A-League tipping Round 19 : F3 derby spectacular and Wanderers revival?

Hey, you’re not meant to be reading about men’s football this weekend! Don’t you know the Matildas are in action? Thank you for continuing to visit The Roar’s A-League tips and predictions while our beloved website remains dormant, waiting for the prince to wake her up with a kiss. So much good quality action being missed!

The A-League men’s ladder has become a little more stretched at the ends with the Jets on their unstoppable run at the top and the Wanderers in disarray at the bottom. It’s in the middle that it remains tight, Macarthur FC and Central Coast Mariners somehow only three points apart.

Read our tipsters’ chatter as they try to make sense of it all. Get your own tips in, and let us know what you think in the comments section at the bottom of the page. Hopefully see you next week for more.

Stuart Thomas

Victory, Auckland, Central Coast, Brisbane, Macarthur, Wellington, Macarthur

The Original Rivalry will be a brutal affair, with three send-offs, a streaker and a lightning strike with ten minutes to go. Victory hold on in a wild night. Auckland have the cards to beat Melbourne City, who look to be slipping from contention before our very eyes.

The Mariners are showing plenty of grit and the Jets plenty of class. Who wins? The team with the grit. Brisbane and Perth is a cracking affair, with the winner still in the hunt for finals and the loser drifting ever further away. I think Brisbane win, with Griffiths’ magic starting to wear a little thin.

The Bulls should beat Western Sydney because……well…..simply, the McWanderers, built on nothing and questionable folk, are playing accordingly. Will an interim coach at Wellington get the bounce he seeks against Sydney FC. Unlikely, but at home he might have a chance.

The Bulls will be too good for the Mariners mid-week and continue to firm as serious title contenders with the win.

Andrew Prentice

Victory, Auckland, Newcastle, Brisbane, Macarthur, Sydney, Draw

Can I just take a moment to say (with no credit to the former PM who doesn’t hold a hose) HOW GOOD IS THE A LEAGUE? Two veritable blockbusters this weekend, even though neither occupies the prime time Saturday night slot for…reasons. The first is the original rivalry between two teams banging in goals and racking up wins like Donald Trump does lies and micro-sleeps at summits. There is no reason to believe this won’t be a Friday night ripper with Juan Mata’s utter genius being the only thing to split the teams.

Auckland ploughed over their North Island rivals last week, leading to the resignation of (now former) Phoenix Giancarlo “Chiefy” Italiano. They face the fast-fading City on Saturday who last won a game in Round 13. Their only cause for hope is that win came against Auckland. It’s hard to see them pulling that off again. Perhaps City are throwing their eggs into the ACL basket and with a looming clash midweek with Thai side Buriram (coached by former Mariners triple winner Mark Jackson), Auckland are favourites here.

WHAT a game in prospect in Gosford. The F3 rivals, with sets of fans who have been amusingly bantering all week on social media, are set to light up the coast. The Jets have thrilled fans in a run up the ladder on the back of 8 successive wins. Last week, in the space of 90 minutes, the Mariners occupied, 12th, 10th, 9th, 12^th and 10^th place before a last minute winner from (of all players) James Donachie shot them up to 7th. Now just one win out of the 6 with a game in hand, anything is possible. That said, the visitors just look unstoppable right now. The Mariners have ridden their luck and are seemingly never out of the game but Newcastle have the strike power to take down their plucky neighbours. Hope the stadium is packed for this.

In stark contrast, Roar-Glory kicks off an hour later and there wouldn’t be any reason for TV viewers to switch from the F3 derby till its over. Catching the last 40 minutes of this one would in fact be wise as both sides seem to score late (if at all). That sugar hit created by Adam Griffiths’ appointment in the west seems to have worn off and they were thrashed in Adelaide. I was tempted to call this a draw but the Roar seem overdue for a home result.

The “other” Sydney derby occupies the prime time slot this week, despite the appeal elsewhere. The Wanderers have let winning positions slip in successive weeks and the frustration is mounting. The Bulls are out of the Asian Cup and can concentrate on securing semi final football. Mitch Duke comes up against his former club and will be keen to lead the Macarthur line, having been inexplicably benched last weekend. If he scores, they win.

Chris Greenacre takes the reigns left by Chiefy as Wellington look to resurrect their season against the Sky Blues. It’s hard to see the dead cat bouncing too high for the Phoenix, who have leaked goals alarmingly this season (and at times, like last week’s 70 metre effort, bizarrely). Sydney have the equal-best defensive record in the league so scoring against the Phoenix, as all teams seem to do, should ensure their defence carries the day in Wellington.

