However it turns out though, the round is shaping up for some absorbing footy and results which will see several clubs scrambling to take flagging Central Coast's crown as league leaders.

With the Jets currently enjoying some excellent form, a win against Roar could send them to the top of the table, knocking off the Mariners for the first time this season.

Roar however will be desperate to maintain their own good run of results that the introduction of Zullo and Kruse has brought them. Unlikely though it is, a six goal win for them could see them go top too.

Sydney's last match against Adelaide in round two was a cracker and this one is shaping up to be more of the same.

Last week's draw with Perth found the fighting spirit in the Sydney side and confidence at training was noticeably higher, especially with the arrival of Michael Bridges.

With every striker's place in the squad now under threat from the new boy, expect to see an increased determination in Sydney's attack.

United of course are coming off the back of the pride-restoring 4-1 demolition of the previously unbeaten Victory. That could be a huge turning point in their season and they will have no fears about taking on Sydney.

A win for the Reds could also put them in top slot in the ladder while Sydney can only hope for third at best.

Perth's season should have been revived by their fantastic performance against Sydney last week where they deserved a win instead of the sneaky draw Sydney stole at the death.

But by the quirk of the fixtures, they face a Melbourne with a point to prove. It's been a tumultuous week for Victory - first the humiliating loss to Adelaide, brekky-gate, Archie's outburst, Ljubo's isolation, not to mention Muscat's lingering injury worries.

Victory are there for the taking for Perth, even on home turf...but you can be sure they won't go down without a fight.

Finally the Mariners will be fighting to retain their lead, now cut to a slender single point. Their impressive early season start has now slowed to a crawl after injuries took their toll.

This weekend will be the test to see if the wheels have indeed fallen off their bandwagon. Cruelly, a loss this weekend with impressive wins elsewhere could even see them slip to fourth place.

Phoenix meanwhile are playing much better footy than their seventh place in the league suggests. A win against the Mariners on Kiwi soil could lift them into a deserved top four place.

As well as the action on the field, keep an eye on events off the field on the terraces this weekend.

Sydney and Adelaide fans are planning a show of unity to dispel the outrageous media attacks on football in the past fortnight.

And Melbourne fans may be planning a protest over the standing ban on levels 2 and 3 at the Telstra Dome.

Meanwhile, will the refs manage to get through these four matches without a dumb red card? There's been one every week for the last three rounds. Not that we're counting or anything...


Newcastle Jets v Queensland Roar
Friday, 19 October 2007
Kick-Off 8:00pm AEST (11:00pm NZDT, 7:30pm ACST, 6:00pm AWST)
EnergyAustralia Stadium, Newcastle
Referee: Mark Shield

Radio: ABC 1233 Newcastle (1233AM) – www.abc.net.au/newcastle

Previous meetings: Jets 3, Roar 3, Drawn 1

The Jets won last week despite missing key players. This week Bridge is back but Stuart Musialik is still missing from the squad after apparently picking up an injury before the Olyroos' kick-off in Beirut, although no more details have been released.

James Holland earned himself a new contract with his strike against Phoenix last week and he's back in the squad again this weekend, but Adam Griffiths is out with an injury.

The Jets have been impressive in recent games, despite only facing a lacklustre Phoenix last week, and will be aiming to end Roar's winning streak.

Queensland though are tipped to field almost the same team that has been getting the results for them after a dodgy start to the season. Zullo and Kruse have added a youthful extra element to Roar's previously misfiring attack.

But without hardman Tiatto - out with an automatic suspension after picking up four yellows - they'll have their work cut out against the Jets.

Stats, Facts & Milestones
Newcastle Jets will be aiming to take out first place on the Hyundai A-League ladder - at least until Sunday - for the very first time should they defeat Queensland Roar on Friday night. Leading in to Round 9, the second-placed Jets are just one point behind leaders Central Coast Mariners, who take on Wellington on Sunday.

Newcastle Jets
Form - DWWDLDW

Squad 1 Ante COVIC (gk), 3.Jade NORTH (Captain), 6.Andrew DURANTE, 8.Matt THOMPSON, 9.Joel GRIFFITHS, 10.Denni ROCHA DOS SANTOS, 11.Tarek ELRICH, 12.Paul KOHLER, 13.Adam D’APUZZO, 14.Jobe WHEELHOUSE, 17.Troy HEARFIELD, 18.Noel SPENCER, 19.Mark BRIDGE, 20.Ben KENNEDY (GK), 21.Mario JARDEL, 25.James HOLLAND 27.Stephen LAYBUTT *Two To Be Omitted

In: Andrew DURANTE (Returns from injury), Adam D’APUZZO (Returns from National Team Duty), Mark BRIDGE (Returns from National Team Duty)

