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.