So what did we learn this weekend?

1. Effort Wins the Day
You could highlight any number of Brisbane Roar’s usual tactical ingredients as the key factor behind Friday night’s mauling (if everyone else is using it so are we), but magnify the spectacular six-minute spell which downed Adelaide United and you’ll discover one very simple common denominator: work ethic. Remove Shane Stefanutto’s lung-busting raid for the first of that trio and the scoreline remains locked. If either Andy Slory or Evgeniy Levchenko had conjured the determination to match Mitch Nichols’ run from deep they mightn’t have found themselves two down and out of contention. Thomas Broich then compounded the lesson by burning the chase of Spase Dilevski to supply Besart Berisha’s third. Brisbane 4-1, game over, and a hefty lesson for the Reds.

2. There’s No Escaping Poor Football
Perhaps we’re suffering from Brisbane snobbery. From a neutral perspective, Saturday afternoon’s clash between Central Coast Mariners and Perth Glory, rightfully expected to be one of the round’s more intriguing fixtures, seemed vastly devoid of the same entertainment, surprise and surely-he-didn’t-just-score-a-hattrick-in-six-minutes values. Even Jacob Burns, normally in his element in a good old fashioned Mariners/Glory scrap, vented his frustration with proceedings by belting the ball out of Bluetongue Stadium and, according to Simon Hill, onto the roof a passing van.

3. Maycon: The Thinker
On one hand, some might question the thought process of Melbourne Heart import Maycon in ditching his jersey in goal celebration, but we applaud his clear foresight. A 77th minute substitute, the Brazilian was merely outlining his ingenuity in remembering to don thermal underwear in what proved to be wet and cold conditions at AAMI Park. His attention-grabbing exploits weren’t enough to impress Fox Sports, however, who found room for three, yes THREE, central defenders in their man-of-the-match voting. What kind of league do they think this is?!

4. It Doesn’t Take Much
A neat piece of footwork, a clever finish and they’re back in the game. Winning the game, even – a commendable first three points now in the bank for Melbourne Victory. They were ably assisted by Nick Ward who, seemingly torn between his former Victory allies and his current Wellington teammates, concluded that doing everything on his own was the path to success. Ward wasn’t the only one to harm his side as Ben Sigmund ensured the ‘Nix personnel woes would continue, sullying a personally superb first half with a needless second half red card that gifted Victory their first win of the season.

5. Passing Has Developed New Expectations
It’s a good thing Craig Moore was a defender in his playing days. During the halftime interval of Gold Coast’s impressive victory over Newcastle, the former Socceroos’ stopper tried to convince us Maceo Rigter’s opening goal had “no power,” was “just direction,” and was “passed into the back of the net.” Craig, mate, excuse us for more closely agreeing with Simon Hill’s analysis that Ben Kennedy hardly had time to begin diving before it the goal had been scored, and thus Rigters shot was probably a tad more powerful than a “pass.” By Moore’s standards, Kristian Rees’ finish must have been barely more than a deft chip of the keeper!