Out: Adam GRIFFITHS (Injury – 1 Week), Jorge DROVANDI (Not selected), Scott TUNBRIDGE (Not Selected), Jason HOFFMAN (Not Selected)

Unavailable: Steve EAGLETON (Injured), Stuart MUSIALIK

Queensland Roar
Form - DLWLLWW

Squad 1.Liam REDDY (gk), 4.Craig MOORE (Captain), 5.Josh McCLOUGHAN, 6.Stuart McLAREN, 7.Michael ZULLO, 9.Simon LYNCH, 11.REINALDO, 14.Ben GRIFFIN, 15.Matt McKAY, 16.Hyuk-Su SEO, 17.Mitch NICHOLS, 19.Sasa OGNENOVSKI, 22.Robbie KRUSE, 23.MARCINHO, 30.Griffin McMASTER (gk).

In: Stuart McLaren (promoted)

Out: Danny Tiatto (suspended – 1 week)

Unavailable: Matt Ham (shoulder injury – out for season), Ante Milicic (groin injury – 1 week), Danny Tiatto (suspended – 1 week)


Sydney FC v Adelaide United
Saturday, 20 October 2007
Kick-Off 7:00pm AEST (10:00pm NZDT, 6:30pm ACST, 5:00pm AWST)
Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
Referee: Matthew Breeze

Radio: Fresh FM (Adelaide) 92.7FM www.freshfm.com.au

Previous meetings: Sydney 5, United 2, Drawn 2

There was just a certain something different about Sydney at training this week. They didn't play well against Perth yet fought back from 3-1 down to grab a draw.

The result appeared to give them an air of self-belief after an up and down season so far. The arrival of Bridges - who'll be watching the game from the stands while he awaits his work visa - will also lift their game.

Zadkovich is also missing from the match after a cruel suspension by the FFA. The club hoped last week's game would have counted as his automatic one-game ban for four yellows.

But the FFA ruled he was away on Olyroo duty anyway and the game didn't count, even although Zadko was released from domestic duties earlier than required.

Juninho though is still a worry. He trains with a shoulder brace on and struggles in the game. Culina has even suggested they may even have to drop the $1million a year marquee if his shoulder injury continues to hurt his game.

Adelaide however will be in the highest possible spirits. They vanquished the shame of last season's 6-0 grand final drubbing with a 4-1 thrashing of old foes Melbourne...even without ace strikers Djite and Burns.

Djite's still out but jetsetting Burns is back, although he may still be tired from his Olyroo efforts midweek, not to mention the travelling involved.

Their round two draw was a cracker and this has all the potential for being the showpiece match of the round.

Stats, Facts & Milestones
In terms of disciplinary records, Sydney and Adelaide are the most reformed teams of the Hyundai A-League 2007/08 season. This match brings together the two teams with the worst total yellow and red card records in the first two Hyundai A-League seasons (Adelaide 98 yellows/5 reds; Sydney 94 yellows/8 reds in total); however this season has been different for both teams, Adelaide with the best record (11 yellows/0 reds) and Sydney with the fourth best (19 yellows/1 red) so far. As an indication of their improved record this season, just one yellow was issued in the Round 2 Sydney-Adelaide match (Bobby Petta), a stark contrast to 43 yellows (18 to Sydney, 25 to Adelaide) issued in their previous eight Hyundai A-League encounters.

Sydney FC
Form - DDLWWLD

Squad 1.Clint BOLTON (gk), 2.Iain FYFE, 4.Mark RUDAN, 6.Tony POPOVIC (Captain), 7.Robbie MIDDLEBY, 9.David ZDRILIC, 11.Brendon SANTALAB, 12.PATRICK, 13.Ben VIDAIC, 14.Alex BROSQUE, 15.Terry McFLYNN, 16.Mark MILLIGAN, 18.Adam CASEY, 20.Ivan NECEVSKI (gk), 21.Adam BIDDLE, 22.JUNINHO, 23.Ufuk TALAY.
*two to be omitted


In: Robbie Middleby (return from injury), Mark Milligan (Returns from National Team Duty), Adam Casey (Returns from National Team Duty)

Out: Nikolas Tsattalios (shin - 1-2 weeks)

Unavailable: Ruben Zadkovich (suspended - 1 week), Steve Corica (suspended - 1 week), Jacob Timpano (thigh - 1-2 weeks), Michael Enfield (knee - indefinite), Michael Bridges (awaiting clearance)

