A rousing round of football saw the highly anticipated top of the table clash between an unbeaten Sydney FC and Gold Coast United, who were looking to bounce back after a shock defeat to Newcastle Jets.

What transpired was a truly mouthwatering match and has subsequently been described as a 'great advertisement for the Hyundai A-League' by a gleaming Gold Coast coach Miron Bleiberg.

And who's to argue?

Steve Corica said during the week that he didn't consider himself an impact player but the 36-year-old certainly made an impact off the bench, scoring late in the game to leave Gold Coast playing with their hearts in mouths for the closing stages.

Further north, the other two Queensland teams clashed under a full moon.

During the match it seemed like mild-mannered Fury defender Karl Dodd had mutated into an alter-ego - the lime-green Hulk - at some point, and proved to be a colossus at the back for his team.

He proved extremely effective in nullifying the Roar's attack.

A warning to opposing teams in future. Eon't make him angry, you wouldn't like him when he's angry...

Efforts to pacify the big centre back would have continued long into the night after his side succumbed to a late equaliser from Roar, leaving them still searching for a first win.

Match officials were one again, regrettably, at the forefront of the weekend action. Wellington Phoenix were denied the winner against Adelaide thanks to a contentious offside decision from the assistant referee while Matthew Breeze arguably tilted the game Brisbane's way in Townsville after he booked Fury midfielder Paul Kohler for a fairly innocuous challenge - his second yellow in as many minutes.

The first match of the round saw Melbourne Victory play host to a high-flying Newcastle Jets outfit, who had derailed the Gold Coast juggernaut - though perhaps only temporarily - just four days before.

Victory's second Thursday night fixture this season drew a vocal crowd of just over 15,000 and it was the home fans that had cause to celebrate first.

After seeing their side control the first 40 minutes of the match without reward, including scuffed chances by Tom Pondeljak and Ney Fabiano, the Victory faithful were sent into raptures when the ever-present Archie Thompson scored just minutes before the break.

The wily striker was positioned well to get on the end of a Leigh Broxham free kick in the 42nd minute, and headed home from close range.

Melbourne continued to press in the second half, but grew increasingly impatient in front of goal in the quest to kill off the game.  Archie Thompson had his side's best chance of the half, but fired high and wide in uncharacteristic fashion.

Although they were under the pump for much of the game, Newcastle showed the resolve that had paid dividends in the previous rounds and were unlucky not to equalise through chances to Hoffman and Donny De Groot.

In the end it took a galloping run by Tarek Elrich in the 86th minute and subsequent pin-point header by substitute Labinot Haliti to steal a point for the Jets.

Of more concern to Victory will be the injury to midfielder Billy Celeski, who is potentially out for 12 months after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament.

Across the ditch Wellington played host to Adelaide United who were looking to get their season up and running after a slow start.

Both teams started well and Wellington saw a chance go begging in the opening minutes when Tim Brown headed wide a great cross in from Daniel.

At the other end of the park Adam Hughes headed over the crossbar from a Scott Jamison free-kick.

Brown and Daniel, the latter enjoying his first start this season, were in the thick of things for much of the first half, with the Brazilian midfielder in particular showing some deft touches and surging forward runs.

The breakthrough for the home side finally came in the 35th minute when Ifill rifled one into the top left hand corner after a cross from Leo Bertos missed Greenacre and Ifill made no mistake from a difficult angle.

Minutes later Adelaide were level, however, with Iain Fyfe on the end of a ball from Paul Reid to convert from close range and leave the scored locked 1-1 at the break.

Cristiano should have made it 2-1 to the visitors almost immediately on the resumption but was denied by the woodwork.

In the second stanza both teams struggled to keep any kind of momentum, with chances few and far between

With just a couple of minutes to go Ifill thought he had slotted the winner past Eugene Galekovic before realising Greenacre had been called for offside.

Back in the nation's capital, Canberra Stadium hosted its first ever competitive A-League fixture, and with the local bid now considered a front runner in the FFA's expansion plans, it was a chance for eager locals to get out and view the world game.

Having not beaten the Mariners in their past 12 encounters, it was Glory who looked to dominate the opening half hour, with striker Branko Jelic rattling the crossbar with a stunning strike in the 31st minute.

After a week of scrutiny following a poor performance against Brisbane, the Mariners stepped up a gear towards the break, with skipper Alex Wilkinson slipping the ball home for his first  A-League goal in 89 matches.

The Mariners went on to dominate possession for much of the second half but Perth were handed a lifeline in the 80th minute when Brad Porter handled a Wayne Srhoj cross in the area.

Danny Vukovic got his hand to Mile Sterjovski's spot kick but the Socceroo netted the rebound to cancel out Wilkinson's effort.

Five minutes from time Srhoj rattled the crossbar himself with a close-range header but the Mariners soon took the ball forward once again and it was Matt Simon who found himself in the right place at the right time after Tando Velaphi tumbled on the dewy Canberra turf.

Dylan Macallister was on hand to round the felled keeper and Simon slotted home the winner as a forlorn Velaphi could do nothing but look on in despair.

The tropical north was the setting for North Queensland Fury hosting Brisbane Roar, and for the second time in as many weeks Fury took the lead inside 10 minutes, only to see a late equaliser rob them of all three points.

Indeed, it didn't take long for the home side to hit the lead once again thanks to a Robinson-Fowler combination.

Fowler's early strike saw the marquee man display delightful control in heavy traffic before finding the bottom right hand corner of the net from close range.

David Williams, who looked in threatening form all night, found space in the midfield and tried his luck with a rocket from 25 metres out, only to see his effort helped onto the crossbar by a fingertip save from Liam Reddy.

The game took a turn when Kohler was dismissed for two crude tackles in quick succession, though, on replay, neither seemed to warrant a yellow card.

Though they created few chances, the visitors were able to secure themselves a point late in the game.

Roar sustained pressure and it paid off in the closing minutes with a strike from Van Dijk deflecting into the Fury net for 1-1.

Much had been said in the press mid-week about the potential table-top blockbuster between Gold Coast United and Sydney FC. Once heralded as the bling boys of the competition, Sydney were content to let the home side make all the noise.

And it was the Coast who started in impressive fashion - foraying into the opposition penalty area seven times in the opening 14 minutes and signalling their attacking intent.

Zenon Caravella expertly slotted into the midfield space for an absent Jason Culina and had a couple of good chances on goal in the first half.

Not to be outdone, the visitors work their way into the game by the 20th minute, with Alex Brosque looking lively.

In Sydney's best attacking move, Brosque chipped for John Aloisi, ran into space and then received a nice ball back from his skipper to be one on one with Coast 'keeper Scott Higgins but failed to finish.

It was Gold Coast, though, who took a well-deserved lead into the break courtesy of a Shane Smeltz goal in injury time.

The Kiwi international was positioned perfectly to meet a curling free kick from Matt Osman, and looped his headed over Clint Bolton with pin-point precision.

The second half was an open, flowing contest, with each side playing an open, attacking brand of football.

But it was Smeltz again who popped up to double his side's lead in the 56th minute, after finding himself one-on-one with Clint Bolton in the Sydney goal.

Sydney coach Vitezslav Lavicka emptied his bench throughout the second period, and to good avail it seemed when Steve Corica headed home making for a nervy final period for the home side.

Despite a late charge from the Sky Blues, Gold Coast found themselves back to winning ways.