On the pitch, Central Coast's season continues to lurch from one low to another, its latest inglorious chapter coming on Saturday evening when they were downed 3-0 by Perth Glory and sent to the foot of the A-League Men table. And while their women's team offers something of a light in the darkness, things took another turn for the embattled outfit off the field on Monday when league administrators, the Australian Professional Leagues (APL), announced they had taken interim control of the club after the Mariners informed them of the forfeiture of its club participation agreement.
Despite its chair Stephen Conroy previously stating that the organisation was no longer in a position to prop up struggling clubs, the APL said it decided to ensure stability and continuity in the middle of the 2025-26 campaign, with a sales process it doesn't foresee as possessing too many gremlins to commence immediately. The APL is anticipating that this process, which will take its cues from the one already commenced by now-former owner Mike Charlesworth but which will be its own, unique undertaking, will attract interest from both domestic and international buyers. Relocation by these prospective buyers, however, is off the table, with the APL committed to keeping the side in Gosford.
Clearly, a club being bailed out by league administrators because its owner hands back control of its licence is not a good thing. Anytime that happens, there are going to be significant existential questions surrounding its future, even with the assurances of the APL. At the same time, however, after years of circling the drain as Charlesworth cut costs as he looked to unload the club, the Mariners being able to break with that era and look to a future where they don't have to find a way to perform minor miracles to be competitive is a good thing. Is Gosford a viable home for an A-League side under the league's current model? We probably can't know until more stable and engaged ownership has had a chance.
Unfortunately for the league, even if this step in a vacuum is a proactive one that offers the best chance of stability within its model, it also shines another light on the perilous state of A-League ownership and its clubs' viability. Newcastle and Perth have also experienced protracted ownership sagas in recent years, and while threats of liquidation may have subsided, Western United's future remains very much in the balance, with little indication of how it will find the funds to rebuild a team and staff and then sustain it in its attempts to rejoin the league. There is no word, meanwhile, on a prospective new owner for a Canberran franchise, with the opening of the midseason transfer window on Wednesday ostensibly ruling out their entry for the 2026-27 season.
Anyway... there was also some football this weekend.
Adelaide United
Stocks Up: Well... things started very well for Adelaide in their 2-2 draw with Wellington. Heading into halftime with a 2-0 lead, the Reds had outshot their opponents eight to one to that point and, despite surrendering the majority of possession, were using the gusty conditions to their advantage and shutting down any real attacking threat the Phoenix had before it had a chance to get going. They had cut through the hosts with an almost casual ease to take the lead through Ryan White and when Luke Duzel lashed in a long-range effort in the 44th frame, they looked to be sitting pretty.
Coming into the game with a chance to vault as high as fourth on the table, it was a foundation that should have given Airton Andrioli's side the foundation for a pretty regulation win.
Stocks Down: That opening half, however, didn't serve as the springboard for a straightforward victory. Because Adelaide fell apart in the second half and ended up not only failing to win the game but being incredibly fortunate to take a point at all. With the wind at their backs, the Kiwis produced 14 shots to Adelaide's none in the second stanza and produced a deluge of late chances that on another day could easily have produced a winner.
The Reds have been hit hard by injury and international callups in recent weeks, but with Victory set to visit Hindmarsh this weekend for the annual Pride Cup, a response is required lest their biggest rivals be given the chance to inflict a blow that kickstarts a proper tailspin.
Auckland FC
Stocks Up: Easing to a 2-0 win over Brisbane up at Lang Park, Auckland ensured that they wouldn't go three games without a win for just the second time in their history over the weekend and, after dropping points to Newcastle and Macarthur in the weeks prior, made sure they would remain atop the A-League Men table as it nears the halfway point.
Possessing its best away record while sitting second in the competition for expected goals (xG) and third for xG against, as well as leading the league in major chances created and accurate crosses per game (shoutout Francis De Vries), Steve Corica's side continues to demonstrate that they probably have the highest floor of any side in the competition and, after riding a similar phenomenon to a premiership last season, remain well-placed.
Stocks Down: If one were to pick out one potential area of concern with Auckland, it would be that, with a proper sample size accumulated, a trend of them being wasteful with their chances is there. While they're ranking highly on both xG and big chances created, their actual total is underperforming the former by 4.1, while they also lead the league in big chances missed.
To be clear, you'd rather be fluffing your chances than not creating any at all. And the law of averages suggests that this will even out at some point in the season, with Lachlan Brook's recent surge in form a good sign. But one only needs to look at Melbourne City, whose underlying numbers are dragged down by poor chance conversion, to see the anchor this can be.
