In many ways, it was a tale of two halves, but the Mariners had all the late chances to win the game, so there are some rough ratings for Victory’s superstars.

Here’s how they performed:

MELBOURNE VICTORY

Lawrence Thomas - 6

A little shaky in his distribution, but couldn’t do anything about the Mariners’ goal.

Jason Geria - 7

Very influential in the first half, and made a few fantastic runs to open up the Mariners, but consistently went down too easily and showed a lack of ambition.

Rhys Williams - 7

Involved at both ends and generally quick to react.

Thomas Deng - 6.5  

A few rash tackles but solid when he needed to be.

Mark Milligan - 6

Showed his quality at times - that cracking blocked volley springs to mind - but disturbingly lacked composure and couldn’t hold possession.

Leigh Broxham - 7

Performed strongly and committed to winning every ball, but was sold short defensively and suffered as a result.

Carl Valeri - 5

Disappeared in the second half when he wasn’t dragging down De Silva or Hoole. Poor performance from the Victory skipper.