The A-League begins its ninth season newly emboldened, and one of the markers of its upward trajectory is its recently established presence on free-to-air TV. SBS2 will pick up the A-League’s Friday night fixtures this year, starting with the season-opening Sydney FC vs Newcastle Jets (Oct 11) at Allianz Stadium, which will also deliver a serve of Del Piero vs Heskey. (Aren’t big overseas signings so 2012?) The opening round continues with a pair of intriguing contests: the grand final rematch of the Central Coast Mariners vs Western Sydney Wanderers (Oct 12) up in Gosford, as well as the derby of Melbourne Victory vs Melbourne Heart (Oct 12) at Etihad, which hopefully will be the local debut of Harry Kewell (aren’t big overseas signings so ... oh, never mind). Those two games on Fox Sports. A bit of Monty Python Football-style action would get the crowds flooding through the gates for the A-League, hey?