d expect them to be.
Two goals up with half an hour to play only to lose 3-2 to a struggling Western really hurts heading into the break.
Like most teams who’ve started slowly defence is a major concern. 12 goals shipped in six games with one of the highest expected goals against at home in the league.
The likes of Ben Old, Steven Ugarkovic, Ben Waine and Callum Elliot have been solid contributors but they need more from some of their experienced players and foreigners.
With Oli Sail between the sticks you’d never rule them out.
Ufuk Talay has proven he’s one of the best managers in the league and no doubt he’ll be tinkering over the break.
You can never count them out and will cause plenty of problems this season.
Brisbane Roar: C+
Brisbane haven’t actually been that bad this season. They’ve played a game less than most teams and have only been beaten once, a 2-0 defeat to the best team in the competition, Melbourne City. They were unlucky not to beat the Wanderers as well when they had a few decisions go against them.
The consistency of their performances has been fairly level. Other teams in the league have had too big of a gap between their best and worst, so you know what you might get from the Roar. Yes, they haven’t reached any great heights just yet, but they are hard to beat, and that’s always a good sign.
They’re resilient, compact and have good structure, which is why they’ve conceded just four goals.
The problem is they’re not creating enough chances for their marquee man. Charlie Austin has been forced to drop deep to get involved in the game. He’s at his most dangerous in the box and is an excellent finisher. They need to get him more service and create better opportunities for him to score.
Joe Knowles has been tremendous so far for the Roar, starting every game and picking up two assists. Back in the Isuzu UTE A-League via the NPL, he’s been an attacking threat and one of the standouts in the early rounds.
I can see Brisbane going on a run at some point.
Newcastle Jets: D
Arthur Papas has been touted as one of Australia’s brightest up-and-coming coaches. He wants his team to play exciting attacking football, and at times it’s been breathtaking to watch. They started the season with back-to-back wins but have lost their last three games, including a 4-1 drubbing by Melbourne Victory.
Last season, they conceded 43 goals in 26 games, and this time around, they’ve done little to rectify the situation. Defensively, they are still conceding far too easily. They haven’t kept a clean sheet in their five matches and are conceding an average of two goals per game. I don’t care how good you are with the ball; you can’t win with that defensive record.
Goals were something they scored plenty of last year, but they haven’t quite found the formula so far this time around. Jaushua Sotirio and Reno Piscopo were brought in, but the hole left by last year’s star Daniel Penha has been hard to fill.
The season is still so young; they’ve played only five games, and one win would see them jump inside the top six.
The last three weeks are a concern.
Western United: F
What a disastrous start to the season it’s been for last year’s champions. Since being rock solid and ruthless last year, they’ve been a shadow of the side that claimed the ultimate prize in 21 and 22.
A last-gasp win against Wellington on the weekend has brightened the mood around the place, no doubt, but after setting the bar so high, they’ve well and truly fallen short so far.
Rumours of Leo Lecroix and Aleksandar Prijovic wanting to go back to Europe have been circling, but whatever the case, they need to find a way to get their best players firing again.
Last season, Lecroix was the best defender in the league, but he looks totally devoid of confidence now. You can tell he’s not playing on instinct, and at times it has looked like his head isn’t in the game.
There’s still plenty of time for John Aloisi’s side to get their act together, thankfully. It’s a long climb up the ladder from 11th.
Perth Glory: E
Where else for Perth?
I know COVID has wreaked havoc on the club over the last few years, but recent issues with Bruno Fornaroli, stadium availability, and the shocking results over the past few seasons have the Glory feeling a little irrelevant. I’ll never understand how difficult it is to travel such distances for away games, let alone spend months away from home over the past few years.
Perth started the season with four losses and one win, and to be fair, they have been in every game but one so far this season. The effort is there more often than not, but they are a team that lacks real star power. All the big-name players from the Tony Popovic era are gone, and this is largely a team Ruben Zadkovich has built.
Finding a way to goal has proven difficult with just 43 shots on goal and 15 on target in five games.
With Darryl Lachman and Mark Beevers at the back, they have two imposing defenders, but defensively, they’ve been far too fragile.
Giordano Colli has been a bright spark for the side, and his goal against Adelaide shows what real class he possesses.
Getting to play games at a makeshift home will help, but we’ve said that about Perth in the past and it hasn’t done much to improve their results.
I don’t expect much from the team from the West.