Brisbane Roar
Stocks Up: You either love what Michael Valkanis is doing with Brisbane Roar or you hate it. And your opinion likely largely depends on whether you were born north or south of Tweed Heads. Unapologetically physical, direct with their play, willing to turn any game into a scrap, and always up to engage in a bit of pushing, shoving, and general roughhousing, the Roar have quickly established an identity under their new coach, and it's one that the club's fans have rallied around.
And that's important. For the past few years, the Roar were defined by setting records for ineptitude, particularly at home, and felt like they were largely drifting, a pale shadow of a giant that once stood astride the league like the Colossus of Rhodes. This meant that just as much as the club needed to turn around results, they also needed to give the fans something to believe in, as well as provide the rest of the league with reason to view games against them as something more than just a relatively simple three points. And with a polarising reputation and a 21% leap in home attendances this year, capped off by a season-high 9,363 in their loss to Auckland this weekend, this is bearing (early) fruit.
Stocks Down: Of course, for all the battling rhetoric and rallying around the flag, one also has to play football at some point, and the Roar aren't having all that good a time of things on that front right now. Friday's loss to Auckland made it just one win in their last six games for Valkanis' side, and they could fall out of the top six entirely if they fail to get a result away to in-form Perth Glory next Friday. Their recent slate of fixtures and the short turnarounds between them have been hellish, but some of the questions from earlier in the season remain stubbornly persistent.
While they continue to field a stout defence, conceding the third-fewest goals in the league, the Roar are overperforming their xG against by four and will now have to deal with the loss of standout young defender Lucas Herrington after his move to the Colorado Rapids. Up top, they rank second-bottom in the league for xG and dead last for big chances created, with their eleven goals scored this season the second most profligate in the league -- meaning that despite their defensive fortitude, their goal difference is now negative after their Auckland loss. Talk around the league is that the Roar are an obvious landing spot for Socceroo striker Nick D'Agostino, and his arrival would help address this -- English import Chris Long having netted just once in his eleven appearances -- but you've got to be able to get the ball to him, too.
Central Coast Mariners
Stocks Up: In a season marked by the aforementioned off-field turmoil, falling crowds (down 14% year-on-year), and those loyal few that remain observing their team being forced to dig in for most of their games -- no team has had less of the ball than the Mariners this season or had to make more clearances, while no goalkeeper is making more saves per game than Andrew Redmayne -- you need to take the little moments of enjoyment when you can.
A rousing opening day F3 Derby win provided one such example of this, as did their 4-0 romp over Adelaide United last week -- an offensive explosion that accounts for more than a quarter of their goals scored this season and gave them their third win of the campaign. The only downside was that it came at Hindmarsh, not in Gosford, so the local fans didn't get to see it.
Stocks Down: Any hope that Warren Moon's side held for building on that win over the Reds, however, was ruthlessly snuffed out at Perth Glory on Saturday evening -- the West Australians jumping on their opponents straight from the opening whistle and taking out a 3-0 win that could have been more.
Further, in now-former attacker Abdul Faisal's swipe at the club's leadership in an Instagram story on his way out -- naming chief executive Greg Brownlow and Labinot Haliti in an Instagram post, the latter still not publicly acknowledged as having a role with the club despite the reports that he had taken on a position in the football department as Sydney Olympic president Damon Hanlin attempted to buy the club -- there's mounting evidence that the off-field drama continues to drag down on-field performance. Not that the significant budget cuts and austerity-forced exits weren't already taking a toll.
Macarthur FC
Stocks Up: The Bulls came crashing back to earth when they were downed 3-0 by Sydney FC in stinking hot conditions over the weekend, but thanks to what had been a seven-game unbeaten run have moved into third place on the table since the last Stocks Up, Stocks Down update.
And while goals continue to be a problem -- they've only scored nine goals in 12 games if you remove their five-goal explosion in their Boxing Day win over Newcastle -- they'll receive further reinforcement on this front ahead of their clash with the Mariners next Saturday: the opening of the A-League Men's midseason transfer window on January 14, opening the door for newly signed Socceroo striker Mitch Duke to make his debut for the club as he chases a FIFA World Cup spot.
Stocks Down: Despite being relatively well-placed on the table, Saturday's defeat to the Sky Blues was a bitter one for the Bulls. Not only was it a derby defeat, but one in which Mile Sterjovski's side almost felt put in their place by their rivals -- a bright start to the game, one that saw Kristian Popovic force a save from Harrison Devenish-Meares in just the fifth minute, giving way to a result that saw them comfortably dispatched and miss out on a chance to go second.
