Here’s what we learned from this weekend’s action …

1. Reds Just Want to Have Fun
Iain Ramsey, currently Adelaide’s most lethal attacking weapon, at left-fullback; Bruce Djite and Dario Vidosic pushed out wide – these are not the makings of a team looking to own the contest. Dangerous counter-attacking layout or toothless contingency plan? The answer can only be the latter, and it’s not befitting of the individual talent at Adelaide’s disposal. The introduction of 15-year-old Teeboy Kamara after half-time clearly gave the home crowd some hope of attacking life – earlier snuffed out by Gold Coast United’s strikingly impressive band of youth – but it wasn’t enough to reverse the fear of which John van’t Schip said was restricting his Heart side several weeks ago. And, as we all know, fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate and hate leads to suffering. Ultimately, the suffering of the fans leads to sackings. Now, the prodigal son (or eccentric uncle, perhaps) has returned: John Kosmina is undeniably valuable entertainment; hopefully the Reds bring it to the pitch.

2. Be Wary of Juho Makela
There’s something inherently dangerous about Sydney’s Juho Makela. It’s not necessarily anything related to his ability as a footballer, nor the fact he’s perfectly worked his personal appearance as an homage to Val Kilmer’s ‘Iceman’ character in Top Gun; rather, it’s that Sky Blues fans seem to court danger whenever the Fin finds the back of the net. Unfortunately for the attacking import he won’t be involved in Sydney’s next fixture due to new Occupational Health & Safety Hazard laws now preventing fans from celebrating his goals as they inevitably lead to some level of hoarding destruction. Likewise, Sebastian Hassett doppelganger Jeremy Brockie will have to be wary of his exploits over the coming weeks as his howitzer almost ripped Liam Reddy’s netting apart. The Jets might have appreciated the strike more in the second half when they were lacking inspiration, but a true belter it was nonetheless.

3. The Virtue of Consistency
We’re always hearing how teams just need to “work on their consistency” and positive results will follow. We’re not exactly sure how this is supposed to be achieved (become a better side, maybe?), but Central Coast Mariners have managed it; or at least maintained their consistency. The importance of an A-League side retaining their squad to consecutively challenge for title honours became even more apparent in Saturday night’s top-of-the-table clash as Brisbane, fielding five of their Grand Final starters and finishing with just two, was well below their best once again. Add Thomas Broich and Henrique back into Roar’s attacking mix and the current situation becomes a little more reversible, though even they will struggle to repair Brisbane’s disjointedness to the heights of the Mariners collective familiarity, who fielded nine Grand Final starters. It was widely felt at the beginning of the season that the Gosford club, while having solidified their squad, lacked the necessary additions to take the next step. Instead, they would have to improve from within – a successful mission thus far.

4. Spread the Fluoro
Sorry, Robbie Slater, but you got it wrong when you applauded Clint Bolton’s initial save during the sequence of Melbourne Heart’s eventual winner on Saturday night. It was in fact Perth ‘keeper Danny Vukovic who gave Perth fans some fleeting hope. No harm done, though, we all make mistakes – heck, the two even have similar builds – we just wanted Vukovic to receive the credit he so duly deserved for a save which unfortunately fell for Mate Dugandzic to tap home. What this does illustrate, however, is that all ‘keepers in the league should be wearing those hideously bright kits – recently perfected by Australian cricket’s Big Bash League – to distinguish from each other … and provide more laughs for us A-League watchers. Melbourne Heart, meanwhile, did provide the lacking colour in the match as Matt Thompson’s piece of individual inspiration capped a terrifically worked move, perfectly illustrating the Red and White’s burgeoning potential.

5. No Respite for Corner Flags
As Tim Cahill’s form continues to slide, Archie Thompson has obviously taken it upon himself to do his mate a favour in single-handedly destroying every corner flag he stares down. It’s a lovely gesture from the Victory star to capitalise on his goalscoring form and compensate for the free ride corner flags around the world are receiving during Super Tim’s drought. His attack in celebrating the first of Victory’s three goals against Wellington was perhaps his most ferocious yet, displaying all the grace of an untrained martial arts enthusiast. While Thompson was evidently off skipping his dance karate lessons, however, Carlos Hernandez must have been acing his Masters of Geometry as the Costa Rican’s astute strike sent hopeful punters reaching for the rulebook and goalkeepers into the foetal position.