Round 1 gave us goals, upsets and of course VAR controversy with several players putting in good first impressions to start the new campaign. But who made our best XI of the week?
GK – Eugene Galekovic
Following Dean Bouzanis’ exit to Dutch side PEC Zwolle, it seemed as if Mark Birighitti was signed as a replacement for Melbourne City. However, Warren Joyce opted for his more experienced glovesman in Eugene Galekovic on Saturday night and boy did it pay dividends. The former Adelaide United man pulled off a couple of fine saves in the Melbourne Derby, particularly off of efforts from Terry Antonis and late on from Keisuke Honda. The 37-year-old was arguably man of the match and is easily deserving of a place in this week’s team.
RB – Ritchie De Laet
Another stellar Melbourne City derby performance and this time it is new recruit Ritchie De Laet at right-back. The Belgian was outstanding at Marvel Stadium, constantly getting up and down the right side with his excellent engine. Of course his most important contribution came by netting the equaliser, following up with the rebound from Florin Berenguer’s missed penalty. Special mention has to go to Central Coast Mariners rightback Kye Rowles who just missed out.

RCB – Steven Taylor
Mark Rudan’s Wellington got their new campaign off to a flyer by upsetting the Jets at home, with new signing Steven Taylor using all his experience at centre-back in the win. The 32-year-old marshalled the back four well alongside Andrew Durante very well, as well as causing the opening own goal from Daniel Georgievski with his initial header from the set-piece.
LCB – Anthony Golec
The Mariners showed a new defensive steel that we haven’t seen in a while in their draw with Brisbane Roar, and Golec was one of the main reasons for that. Although Adam Taggart could’ve had a handful at Suncorp, Golec showed fantastic agility to cover his fullbacks as well as being in the right place to clear several crosses. It was Golec’s tackle on Taggart that sprung the counter-attack for Connor Pain’s opener too.
LB – Scott Galloway
Following Ben Garuccio’s off-season switch to Scottish side Hearts the Reds needed a replacement at left-back, and they have found one in Galloway. Galloway looked sharp in the FFA Cup but took his form under Marco Kurz to a new level on Friday night, opening the scoring with a wonderful long range finish over Andrew Redmayne as well as helping to keep the likes of Ninkovic, De Jong and Brosque quiet for most of the game. At the age of just 23, the Aussie is off to a great start in what could be a breakout year.
RCM – Neil Kilkenny
Neil Kilkenny was signed midway through last season by Perth Glory following limited minutes under Warren Joyce at Melbourne City, and he put in one of his better performances in a Glory shirt in the 1 – 1 draw with the Wanderers. In the end it was a disappointing start for Tony Popovic as the new manager at the club, but Kilkenny will keep his place next week following great distribution and excellent work rate. The 32-year-old played his part in the opening goal too, forcing a turnover before playing in Andy Keogh who eventually scored.
LCM – Alex Rufer
Phoenix had to have at least three players in this week’s team, with the third place going to Alex Rufer in midfield. Although Sarpreet Singh and Roy Krishna’s performances were more obvious to pick out, Rufer put in a solid shift in the middle of the park. The Kiwi was a surprise starter having been a bit-part player for most of his Wellington career, but took his chance by controlling the central third well with Spaniard Mandi as well as showing excellent composure on the ball.
RM – Keisuke Honda
Despite being on the losing side in the Melbourne Derby, the new Japanese marquee showed why he has been so hyped over the off-season. Shifted into a wide role on the right to accommodate James Troisi through the middle, Honda linked up well with right-back Storm Roux all game, highlighted by a 28th minute header which was laid on by the fullback’s perfect cross. Most of Victory’s good moments went through the playmaker, who looks set to continue bringing the goods for Kevin Muscat.

CAM – Alexander Baumjohann
The German showed us a glimpse of what he was capable of in the FFA Cup semi-final against Sydney two weeks ago without scoring or assisting, and that was similar against Glory although this time the 31-year-old was even better. After a dull and passive first half display from Western Sydney, Baumjohann set the tone right from the start in the second half to help Markus Babbel’s side gain control of possession and eventually battle back to earn a point.
LM – Jason Davidson
Although Davidson was deployed in a wingback role in a three at the back formation against the Wanderers, we’ve deployed him a little further forward in this formation. Davidson was key to the Socceroos’ Asian Cup campaign in 2015 and looked rejuvenated under Tony Popovic on Sunday as he was given more licence to go forward and use his technical quality on the ball. The former West Brom and Huddersfield man was also unlucky not to grab an assist or two, but looks to be a key figure for Popovic’s new look Glory.
ST – Bruno Fornaroli
There were no strikers who stood out this week in terms of their goal scoring input, although Fornaroli had the biggest impact with his performance. The Uruguayan had the better of Victory centrebacks Georg Niedermeier and Nick Ansell all night, proving to be a nuisance with his back to goal and earning the equalising penalty which is making all sorts of controversy at the moment.
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