"It was definitely a disappointing performance," Sterjovski said post-game. "We were second to everything, and it was hard to take. We just didn't turn up today. Hopefully it's a bit of a wake-up call."
Melbourne City
Stocks Up: It was another disappointing and uninspiring day at the office for Aurelio Vidmar's side in their 1-0 loss to Newcastle on Sunday, only retaining their place in the top six by virtue of Victory and Adelaide failing to pick up wins. The side is clearly missing some level of spark in the midfield, with Mat Leckie injured and Andreas Kuen looking off the boil in recent weeks. But the recent return of Lawrence Wong and Alessandro Lopane from long-term injuries does offer some hope of reinforcement in that area, while there's been talk of trying to lure Ryan Teague back to the league in January, and World Cup hopeful Leckie has already started logging five hours a day of rehab at the City Football Academy, per his coach.
Nathaniel Atkinson and Aziz Behich, meanwhile, remain fierce competitors, and it was the two fullbacks who were City's most likely during Sunday's defeat: getting forward, getting amongst it, and doing what they could to try and drag their side to a result.
Stocks Down: At this point, it's not a knee-jerk reaction to say that alarm bells should be ringing at Casey Field. Not cacophonously so, given the incredibly forgiving nature of the A-League Men's finals system, but certainly not demurely, either. Six games into a seven-game homestand, City has won just once in that stretch, and that game, a 1-0 win over Brisbane, wasn't exactly the most dynamic display of attacking endeavour. "Very strange," Vidmar said. "Generally, when you're playing at home, you should be strong. You should win more than you lose."
Digging deeper, City has scored just three goals during this home run, and just one of those -- a late Andrew Nabbout goal netted when they were already down 3-0 to Perth Glory -- has come from open play. While they sit third in the league for xG with 19.0, their actual goals scored are underperforming that by seven -- a disparity only 'bettered' by Western Sydney's 8.5 -- they sit ninth for big chances created, and are equal second-worst when it comes to shot conversion. In other words, City can get the ball into decent areas pretty regularly and fashion chances (which is preferable to the alternative), but not as many clear-cut ones as one might otherwise expect, and they're proving wasteful when they do get a shot away.
Melbourne Victory
Stocks Up: Juan Mata has (deservedly) been getting most of the headlines during Victory's recent run of form (Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Western Sydney notwithstanding), but it's tough not to notice the correlation between the return of Nishan Velupillay to the attack and their sudden turnaround in form. Saturday represented the first time this season that Victory had lost with the 24-year-old attacker in the starting XI, and while he might have just the singular goal and assist to his name since returning from a long-term injury, the difference in his side's attack with him on the park compared to when he is off it is obvious to anyone that actually watches the games.
Velupillay's 81 minutes against Western Sydney represented his most for the campaign, and with a mammoth Original Rivalry clash with Adelaide and Big Blue showdown with Sydney FC next on tap for Victory, his ability to run out full games seems to be coming into focus at just the right time. "He's an incredible human being," Mata said of Velupillay following Victory's recent win over Wellington. "A great teammate, great person, and I'm very happy because he fought very hard to come back after the injuries, and he deserves it."
Stocks Down: Most Victory fans would be disappointed to have their four-game winning run end against the Wanderers, but you'd probably struggle to find many amongst the rusted-ons that were surprised at the result, either. Flying high, scoring goals, and playing hosts to a side rooted to the foot of the table and struggling to score goals, all signs pointed to a win. But these are the exact kinds of games Victory have let slip through their fingers far too often in recent years, where they've been flirting with looking like they're capable of doing something special -- in this case, win five games straight for the first time in seven years -- only to fall short.
And so it came to pass: Victory looking well off the pace as the Wanderers dictated terms and turned the game into a physical, scrappy contest in which clean chances and good looks on goal were at a premium, before going down to a penalty. Disjointed before the Wanderers' goal and blunted by their subsequent low block, they might have 66% of possession and 14 shots, but only three of their attempts were on target, and they fashioned just 0.89 xG from their cumulative shots.
Newcastle Jets
Stocks Up: Hard taskmaster that he is, Jets coach Mark Milligan says that he might need to have a "really good chat" with his side about the way they've won their past two games, because they've done so in a manner he doesn't want to become the norm. For the rest of us, however, those who aren't assigned the responsibility of ending the Novocastrians' long finals drought, we can take a step back and acknowledge the meaningful developmental step this young side took over the past few weeks.
