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Opinion
The panel lived more tipping hell during Match Week 5, with Texi Smith the only member to nail three correct selections.
This week sees seven games across six days and a busy time for ladder-leading Central Coast as well as Melbourne City. The pressure will fall heavily on Sydney FC when they face Macarthur on Saturday night in a game that could convince many that their imposing reputation may not be as well deserved as it has been in the past.
Good luck with your selections and be sure to enter them in the sheet below to have a say as the ever-important voice of the crowd. Here are the thoughts of the panel on all the upcoming action.
Mike Tuckerman
Western Sydney, United, Macarthur, Brisbane, draw, City, draw
I’m annoyed I didn’t tip Newcastle last week, because I thought they were due for a win, but they might struggle to back up against a Wanderers side that has looked scratchy so far. Carl Robinson won’t want to lose this one.
Their defending wasn’t much chop, but Western United dug deep in that 5-4 win over Perth Glory. The goals might have just freed the shackles a little bit, and Mark Rudan will be acutely aware this is a golden opportunity to knock off the big dogs in front of a Melbourne crowd.
Have the wheels fallen off Sydney FC? It’s hard to see where the goals come from for the Sky Blues in the form they’re currently in. This is a big game for Macarthur and they might just snatch a victory in front of their home fans.
Brisbane Roar look like being the dark horses of the 2021 campaign, and the best news for coach Warren Moon is that they’ve played nowhere near their best so far. They’ll surely go into their clash with Adelaide in Redcliffe as favourites.
Are the Mariners actually good? Are the Phoenix just average? Dunno. But statistically speaking there’s surely gotta be a draw somewhere, so let’s chalk it up as this one.
Every week I think Melbourne City are about to announce themselves as the team to beat and every week they fail to do so. I’ll back them to beat Perth Glory at home, although I’m not entirely sure why.
While the Mariners might discover their grinding style of football gets found out sooner rather than later, they’ve proved a tough nut to crack so far. They should be good for a point against a hot-and-cold City side.
Sydney’s coach Steve Corica. (Photo by Mohamed Farag/Getty Images)
Stuart Thomas
Western Sydney, United, Macarthur, Brisbane, Central Coast, City, City
The Wanderers should get the points in the opening match this Friday night. The Jets are far better than many expected, yet Western Sydney are a tough nut to crack at home when in form.
We know Melbourne Victory are fit, as they ran all over Perth in the dying minutes on Tuesday, but before that time looked a little impotent up front. Mark Rudan’s men will be ready for what should be the match of the weekend and will keep Victory mired near the bottom of the ladder.
I’m tipping Macarthur to dish out Sydney FC’s second straight defeat. I do so on the basis that it is hard to see Sydney scoring and that Macarthur need find the net only once to secure victory, something they should be able to do.
Look out, Brisbane folk, I’m with you again this week. Adelaide are potentially the toughest team to gauge thus far and the Roar are yet to really fire. However, I’m seeing a happy orange haze after this one.
I’ve been burnt by the Phoenix this season and I’m jumping ship. Something is wrong with them and everything is right on the Central Coast. Matt Simon scores a double and the Mariners claim the points at home.
The round ends with Melbourne City against Perth on Sunday before they visit the Mariners next Wednesday. City will win both matches over the four days and remind everyone that, despite their extended break, they are still the team to beat this season.
Connor Metcalfe (Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images)
Paul Nicholls
Draw, United, Sydney, Brisbane, Central Coast, City, Central Coast
Memo to self: don’t write off Newcastle, no more dissing the Mariners, stop blindly tipping Sydney FC.
Western Sydney outlasted the Mariners last outing, while Newcastle were great away from home. As per the memo, I can’t write the Jets off, so I’ll tip a draw.
Connor Pain is doing great things for Western United and was a star of their crazy 5-4 win against Perth. Defensive questions aside, they have enough weapons to outgun Melbourne Victory.
The cowbells will be out again when Macarthur Bulls take on Sydney FC in Campbelltown. On recent form the Bulls look favourites, but I’ll trash the memo and blindly tip Sydney FC to bounce back.
Brisbane are proving the naysayers wrong, and with Scott McDonald and Dylan Wenzel-Halls forming a handy partnership the Roar are on the way up. Adelaide could struggle away from home this year and Roar should win.
I’m done with tipping Wellington. Although playing decent football, they are not getting the results. Central Coast Mariners on the other hand have really hit their groove, their hardworking midfield coming out on top in most games. Mariners by two.
Melbourne City coach Patrick Kisnorbo must have been pleased to see Jamie Maclaren score the winner against Western United. With all the border restrictions, Perth have had a tough start to the season, and City should have their measure on Sunday. Wednesday sees the Mariners host Melbourne City. Central Coast are riding high, City will be backing up from Sunday. Mariners to win.
Dylan Wenzel-Halls (Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
Texi Smith
Western Sydney, United, Sydney, Brisbane, Wellington, Perth, City
Let’s have another go at predicting the unpredictable! After witnessing an absolute belter of an A-League weekend, we have seven games to keep us interested this week.
The Wanderers are back and will continue their form, the Jets unable to build on last week’s fine win at the Gong. Western Sydney to demolish the visitors in a performance that makes everyone sit up and take note.
I secretly love to watch Western United play, and this encounter with local rivals Victory will provide another reason to love them. Victory clicked in the latter stages of their win against an unlucky Perth and will take that momentum into this one. We’ll see Alessandro Diamanti fizz around the field and provide the ammo for his goal-hungry teammates. A 2-1 United win.
We all knew that Sydney FC would be a shadow of their former selves this season, and their ineptitude with the final pass against the Mariners was clear to see. It would therefore be a real surprise to see Macarthur implode in this one and gift the Sky Blues the points.
I’ve been impressed with the resilience of Adelaide this season and have been predicting their downfall to no avail. It will finally arrive in this one when Brisbane turn on the style and hammer the Reds for five at the Dolphin cauldron. It’s been long overdue.
Mariners versus Phoenix will be the match of the round. The endeavour shown by the home side this season has been excellent, while the away team in this one really needs to pull together a solid performance from their team of stars. And this will be it. Wellingong to snatch this one at the death with a Tomer Hemed thunderbolt.
This Perth team deserved more points from its opening three games. For and against figures that draw the eye, swashbuckling and Keegan-esque, they are going to be a force this season. And they will show that style against Melbourne City, the home team again down to ten men to gift the points to the west.
Mariners at home on the back of a defeat, this one against City is going to be tough. Naoki Tsubaki will torment the home defence, and it will be a shoot-out between the Japanese star and Daniel De Silva to see who finishes the game with more goals. A high-scoring open affair, Mariners to finish a goal behind from seven.
| Match Week 6 | Mike | Stuart | Paul | Texi | The Crowd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WSW vs NEW | WSW | WSW | Draw | WSW | WSW |
| WUN vs MVC | WUN | WUN | WUN | WUN | WUN |
| MAC vs SYD | MAC | MAC | SYD | SYD | MAC |
| BRI vs ADL | BRI | BRI | BRI | BRI | BRI |
| CCM vs WEL | Draw | CCM | CCM | WEL | CCM |
| MCY vs PER | MCY | MCY | MCY | PER | MCY |
| CCM vs MCY | Draw | MCY | CCM | MCY | ? |
| Last week | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| Total | 9 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 7 |