Marco Kurz’s Melbourne Victory are similarly in trouble, with their 10 men fighting to a draw against Wellington Phoenix.

Tempers flared between Mark Rudan and Robbie Fowler over the weekend, but on the pitch Rudan’s Western United had the final laugh as they defeated Brisbane Roar 2-0.

And Melbourne City ended the weekend in fine fashion, oozing class throughout their convincing 4-0 win against Newcastle, establishing themselves as possibly the only real current contenders to tackle Sydney.

Here is a look at five standout performances from round ten of the A-League.

Jerry Skotadis

This A-League season has brought with it plenty of fresh exciting talents with clubs finally ready to take a leap of faith into young prospects, from Al Hassan Toure in Adelaide to Callum McCowatt at Wellington.

The latest from the league’s development line is Western United midfielder Jerry Skotadis, who made his A-League debut last week and followed up with an exceptional performance against Brisbane Roar on Friday night.

The 19 year old showed his skill in the build up to United’s second goal as he pirouetted past two players while receiving the ball on the turn to put Brisbane on the back foot.

The emergence of Skotadis has been something of a surprise as he pushes more experienced players such as Connor Chapman and Max Burgess out of the starting line-up, but if he continues to play like this, they might have to wait a little while longer.

Reno Piscopo

Wellington have had a knack for being a primary location for players to develop in recent years, with Sarpreet Singh having just made his Bundesliga debut for Bayern Munich, and Liberato Cacace surely not too far away either.

Having not made the cut at Inter Milan as a teenager, Piscopo is starting to show signs he might be ready for another chance abroad as he put in a stellar display against Melbourne Victory.

Playing nominally as a winger, Piscopo regularly drifted into midfield and caused mayhem against the Victory defence who struggled to contain his quick feet and technique.

Unfortunately, he failed to make his chances count. Once entering the final third, Piscopo sometimes got confused as to what he should be doing. He would rush things a bit too much or slow things down when he should have been quickening the tempo.

Still, the Olyroo clearly has the technique, and if he can refine his decision making, he could become a huge asset to Phoenix.

Luke Brattan

As the likes of Adam Le Fondre, Milos Ninkovic and Kosta Barbarouses steal the show, it is Brattan that is quietly pulling the strings in behind them.

The midfielder has shown a propensity to break open defences from his deep positioning, which was exactly how Sydney scored the only goal of the game against the Mariners on Saturday.

Brattan has come in to replace the departed Josh Brillante, and he’s shown that he can both participate in playing the ball out of defence while still maintaining a creative threat through his accurate long balls.

Steve Corica said in his press conference afterwards that he believes that the former Melbourne City man has been one of their best players this season and that his new role, positioned in front of the defence, is where he is at his best.

The midfielder himself seems to be enjoying his time at Sydney and so far, he has been the unsung hero of Sydney’s campaign.

Alex Grant

A goal, a clean sheet and three points is probably a dream for any centreback, and that’s exactly what Grant accomplished against the Wanderers.

Grant’s first goal in three years was a pure strike that would make his teammate Bruno Fornaroli proud as he caught a deflection following a set piece with a clean volley directly into the back of the nets.

More important than the goal was the composure with which the 25 year old defended, barely putting a foot wrong against Kwame Yeboah or Alexander Meier. Two completely different prospects but Grant gave away very few opportunities on his end of the defensive lineup.

The former Portsmouth and Stoke City defender has become an important part of Tony Popovic’s team and after a problematic start, the improving form of Grant alongside the rest of the defence is a positive sign for last season’s Premiers.

Javier Cabrera

You could pretty much pick anyone from that City win as they dismantled Newcastle on Sunday night and Cabrera was at the heart of it all with his excellent runs and vision on the right flank.

The Uruguyan has been quite ordinar since coming to Australia, but this was a statement performance which might signify the Uruguayan is now comfortable in his new environment and ready to make a mark on the league.

He opened his account with a thumping goal at the near post and a strike hit with such ferocity that Moss’s reflexes only reacted after the ball had gone past him.

Cabrera continued to be a problem for the Jets' defence as he laid off an easy ball for Jamie Maclaren for his 10th goal in six league games.

The victory was probably the best of all of City’s games so far, and the fans will be hoping that Cabrera can keep this type of form for the crucial Melbourne derby next week.