A round of fiercely contested battles saw tempers boil over as teams sought to gain the upper hand in the already tightly contested competition.

There were 27 yellow cards issued - an average of more than five per game - as well as the first red card of the season, which went to Brisbane Roar starlet Tommy Oar. It comes on the heels of the opening round's 27 cards and last week's 24.

The competition seemed to reach a crescendo on Sunday afternoon when Brisbane Roar hosted a rejuvenated Wellington Phoenix in a spiteful encounter that saw nine yellows.

Oar's red card was the final indignity for a frustrated Roar outfit which then saw coach Frank Farina ordered from the sidelines for expressing his indignation. Loudly.

But the tempers were just as frayed in Perth where another eight yellows were handed out, mainly to Newcastle Jets who were ironically on the receiving end of most of the heavy tackles that were flying in.

The staggering card count was redeemed only by Peter Green's solitary yellow in the Fury-Victory clash (although he did flash an incredible 10 yellows in his round one match, only to then disappear from the officiating schedule for round two - we're sure he was just busy, and not that the FFA had a word...).

All in all, it will be worth a couple of thousand in extra revenue for the FFA as they fine clubs who notched up more than five yellows in a game.

And they could also earn a few more quid with the potential fines for Farina for skipping his post-match press conference, plus Miron Bleiberg's self-righteous post-match dummy spit about something or other.

Is it time to rename the competition the Hyundai World Wrestling A-League yet? Would a Mexican wrestling mask make Ljubo more or less intimidating?

And is Miron a good guy like Hulk Hogan or a bad guy like the bloke with the staple gun in the Mickey Rourke movie? Miron the Mouth does have a good wrestling action figure ring to it though...

The first game of the round saw a much-anticipated match-up between his high flying Gold Coast United and perennial bridesmaids, Adelaide United.

The home side were without Brazilian import Cassio, who was conspicuous by his absence amid rumours that he is ready to walk-out on the club. Nevertheless, the Reds started the brighter of the two teams and had the majority of the ball in the opening exchanges.

But it took little more than 12 minutes for Gold Coast United to work themselves into the game, with peroxide predator Shane Smeltz pouncing after Adelaide goalkeeper Eugene Galekovic deflected a stinging shot by Steve Pantelidis into his path to open the scoring.

From there the momentum turned towards the visitors, who had a chance to double the lead through a Jason Culina free kick on the half-hour mark, but the Socceroos midfielder fired well over the crossbar.

Gold Coast's lead was doubled soon after the restart when Steve Fitzsimmons toe-poked home following a scramble after a corner kick.

Needing a spark from somewhere, Adelaide's attacking weapon Lloyd Owusu was introduced into the fray 20 minutes later, with the former Brighton and Hove Albion man making an instant impression on the game.

In Adelaide's best attacking move, Owusu got on the end a Scott Jamieson ball on the edge of the box and sparked a frantic few seconds as Adelaide unsuccessfully tried to hammer the ball across the line but it stayed 2-0 in the end.

Saturday afternoon saw Central Coast Mariners host their second local derby in as many weeks as they welcomed Sydney FC - and a boisterous contingent of travelling supporters - up the F3.

It was the visitors who held the ascendency for much of the match, though the Moore Park men failed to capitalise on the few chances they created, and rarely looked like breaching a battle-hardened Central Coast defensive line.

Karol Kisel had the best chance of both sides in the 38th minute, but struck his shot well over the bar under pressure from a scrambling Mariners defence.

In a see-sawing second half, both teams pushed men forward, and only a brilliant reflex save by Mariners keeper Danny Vukovic in the 78th minute denied John Aloisi the opening goal.

In the end, the action was reserved for injury time when Sydney pair Simon Colosimo and Sung Hwan Byun were judged to have brought down Maltese international John Hutchinson inside the box.

Mariners striker Adam Kwasnik stepped up to the spot, but his forgettable penalty was well saved by Clint Bolton.

The towering keeper was called into action minutes later to expertly dispatch a late charge from Dylan Macallister and rescue a point for his team in the 0-0 stalemate.

Further north, a much-improved North Queensland Fury outfit hosted Melbourne Victory, who were looking to build on a mesmerising effort against Brisbane the week before. The game also saw the return of 2007 Victory stalwart Adrian Leijer, who re-signed with the club this week after two years on the bench with Fulham in the English Premier League.

In a buoyant display that would have undoubtedly pleased their coach, Fury controlled large portions of the game, but ultimately failed to find the back of the net.

Victory looked confident when going forward, and it was the ever-reliable Archie Thompson who opened the scoring just a minute before the half-time whistle. Thompson was first to react to a looping ball from Leigh Broxham, and had the presence of mind to send it past Fury keeper Paul Henderson with some clinical finishing.

For their part, Fury looked promising in fits and starts, with chances falling to the twin pairing of Robbie Fowler and Danny McBreen throughout the game, while David Williams and Rostyn Griffiths looked menacing in midfield.

There was a late flurry of action with Archie Thompson denied by Henderson at one end and likewise Dyron Daal denied by Moss at the other.

In the end it, though, it was Thompson's goal that separated the two teams.

After despatching Perth Glory last week, Wellington Phoenix travelled across the ditch to face a lively looking Brisbane Roar.

Brisbane began brightly with some sparkling build-up play across the park and were ultimately rewarded when flying winger Henrique was released down the right-hand side of the pitch and teed up Sergio van Dijk who hammered home from close range.

The Dutchman now sits level with Reinaldo as the club's leading goal-scorer - an admirable feat after just two seasons.

Henrique was again the centre of attention just before the break but failed to better Mark Paston.

Roar were unable to capitalise on their early ascendency however, and looked to become increasingly frustrated as the game went on.

For Phoenix, Michael Ferrente fired a warning shot across Roar's bow in the 48th minute, but his shot flew well high of the crossbar. The Wellington outfit pressed hard throughout the second half, and were rewarded in the dying stages of the game when Chris Greenacre nodded home a curling cross from substitute Daniel.

Some dubious defending by substitute Tommy Oar saw the young Roar substitute yellow-carded twice in as many minutes, only 15 minutes after walking onto the park. He was joined in the changing room moments later by his coach.

After enduring tiresome trips across the continent in the first two rounds of the new season, Perth Glory were determined to make the most of their first home game. And it was the home side that started the brighter of the two teams, with Glory testing the Newcastle defence on several occasions within the first 20 minutes.

It took a decisive pass by marquee man Mile Sterjovski on 23 minutes to split the Jets defence for Wayne Shroj, who calmly slotted the ball past Ben Kennedy and sent the home fans into raptures.

With the rain falling in the second half, Newcastle worked their way back into the game and came close on a number of occasions.

Chances fell to Tarek Elrich and Nikolai Topor-Stanley late in the game, but neither were able to make them count. Jason Hoffman looked to build on a promising start to the season, but he too was unable to find the back of the net.

Despite Newcastle's dominance, Glory doubled their lead late in the game courtesy of a Adriano Pellegrino wonder-strike.

Matthew Mayora had a golden chance to score Perth's third goal shortly after with a clear path to goal with Kennedy out of position, but his rushed shot went wide.