- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Nine rounds remain in the Hyundai A-League and last week saw the author finally show some tipping form with three correct selections.
Some cracking football was played and there were goals aplenty. Here are the thoughts of the experts leading into another interesting week.
Don’t forget to insert your tips into the sheet below to have your say as part of the voice of the crowd in the race for tipping honours in 2017/18.
Mike Tuckerman
Sydney, draw, draw, Western Sydney, Brisbane
Are we all ready for The Chase? I can hardly contain my excitement.
Sydney FC have flattered to deceive of late, and they needed an element of luck to see off Melbourne Victory on Australia Day.
They should have enough firepower to beat an enigmatic Wellington Phoenix, but you never can tell with the Kiwi side.
Newcastle Jets and Melbourne Victory could finish all square in the Hunter, the Novocastrians showing no signs of slowing down on the back of what has been a fantastic campaign to date.
Adelaide United and Perth Glory could also share the spoils, while Western Sydney Wanderers will be desperate to keep their finals hopes alive in Gosford – with the Wanderers likely to prove too strong for the Central Coast Mariners.
Brisbane Roar have shown recent signs of waking up from their season-long slumber, but they’ll find Melbourne City a stern test at Suncorp Stadium.
Can City get the job done without Ross McCormack, though? I suspect the Roar will register another much-needed win in front of their home fans.
Stuart Thomas
Sydney, draw, Adelaide, Western Sydney, City
Friday night’s round opener should see Sydney continue their good form against Wellington. There is just no reason to tip against Graham Arnold’s men yet the visitors could put up a decent performance after finally starting to show some better form in recent weeks.
The early game on Saturday is the pick of the week’s action as the Victory travel to Newcastle. In a game that could potentially decide second place on the ladder at seasons end, there is much at stake.
A Victory win sees them edging closer to the pointy end and three points for Newcastle would see them effectively lock up second spot. I will tip a draw in what could be a feisty affair.
Adelaide take on Perth Glory at Coopers Stadium in the late game and after a stunning win last week, the visitors will need the heroics Diego Castro once again, if they are to steal the points on the road.
The Reds took all three from Wellington last week and with both teams confident, this could become something of a shootout. If that plays out, Perth should win. However, if Adelaide maintain their recent defensive discipline they should prevail. Close game to call, I’ll take Adelaide at home.
Two struggling teams meet on Sunday afternoon with the clumsy Mariners facing a still out of form Wanderers outfit.
I’ll give the boys from Western Sydney one more shot in this one, thinking they will find ways through the leaky Central Coast defence.
A Brisbane Roar team finally starting to bear its teeth meets Melbourne City at home late Sunday. City will win this comfortably with much to play for as they jockey for position in the top six.
Daniel Jeffrey
Sydney, Victory, Adelaide, Central Coast, draw
Given how much of a disaster the last two weeks have been on the tipping front, it’s nice to start this round off with what looms as a certainty. Sydney FC should kick the week off with a comfortable win over the Phoenix. Shame the rest of the week isn’t as straightforward.
Newcastle haven’t been particularly convincing in recent weeks, while the Victory have been getting a little more consistent since their early-season woes. A tough one to tip, but I’ll give the nod to Kevin Muscat’s men here.
As with most things that happened last week, I didn’t expect Adelaide to come back across the Tasman with a point, let alone all three.
Given the result of that game, and the fact they are back at home against a maddeningly inconsistent Perth side, it’s hard to tip against them, although they’ll need to keep a very close eye on Diego Castro.
After some promising signs to start 2018, Western Sydney have slumped firmly back into the realm of mediocrity.
Admittedly, the Mariners haven’t fared too much better since cracking the top four earlier in the season, but I’ll tip in favour of the home side in this one.
Brisbane are coming off two wins on the trot – rarefied air for Roar fans this season – and although they’re going up against a side that is, on paper at least, a fair bit stronger than them, the loss of Ross McCormack will hurt Melbourne City.
I’ll go for the splintery option to finish the round, and opt for a draw.
Alan Kearney
Sydney, Newcastle, draw, Central Coast, City
Top versus Bottom in the opening game of the round and I can’t see anything other than a Sydney win – especially after last week’s result over Victory, the confidence will be sky high.
The early Saturday game is an important one in the race for second spot but I can see Newcastle getting the points.
The return of Roy O’ Donovan will be massive for the Jets and with Victory slightly weaker after the loss of Milligan, Newcastle will get the win at home.
Perth managed to stop their awful form last week with a win and Adelaide to me remain as inconsistent as ever. My gut feeling says a draw.
The Mariners have to get win at some stage… surely? They still play attractive football and I tip they will get the win over an out of sorts WSW side.
City played out an entertaining draw last time out with the Jets while Brisbane picked up their second win in a row.
City for me as they have more quality all over the park and when they click are very dangerous side, they will also want to keep some breathing space between their cross town rivals who remain just behind them on the ladder.
| Round 19 | Mike | Stuart | Daniel | Alan | The Crowd |
| SYD vs WEL | SYD | SYD | SYD | SYD | ? |
| NEW vs MVC | DRAW | DRAW | MVC | NEW | ? |
| ADE vs PER | DRAW | ADE | ADE | DRAW | ? |
| CCM vs WSW | WSW | WSW | CCM | CCM | ? |
| BRI vs MCY | BRI | MCY | DRAW | MCY | ? |
| Last week | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Previous Total | 38 | 30 | 37 | 34 | 37 |
| New Total | 39 | 33 | 38 | 35 | 38 |
Loading…