Only one could stake their claim, and in the end, as City ran out 2-0 victors there were few surprises.

PERTH GLORY

Liam Reddy – 5: Unconvincing from a set-piece he must have known was coming.  

Scott Neville – 6: Contributed little, but was solid under pressure.

Jeremy Walker – 6.5: Set the tone with heavy touches but dynamic pressing, then he began to rush his passing and Perth suffered.

Xavi Torres – 7: Pushed forward, attempted difficult balls and stayed positive, trying to spark his side into action.      

Alex Grant - 7: Hammered Arzani whenever he got the chance. Neither goal was his fault, and he was the sole force within the Perth backline, constantly mopping up after his teammates.

Jake Brimmer – 5: Shouldn’t take corners when Castro’s on the field. Withdrawn at half time. 

Jacob Italiano – 6.5: It’s easy to forget that Perth have their own ‘wonderkid’, but Italiano wasn’t forgetting. He could have had multiple assists with greater vision and composure.        

Andreu Mayoral – 5: Conceded the penalty with minimal contact and did little to rectify it. He’s bordering on a tackling liability.       

Diego Castro – 7: Missed a chance that he would have scored a season ago, and while his work-rate remains impressive, his intensity fades within matches.

Adam Taggart – 5: Poor in possession and predictably vacant when the going got tough. Early days yet, but he’s beginning to cast doubt over his future A-League significance.        

Andy Keogh – 5: He’s happy to track back but offers very little going forward. If Keogh keeps contributing this little, Castro deserves to be made captain.

Walter Scott – 6: Solid but unspectacular. Perth needed width and dynamism, and he could only provide half the equation.

Chris Harold – N/A: 

MELBOURNE CITY FC

Dean Bouzanis – 7: Effortless power in his distribution, and quick to close angles.

Harrison Delbridge – 6.5: Strong defensive display, but faded in and out of the game.        

Scott Jamieson – 5: He can’t blame inexperience, so it’s purely lack of concentration that he gave the ball away so cheaply.

Bart Schenkeveld – 7.5: Always well positioned, pushed forward and limited Perth’s opportunities.      

Michael Jakobsen – 7.5: Led by example. One of several City players to boomerang between attack and defence.        

Osama Malik – 7: Physically imposing throughout, and retained possession well.       

Nathaniel Atkinson – 6.5: Too strong for Walker and too quick for Castro, but his passing leaves a lot to be desired. Could have hurt Perth a lot more than he did. 

Luke Brattan – 7: Aggressive with strong challenges, but inconsistent delivery.        

Dario Vidosic – 5 - Still looks shaky, and was withdrawn early.        

Daniel Arzani – 7.5: He’s too quick-footed for any A-League fullback. Earned McCormack’s free kick, then earned his penalty, the Scot may want to take him back to England with him. Withdrawn early in the second.       

Ross McCormack – 8: Flicks and tricks on the edge of the box soon became another stunning free kick – he’s on another level when he wants to be.

Nick Fitzgerald – 6: No interest in pressing, which meant that in combination with McCormack, he gave Perth acres of space to work with, that a better side would have capitalised on.

Manny Muscat – 7: Immediately imposed himself on the match and busted a gut to get forward at every opportunity.

Marcin Budzinski – N/A