Adelaide United
Form - DDLDWDW

Squad 1.Daniel BELTRAME (gk), 2.Richie ALAGICH, 3.Milan SUSAK, 4.Angelo COSTANZO, 6.CASSIO, 7.Lucas PANTELIS, 8.Kristian SARKIES, 10.Nathan BURNS, 13.Travis DODD (Captain), 14.Shaun ONTONG, 15.Jonas SALLEY, 17.Isyan ERDOGAN, 18.Robert CORNTHWAITE, 20.Robert BAJIC (gk), 21.Jason SPAGNUOLO, 22.DIEGO.23.Dez GIRALDI * two to be omitted

In: Nathan Burns (Return from National Team duty), Kristian Sarkies (Return from National Team duty)

Out: Nil

Unavailable: Paul Agostino (calf – 2 weeks), Bobby Petta (calf – 2 weeks), Bruce Djite (ankle – 6 weeks), Michael Valkanis (knee – season)


Wellington Phoenix v Central Coast Mariners
Sunday, 21 October 2007
Kick-Off 5:00pm NZDT (2:00pm AEST, 1:30pm ACST, 12:00pm AWST)
Westpac Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand
Referee: Peter Green

Radio: The Radio Network (www.radionetwork.co.nz) 1035 AM Wellington www.radionetwork.co.nz; Coast FM 96.3FM (Central Coast) - www.coastfm.org.au

Previous meetings Phoenix 0, Mariners 1, Draws o

Phoenix were missing five players to the farcically cancelled All Whites games and just didn't fire up against Jets last week, despite a flattering scoreline after a last second goal was awarded in controversy.

This week it's back to business as usual and on home soil. Rumours still persist they could be lining up John Aloisi in a guest slot to play alongside his brother Ross.

But for this weekend it's a full squad to choose from - although Felipe is a serious doubt - and they will be hoping to keep up their impressive footy for a win against the league leaders.

Mariners may be been looking less and less like potential champions as the season has gone on and injuries take their toll, but the fact remains that for this week at least, they are still top of the table.

A loss here though will almost certainly see them lose that top slot...and potentially be the turning point downwards for their season.

To ease their woes, injury-ridden Nik Mrdja has been training with a knee brace on to try to hold his leg together and may make a return to action, although not this weekend.

With a string of injuries - and Brad Porter's ridiculous suspension for his non-tackle red card last week - Mariners could be struggling but they have key elements returning to the team to shore up defence and midfield.

Stats, Facts & Milestones
Phoenix will be aiming to halt an impressive 100 per cent winning record in New Zealand for the visiting team and coach. The Central Coast Mariners have so far won three out of three matches played in the first two Hyundai A-League seasons in New Zealand (against the old New Zealand Knights), while Central Coast coach Lawrie McKinna (coach of the Mariners in these three previous wins in New Zealand) also won his two matches as coach there in the old NSL, leading former side Northern Spirit to victory in New Zealand the last two NSL seasons 2002/03 and 2003/04.

Wellington Phoenix
Form - LLWDWLL

Squad 1.Mark PASTON, 2.Jeremy CHRISTIE, 3.Tony LOCHHEAD, 4.CLEBERSON, 5.Karl DODD, 6.Tim BROWN, 7.Ross ALOISI (Captain), 8.Vaughan COVENY, 9.Shane SMELTZ, 10.Michael FERRANTE, 11.DANIEL, 12.Richard JOHNSON, 13.Steven OLD, 14.Steven O’DOR, 15.George PALADINI, 17.Vince LIA, 18.Ahmad ELRICH, 20.Glen MOSS (gk), 21.FELIPE, 22.Royce BROWNLIE. *five to be omitted

In: Mark PASTON (gk) (Returns from National Team Duty, Jeremy CHRISTIE (Returns from National Team Duty), Tony LOCHHEAD (Returns from National Team Duty), Tim BROWN (Returns from National Team Duty), Shane SMELTZ (Returns from National Team Duty)

Out: Jacob SPOONLEY (gk) (omitted)

Unavailable: Nil

Central Coast Mariners
Form - WWDWLDL

Squad 1.Matthew TROTT (gk), 2.Matt SIMON, 4.Ian McANDREW, 6.Andre GUMPRECHT, 7.John HUTCHINSON, 8.Dean HEFFERNAN, 10.Tom PONDELJAK, 12.Greg OWENS, 13.Tony VIDMAR, 15.Andrew CLARK, 16.Nigel BOOGAARD, 19.Adam KWASNIK, 20.Danny VUKOVIC (gk), 22.Sasho PETROVSKI, 23.Mile JEDINAK.

