Roar Women consolidated their W-League lead at the halfway mark of the season with an assured 6-0 win over Perth Glory at Ballymore this weekend.

Roar were out to prove a point after their 1-1 draw against Sydney in round four, which came only courtesy of a Sydney own goal. Perth entered the match sitting third on the ladder, but were always going to struggle without speedy strikers Lisa de Vanna, who is serving a one-match ban for bringing the game into disrepute, and Samantha Kerr, who last week picked apart the Adelaide defence.

Roar threatened from the outset, with Ellen Beaumont hitting the crossbar just minutes in, but it was Lana Harch who found the back of the net first with a clinical, left-footed finish in the 10th. Courtney Beutel tapped in the Roar's second goal when goalkeeper Emma Wirkus spilled Kate McShea's dipping free kick. Their third followed almost immediately afterwards, when Jo Burgess set up Beutel before Beaumont then helped guide the shot in.

Defender Clare Polkinghorne almost scored too with an in-swinging free kick that forced Wirkus into a diving, one-handed parry, while referee Casey Reibelt later slipped in the path of the ball and then got bumped by Collette McCallum as she tried to get up, much to the crowd's and her amusement.

Roar Women continued to press in the second half despite their three-goal margin, with Harch scoring her second and Roar's fourth goal in the 55th. Beaumont scored again too when she beat two defenders and tapped the ball past the keeper.

With time running out, a clearly outclassed Perth struggled to get into the game against the W-League team with the best defensive record. Their best chance came from US import Alex Singer, who beat goalkeeper Casey Dumont only to be thwarted by Pam Bignold and finish the match scoreless.

Jenna Tristram, who is returning from her second knee reconstruction, subbed on in the 78th, but sadly fellow Matilda and dead ball specialist Collette McCallum was stretchered off with a leg injury just seven minutes before full time.

Having already used all three substitutes, Perth were forced to finish the match with just 10 players, and rallied well to hold possession until Sasha McDonnell took a touch to the side and then slotted the ball in during injury time to give Roar their sixth goal.

Not to be outdone, Sydney FC mirrored Roar Women's result with an equally convincing 6-0 win over Adelaide United in round five's final match on Sunday. Like Roar Women, Sydney FC were three goals up by the break, then piled on another three in the second half.

Alesha Clifford scored the game's - and her - first goal in just the fifth minute, when she collected a rebound from captain Heather Garriock's free kick. Then striker Sarah Walsh scored two goals in quick succession: the first a spectacular, looping shot from 25 yards out; and the second a cool tap in after she collided with Adelaide United goalkeeper Sian McLaren and, never taking her eye off the ball, quickly put it away.

Sydney continued to dominate, with Walsh, Garriock, and season one golden boot Leena Khamis repeatedly pressing the Adelaide defence. Khamis' and Michelle Carney's goals came courtesy of perfectly timed headers and Catherine Cannulli gave Sydney their Roar Women - equalling sixth goal shortly before full time. Walsh now shares the lead goalscorers' tally with four season-two goals to her name, with Roar Women's Beaumont and Beutel close behind with three apiece.

In a slightly lower scoring match (and the one that was originally meant to be televised), Melbourne Victory went 2-1 up over the Newcastle Jets with a thrilling injury-time goal. The poor pitch condition at Bob Jane Stadium had forced the match to be moved to Veneto Club and marked the first W-League match to be played on artificial turf.

Melbourne looked most at ease on the pitch, appearing to go one up in the 38th when Kara Mowbray crossed the ball to Katie Thorlakson who tapped it in before the referee called it back for offside. But Melbourne did go into the break 1-0 up after Katrina Gorry scored from close range right on half time.

Newcastle seized on a defensive lapse and scored in the 62nd-their first goal for the game and only their second for season two. With neither team able to find a second goal, the game appeared destined to be a draw, until substitute Deanna Niceski scored with virtually the last action during stoppage time.

Central Coast Mariners and Canberra United's hard-fought match did end in a draw, despite both teams coming off - and looking to build on - convincing round-four wins.

Canberra took the early lead when Ashleigh Sykes was brought down in the box in the third minute and Ellie Brush converted the penalty. Central Coast levelled the scores in the 20th when Kendall Fletcher capitalised on a deflection.

They almost took the lead two minutes later, with only goalkeeper Lydia Williams' desperate defence preventing a goal. Both teams pushed forward for a match-winner with often only stellar saves on the part of both goalkeepers keeping the scores deadlocked.

Round six sees third-placed Sydney take on fourth-placed and traditional interstate rivals Melbourne, while Canberra host Roar, Newcastle take on Adelaide, and Lisa de Vanna returns to help Perth take on the second-placed Central Coast.

Westfield W-League 2009 Ladder

Westfield W-League 2009 - Leading Goal-Scorers

4 - Michelle HEYMAN, Sarah WALSH

3 - Ellen BEAUMONT, Courtney BEUTEL, TSENG Shu O

2 - Ellie BRUSH, Trudy CAMILLERI, Kendall FLETCHER, Katrina GORRY, Lana HARCH, Leena KHAMIS, Collette MCCALLUM, Sasha McDONNELL, Catherine PAASKE

1 - Tara ANDREWS, Enza BARILLA, Tameka BUTT, Catherine CANNULI, Michelle CARNEY, Renee CARTWRIGHT, Alesha CLIFFORD, Ashleigh CONNOR, Kelly GOLEBIOWSKI, Selin KURULAY, Deanna NICESKI, Marianna TABAIN, Katie THORLAKSON, Ashleigh SYKES , Alex SINGER, Lydia VANDENBERGH