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Opinion
Thank goodness for my old friend the Brisbane Roar getting me on the tipping board last weekend.
If not for the men in orange, I would have been entering last night’s seventh and final match of the week with no correct selections from the previous six.
A-League tipping in 2021 has become something of a daymare – a nightmare you have while awake. However, that will not stop our panel.
Texi Smith is rattling along well in his debut season and Paul Nicholls is keeping him honest. Mr Tuckerman and I are trying hard to no avail.
Good luck with your selections this week and be sure to enter them in the sheet below to have a say as the ever reliable voice of the crowd. Here are the thoughts of the panel on all the upcoming action.
Mike Tuckerman
Perth, Brisbane, Western Sydney, draw, United, Sydney, draw
I reckon I’ve got a better chance of scoring a date with Kim Kardashian than I ever do of accurately predicting any of these results. But, um, Adelaide look a bit light on here.
I’ve never once managed to get my tips in on time, but that’s only because I’m usually sitting around all day wondering how I can further annoy Wanderers fans. I reckon they’ll beat Macarthur, but it’d be amusing if they didn’t.
(Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)
There’s no doubt Brisbane Roar are starting to become the team to beat under Warren Moon and they played Adelaide United off the park last weekend. They should knock off Victory at home for good measure.
The Mariners look like they’ll stick to teams like barnacles to a boat this season. They’re hard to break down, but they’re not exactly the most free-flowing of attacking sides. Look for the visitors to snatch it.
It’s impossible to get a read on Melbourne City. They should be one of the biggest clubs in the league but seem determined to plough on with their weekly mediocrity. The Jets could hold them to a draw.
Which game are we up to? Sydney FC? I thought the Sky Blues would really struggle against Macarthur, but Mark Milligan’s dismissal changed the game. They should have enough quality to down a slow-starting Phoenix side.
Another draw? Sure, why not? I think we’re talking Newcastle Jets against Western United here. The Jets look like they’ll struggle to make the top six but they’re decent nuisance value, and Western United don’t always back up well.
Stuart Thomas
Perth, Brisbane, Western Sydney, City, United, Wellington, United
Perth impressed me last week in their win against City and appear to have shaken of the effects of a delayed start to the season. Diego Castro provides an immeasurable lift when in the team and Bruno Fornaroli looks as dangerous as ever. I’m not sure the wobbly Reds can stay with them in this one.
It’s Brisbane Roar or bust for me this season. So far that strategy is working and how could I not pick them after their demolition of Adelaide last week? Another win for the table-ftopping Roar against a still unconvincing Victory.
(Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)
Western Sydney should have Macarthur’s measure in Saturday night’s derby before Melbourne City bounce back with a win in Newcastle in the early Sunday clash.
Later that night the Mariners meet Western United with a chance to get back on track after a disappointing loss to Wellington. They won’t. United to win well.
On Monday night Sydney FC will face the Phoenix and unless they are pitted against ten men for much of the game, Sydney will succumb to a Wellington side due a few wins based on their general play.
The final match on offer sees the Jets and Western United back up on short rest and face each other in Newcastle. It is mighty tough to pick yet I’ll go with United based on the fact they are the more rounded and skilled team, yet I say that with little confidence in the prediction.
Paul Nicholls
Adelaide, Brisbane, draw, Newcastle, United, Sydney, draw
Just as Adelaide seemed to come good they hit a roadblock in Brisbane. Meanwhile we were all expecting Perth to go belly up, yet with Diego Castro back on board they go and beat up Melbourne City. Back home Adelaide might turn the tables once more.
Brisbane Roar looks the easiest winner to pick this week. They were great against Adelaide and the Dylan Wenzel-Halls show just rolls on. Melbourne Victory were lucky to gain a point last outing and golden boy Marco Rojas is struggling for form. Too much hair probably. Roar by three.
Western Sydney’s have acknowledged their goal scoring woes by signing Mitch Duke although hotel quarantine means we won’t see him for a few weeks. Can they get back to winning ways against a wobbly Macarthur? I’m not sure they can. Draw.
I was feeling pretty good to have picked Newcastle’s draw last week but Melbourne City’s defeat by Perth was a shock. City haven’t been too convincing this year and I have a feeling that Newcastle will spring an upset.
(Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)
The goal posts at AAMI Park are still rocking from Western United’s Alessandro Diamanti’s wicked left foot strikes and super sub Dylan Pierias is proving a handful every time he comes on. They should have enough to outlast the Mariners here.
Sydney FC bounced back against Macarthur and they look more solid with Ryan McGowan at the back. Wellington scrapped well against the Mariners but I can’t see them getting close to Sydney at Kogarah.
I can’t split Newcastle and Western United in the final game of Match Week 7, particularly as both will be backing up. Draw.
Texi Smith
Perth, Victory, Western Sydney, City, United, Wellington, United
That was a very enjoyable week of football and we’ve got another coming up. How we fit all of this into our daily life is beyond me, but fit it in we do. And it is bloody marvellous. Some weird and wacky results coming right up.
Adelaide United will come bouncing back after their beating at high fliers Brisbane and give the league’s best attacking force a taste of their own medicine in a swarming first-half performance. But it will be the visitors who leave Hindmarsh Stadium with the three points after a devastating second-half display from Perth’s Daniel ‘Grealish’ Stynes. Expect plenty of goals in this one.
Victory will pull a result right from where the sun don’t shine and shock Brisbane at the Dolphin fortress. The league leaders will stroll into this one thinking they’ve got it all wrapped up but a masterful performance from Marco Rojas will expose the frailties in the home defence.
(Graham Denholm/Getty Images)
Macarthur will be pumped to play in front of their fans again and right the wrongs of the previous derby result against Sydney FC. A bright start to this game will be forgotten though when Wanderers score either side of halftime and kill the game stone dead as a contest.
Newcastle were easily the better team last week at Bankwest, while City were undone by a quality Perth team after dominating the early stages. City will cruise in this one, with a handsome win to nil and Marco Tilio getting among the goals.
Western United’s four-day NSW holiday will start with a hard-fought win at Central Coast Stadium. Hot property Dylan Pierias will start and Alessandro Diamanti will be the difference, the two combining to score the only goal in an important win. Matt Simon to be booked for a flailing elbow in the latter stages.
Sydney FC will suffer another home defeat to set alarm bells ringing again. With all the possession going forward and Kosta Barbarouses flying down the wing, their impotence in the final third will come back to haunt them. Phoenix will snatch a surprise lead and finish it off with a breakaway goal in the last move of the game with all the Sydney outfield players camped up field.
Finally, Western United will sign off on their NSW mini break with a midweek victory at McDonald Jones Stadium to cement the Jets’ position at the bottom of the table. Pierias and Victor Sanchez will be in dazzling form in a 3-1 win. Ramy Najjarine will be marked out of the game while Besart Berisha runs riot for a Western team on the up.
| Match Week 7 | Mike | Stuart | Paul | Texi | The Crowd |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADL vs PER | PER | PER | ADL | PER | PER |
| BRI vs MVC | BRI | BRI | BRI | MVC | BRI |
| MAC vs WSW | WSW | WSW | Draw | WSW | DRAW |
| NEW vs MCY | Draw | MCY | NEW | MCY | MCY |
| CCM vs WUN | WUN | WUN | WUN | WUN | CCM |
| SYD vs WEL | SYD | WEL | SYD | WEL | SYD |
| NEW vs WUN | Draw | WUN | Draw | WUN | ? |
| Last week | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| Total | 10 | 10 | 16 | 15 | 8 |