In: Tony VIDMAR (Returns from Suspension), Nigel BOOGAARD (Returns from National Team Duty), Danny VUKOVIC (Returns from National Team Duty)

Out: Bradley PORTER (Suspended), Damien BROWN (Hamstring – Indefinite), Andrew REDMAYNE (Omitted)

Unavailable: Bradley PORTER (Suspended – 1 week), Nik MRDJA (Knee – Indefinite), Damien BROWN (Hamstring – Indefinite), Matthew OSMAN (Knee – Season), Alex WILKINSON (Knee – Indefinite)


Melbourne Victory v Perth Glory
Sun, 21 Oct 07
Kick-Off 4:30pm AEST (7:30pm NZDT, 4:00pm ACST, 2:30pm AWST)
Telstra Dome, Melbourne
Referee: Simon Przydacz

Radio: SEN1116 (Melbourne) 1116am - www.sen.com.au; 6PR 882AM (Perth) www.mytalk.com.au; SportFM (Perth); 90.5FM www.905.com.au;

Previous meetings Victory 2, Glory 1, Draws 4

On paper, Perth should have been easy pickings for Sydney with Glory missing five players to Olyroo duties, yet they turned out a first class performance.

They were heartbroken by the draw after doing more than enough to earn a win, but hopefully they will have picked out the many positives from their blistering display in front of goal at last.

They'll have the chance to prove it against Victory with a virtual full squad to choose from and Melbourne in disarray.

Skipper Muscat's absence last week was sorely missed, and the currently dropped Milicevic was unable to fill the gap. Scoring an own goal wouldn't have raised his popularity in the team either.

Muscat's fighting to be fit in time for the tie, but it's unlikely he'll be able to fit in a full 90, if any at all.

Nonetheless, with that 4-1 hiding still smarting, Melbourne will be out to avenge the loss with a morale boosting win over the team propping up the ladder and one that, last week aside, have been playing some eye-wateringly poor football.

If Muscat doesn't make the team, this one has draw written all over it.

Stats, Facts & Milestones
This match sees the coming together of two of the Hyundai A-League 2007/08 season draw specialists, both Melbourne and Perth having drawn five out of their eight matches so far this season. Should either team continue drawing matches at this rate (62.5 percent of matches drawn), they would break the all-time Australian national league record of highest percentage of drawn matches in a completed season - a record currently held by St George who drew 54 percent of matches (14 out of 26) in the 1977 season of the old NSL. It is certainly very rare for a team to complete a season having drawn more than half of their matches - for instance, in 109 years of English league football (up to four divisions per season) only once has a team drawn more than half of their matches, that being Norwich City who drew 23 out of 42 matches in the 1978/79 division one season.

Melbourne Victory
Form - DDDDWWL

Squad 1.Michael THEOKLITOS (gk), 2.Kevin MUSCAT (Captain), 6.Steve PANTELIDIS, 7.Matthew KEMP, 8.Grant BREBNER, 9.Danny ALLSOPP, 10.Archie THOMPSON, 11.Joseph KEENAN, 12.Rodrigo VARGAS, 13.Kaz PATAFTA, 14.Adrian CACERES, 15.Leandro LOVE, 16.Carlos HERNANDEZ, 18.Leigh BROXHAM, 20.Eugene GALEKOVIC (gk), 21.Sebastian RYALL *one to be omitted

In: Kevin MUSCAT (returns from injury), Grant BREBNER (returns from suspension), Leigh BROXHAM (returns from injury).

Out: MILICEVIC (omitted), Daniel VASILEVSKI (omitted)

Unavailable: Daniel PIORKOWSKI (shoulder – 11 weeks)

Perth Glory
Form - DDLWLLW

Squad 50.Tommi TOMICH (gk), 2.Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY, 4.Simon COLOSIMO (Captain), 5.Jamie HARNWELL, 6.Dino DJULBIC, 7.Anthony DANZE, 8.David MICEVSKI, 9.Mate DRAGICEVIC, 10.Billy CELESKI, 12.Leo BERTOS, 13.Nikita RUKAVYTSYA, 14.Jamie COYNE, 15.Mitchell PRENTICE, 16.Nick RIZZO, 17.Jimmy DOWNEY, 19.Naum SEKULOVSKI, 21.James ROBINSON, 24.Jordan SIMPSON, 25.Tyler SIMPSON, 30.Tando VELAPHI (gk) *five to be omitted

In: David MICEVSKI (promoted), Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY (Return from National Team duty), Billy CELESKI (Return from National Team duty), Leo BERTOS (Return from National Team duty - NZ), Jordan SIMPSON (Return from National Team duty), Tando VELAPHI (Return from National Team duty)

Out: Danny MILOCEVIC (end of short term contract)

Unavailable: David TARKA (hamstring – season), Jason PETKOVIC (leg – 3 weeks), Stan LAZARIDIS, Hayden FOXE (knee – 3 weeks).

A-League Ladder Going Into Round Nine