After a heavy 4-1 defeat in Wellington last weekend, the Newcastle Jets’ outside chances at a finals run are effectively over and this season’s championship contenders are locked in. But with a post-season system that rewards over half the teams in the league, which of the six have really earned their place?
Flying colours – Perth Glory
Under-praised by the east coast papers, Perth Glory are the story of 2018-19 and Tony Popovic is the coach of the season. A club that has been over-reliant on the twin talents of Andy Keogh and Diego Castro, Perth have transformed overnight from a band of plucky scrappers to a team with the genuine depth and strength of squad to win a premiership. Injury-plagued seasons for Matt Spiranovic, Tomi Mrcela and Alex Grant have not undermined their defence – 36-year-old Dino Djulbic wouldn’t have expected 17 starts, but he’s just one of several squad players who have proven integral to Perth’s success. At the other end, Chris Ikonomidis has added explosive talent and energy to free the ageing legs of Castro, and four 90-plus minute goals are testament to his fitness and the team’s never-say-die attitude.
Strengths: Numerically the best defence and attack in the league, Perth are a complete team, with excellent performers across the XI. They have quality delivery from wide areas, creativity from Castro and, in Neil Kilkenny and Juande, they boast the league’s pre-eminent midfield duo.
Weaknesses: Few. Nobody has yet found a way to come to grips with Popovic’s 5-3-2 system – only a relative lack of grand final experience could cost them against nearest rivals Melbourne Victory and Sydney FC.
Exceeded expectations – Wellington Phoenix
A Newcastle Jets 2017-18-style fairytale, the Phoenix’s resurgence under Mark Rudan has deep and manifold roots. Never has the Kiwi club provided two of the league’s top five goalscorers, but anyone surprised by Roy Krishna’s tally this season simply hasn’t watched the Nix closely. The Fijian’s blistering pace and strength despite his frame has been a constant feature of recent campaigns – the outlier is not that he’s scoring goals again under Rudan, but rather that he scored so few under Darije Kalezić.
With a strong spine led by visa signings Filip Kurto, Steven Taylor and Mandi, it’s the fringe players that have blossomed this season. After almost two years ravaged by injury Louis Fenton has been a revelation. Delivering on the promise he’s long hinted at, Alex Rufer has improved dramatically, but it’s the emergence of youngsters Sarpreet Singh and Libby Cacace that’s a testament to the club’s investment in its academy – and former youth coach Andy Hedge and current first-team assistant Chris Greenacre.
Strengths: Rudan called them the “best striking combination in the league” and when Krishna has his tail up and David Williams fires they’re lethal. Rudan has them defensively resolute and explosive on the counter, but the biggest strength is a wave of positive momentum and a feeling that the shackles are finally off.
Weaknesses: With only one win from eight against the teams above them, Nix have been flat-track bullies and don’t have the depth to match teams like Perth. The loss of Fenton on the weekend robs them of a key cog in their system, and they can struggle when teams force them to make the play.
Pass with some merit – Melbourne Victory
For a half against Western Sydney Wanderers in round six, Victory played some of the most scintillating stuff the A-League has ever seen – it was liquid football. Victory’s world-class recruits, Keisuke Honda and Ola Toivonen, supported by Kosta Barbarouses and Terry Antonis, exploded with purpose, and for a brief moment the league looked theirs for the storming.
But they’ve failed to replicate that consistently. Toivonen’s sublime free-kicks have delivered, as has Honda’s general sophistry, but when the star recruits have been unavailable the play has too often been pedestrian. Central defence has been an issue, and often, as against Perth, only the heroics of Lawrence Thomas have saved the backline’s blushes.
Strengths: Despite their season-long shortcomings, under Kevin Muscat you’re always guaranteed mongrel, and Victory remain brimming with big game performers: see last year’s grand final.
Weaknesses: Pace and balance in midfield. James Troisi has shone episodically but at times the dynamic is all wrong with Victory overrun or shown to lack pace or industry – especially compared with Perth or Sydney’s engine rooms.
Pass with some merit – Sydney FC
It seems churlish to suggest that a side sitting second on the table has under-delivered, but such was the level of performance we had come to expect from Sydney FC in recent campaigns there is the faintest whiff of vulnerability about Steve Corica’s team. Shock losses to Brisbane Roar and a then-struggling Wellington have pierced the air of invincibility, and a third loss to Melbourne Victory next weekend would definitely suggest a mental edge for Muscat’s men.
Like Wellington, it’s hard not to view Sydney in contrast to the season that has gone before – for all Adam Le Fondre’s obvious quality, there’s the lingering ghost of a departed 27-goal striker hanging over this team, and what has come in has not replaced what has departed. Injury-free Siem de Jong hasn’t sparkled alongside Miloš Ninković like Adrian Mierzejewski did, and highly rated midfield creators Danny De Silva and Anthony Caceres have seen limited minutes.
Strengths: The core of this team remains high quality – Ninković the creator, Rhyan Grant and Michael Zullo remain the best wide defensive duo, Brandon O’Neill and Josh Brillante remain a match-winning platform.
Weaknesses: Le Fondre has oozed quality, but outside Ninković Sydney have struggled for a second creative outlet. Alex Wilkinson has toiled reliably but there’s a Jordy Buijs-sized hole alongside him.
Concessional pass – Adelaide United
There was a sense early in the season that when the Reds got all their troops on the park something very special could come together. The addition of Ben Halloran and Craig Goodwin brought top-end A-League quality and at the back Michael Jakobsen has been instrumental to making Adelaide as parsimonious as Marco Kurz no doubt likes.
To have a marquee striker reduced to just 22 minutes is a catastrophe for any side – even Ross McCormack, who departed after five rounds, gave Central Coast more than Baba Diawara has provided Adelaide this season – but visa recruits like Jordy Thomassen, Ken Ilsø, even Mirko Boland, simply haven’t brought enough to the competition.
Kurz’s side isn’t scoring goals – the Reds boast just one more than the Mariners and are the only finals team to have scored fewer at this stage of the season was his Adelaide side from last season.
Strengths: Very solid. Paul Izzo is a safe set of hands (and feet) and the Reds are always defensively compact. Ryan Strain continues as one of the league’s most improved young players.
Weaknesses: Outside of Isaías, the flair is waning in Adelaide with Kurz’s preference for industry over guile at times stultifying. They don’t have a No 9 to spearhead the attack and with the exception of Goodwin the threat from wide areas has diminished remarkably in recent months.
Fail – Melbourne City
If ever there’s been an advertisement for a reduced finals series it is Warren Joyce’s Melbourne City. With the facilities, youth investment and squad experience at his disposal, what has been served up on a regular basis leaves the club vulnerable to accusations that winning football games simply isn’t a priority.
Established Australian pros look like they’re simply cashing paychecks, visa signings such as Michael O’Halloran and Florin Berenguer have been huge disappointments, and young talents like Lachlan Wales or even Riley McGree have failed to progress in this environment.
As Jonathan Howcroft’s excellent column surmises: “The club began with a Heart – in name at least – but has always struggled to locate its soul.”
Strengths: Despite the handwringing, City still possess genuine match winners – Ritchie De Laet, Jamie Maclaren, Luke Brattan, even McGree if Joyce could find a role for him to excel in. Despite the gloom a finals run isn’t out of the question if the big players stand tall.
Weaknesses: Motivation. Four clubs have had horror seasons – and City have lost to all four of them. Fans don’t want to be there, players don’t want to be there. Why are we doing this?