Mitch Duke comes up against his former club and will be keen to lead the Macarthur line…wait, you’ve read that already, right? But it’s happening twice in a week as the Bulls and Mariners play their make-up game postponed from last round. Hard to split a solid Macarthur and a never-say-die Central Coast so, just like last week when they didn’t play, I’ll call it a draw.

Texi Smith

Victory, Auckland, Central Coast, Brisbane, Wanderers, Sydney, Macarthur

A cracker to start the round, with Adelaide United travelling to AAMI Park to take on old foes Melbourne Victory. The hosts are buzzing after a derby win, highlighted by the brilliance of Juan Mata, while the Reds were rampant against an out-of-form Perth last weekend. A strange opening to this game, with both teams wide open and chances galore, the scoreline of 2-2 at half-time tells the story, Ryan White again in superb form, but Victory snatch the lead in the second period through Clarismario Santos and hold on to that slender advantage to the bitter end.

Melbourne City’s season is heading south, Auckland FC have righted the ship and are ready to keep track of the Jets at the top of the table. The last meeting between these teams in Melbourne was an anomaly, and with Sam Cosgrove back to lead the line, the home team will be firing on all cylinders. Logan Rogerson with a goal to calm the nerves after a nervy start, Auckland weather a spirited fight from City to put their foot down after the break and score at will to give City a footballing lesson, Max Caputo missing from right in front when the score was still 1-0, the game-changing moment.

The A-League ladder is telling lies. Not about the Box Office Jets being top of the table, but about the Mariners being one place away from a finals spot. They deservedly moved away from the bottom with a third win on the bounce, this time against the hapless Wanderers, while Newcastle Jets were quietly picking off yet another win against Macarthur FC. The wind of change is here though, and the Jets rode their luck last Sunday; this time in a raucous derby atmosphere at an unusually busy Central Coast Stadium, the Mariners will keep pace with the league leaders, and force a goal through Miguel Di Pizio. One goal is enough, the incredible run of wins is over and Central Coast Mariners move even closer to that most unlikely spot in the top six.

Dreadful scheduling of the A-League sees Brisbane Roar v Macarthur FC go head-to-head against the F3 derby. Brisbane are back in Redcliffe for this one, and they need to put things right after a series of results that sees them plummeting. What better way to do so than against the team just below them in the ladder, another desperately out-of-form team who showed so much promise earlier in the season. Giorgios Vrakas with the opener just before the break, Perth play some crisp, neat football, but Nick D’Agostino wraps up the points with a quick-fire double. Angry man Michael Valkanis cracks a smile, all is good in the world!

The least attractive headline game of the weekend is Macarthur FC at home to Western Sydney Wanderers, the Saturday night timeslot wasted on the once-fancied team of stars from Parramatta. How they continue to underperform is baffling; Jacob Farrell, Ryan Fraser, Braandon Borrello, Kosta Barbarouses, they are all high-level internationals and even adding Hiroshi Ibusuki in there, it is incredible that they are at the foot of the table. Macarthur’s loss in Newcastle can be excused, but they are prone to some hot and cold performances. Today will signal the turning point for the visitors as they put together a majestic performance to demolish their neighbours, Dylan Scicluna with a classy goal to start the party and, with Mitch Duke in Anthony Pantazopoulos’ pocket, this is a remarkable turnaround of fortunes in a four-goal win on the road.

A team mourning the loss of their spiritual leader, smarting from a heavy home derby defeat, teetering on the edge of the wooden spoon position, nothing is going right at the moment for Wellington Phoenix. Their last win was in Sydney, a smash-and-grab at Allianz Stadium, and they welcome the same opposition for an early kick off in Wellington. Sydney FC were meek against Brisbane last week, but managed the win, and they will struggle here in Ufuk Talay’s old stomping ground. It comes down to efficiency in front of goal in the end, Apostolos Stamatelopoulos on hand to smash the ball home on the rebound in the second half as the Sky Blues return the favour and snatch an undeserved win.

A bonus game this week sees Macarthur FC make a swift return after Saturday night. In front of the lowest A-League crowd of the season, compounded by the early start, those present are in for a treat. Two early send-offs, one for each team, give rise to an open encounter, akin to a rugby sevens game, and the goals flow, the Bulls putting things right after their disaster against Western Sydney. Despite Storm Roux equalising late in the game for the in-form visitors, Harry Sawyer rises highest to head home in added time to take the three points and re-establish the home team as a finals contender.

The tipsters did very well last weekend. Don’t expect the same this round :

Keep selecting your tips for the week to maintain the healthy lead for the crowd …

Best of luck for this round! The comment section is where you can drop a cheeky line to start some banter, see below and let us know that The Roar is still here in spirit. Can’t believe our tips and predictions is still going!