Fielding the youngest team in the competition, the Jets have now gone on the road in back-to-back weeks and defeated last year's premiers and champions -- their 1-0 win over City on Sunday following a bonkers 3-1 smash-and-grab over Auckland. In both games, they've had to buckle down and absorb waves of pressure from a side that had more of the ball and more shots than they did and have proven up to the task mentally and tactically. We know the Jets can be an all-or-nothing, box office extravaganza, but they're showing an ability to win in other ways. And that's big.
Stocks Down: Putting a dampener on the Jets' rise up to fourth on the table is that they'll have to go the rest of the season without the services of Alex Badolato and Christian Bracco. The pair were both confirmed to have ruptured their ACLs in the Jets' win over Auckland last week, joining Oscar Fryer in being lost for the year and, in the case of Badolato, snuffing out the (admittedly very faint) hopes of making a run at Tony Popovic's squad for the World Cup.
"[We] lost two young, very promising players in difficult circumstances to really bad injuries. It's been an emotional sort of week for all of the players," Milligan said following the City win. "We've got Oscar Fryer in the same boat as well. Alex has a very mature head on his shoulders, and Bracco as well. It was obviously very, very tough travelling home. But the attitude that they showed up with, two days after that Auckland game, to just get into their rehab and start doing the right things, I think that sets a better example than anything we could have said to them."
Perth Glory
Stocks Up: After a bad trip to AAMI Park saw them fall to a 3-2 defeat against Victory last week, the good vibes returned to Perth over the weekend as they dispatched Central Coast 3-0 in what was the most dominant performance of the new Adam Griffiths era.
Battling injuries throughout the campaign, Adam Taggart netted his first goal since the opening day of the season to give his side a deserved two-goal buffer before the main break, which will not only do his confidence some good but, with no other Aussie striker really separating themselves from the pack during his lean run, give him some hope of finding the form needed to push for a World Cup squad. Tom Lawrence, for his part, is probably the form player in the A-League Men right now and added another highlight to his reel in the second stanza when he netted an Olimpico that sealed the win.
Stocks Down: As far as problems go, having to figure out how to deploy a glut of talented attackers probably doesn't rank up there. 'Waiter, my steak is too juicy, and my lobster is too buttery!!!' But when you're a first-year head coach trying to maintain a proper balance on the park and cohesion in the dressing room, it's something to be mindful of.
Beyond Lawrence and Taggart, the former at this point almost looking undroppable, the Glory brought Arion Sulemani off the bench against the Mariners, will welcome back Lachie Wales, Jaiden Kucharski, and Sebastian Despotovski from injuries in the coming weeks, and reportedly will add yet more firepower (and welcome back a fan favourite) in the midseason signing of Stefan Colakovski. The club has already sent youngster Khoa Ngo on loan to Vietnamese side Cong An Ho Chi Minh City in January, and while it's better than having no attackers -- "Competition will drive all of them to be the best version of themselves," Griffiths said post-Mariners -- that's still a lot of bodies to juggle.
Sydney FC
Stocks Up: After experimenting with the footballing version of the Ludovico treatment with their attacking display against City the week prior, Sydney found its footing in much better fashion against the Bulls: Piero Quispe, Víctor Campuzano, and Patrick Wood all netting goals as the Sky Blues properly fired for the first time this season without Joe Lolley in their XI.
Adjusting in approach somewhat to deploy a flatter midfield, Ufuk Talay was rewarded with Campuzano and Wood putting in what were arguably their best performances of the season up top and Quispe, beyond his goal, looking far more comfortable with those two ahead of him. The addition of Ben Garrucio at fullback is also bearing fruit, with the former Western United skipper getting his first assist of the season in setting up Campuzano's header and making the left side of the Sky Blue backline his own, while Devenish-Meares' 2025-26 renaissance continues unabated.
Stocks Down: While Sydney may have been happy with how the game ultimately went, that the contest kicked off when temperatures in Sydney were still close to 40 degrees, even if the 'wet bulb' gave the all clear, was remarkable.
"I don't understand why they wouldn't delay," said Sterjovski, who confirmed his side requested a postponement. "We knew the conditions were going to be like that ten days ago. I don't understand it. One for the welfare of the players and two for the welfare of our game. We're trying to create a great product, to make it interesting, and try and get supporters into stadiums and get people to watch. And when it's that hot, it's not easy to put in a great performance."
Wellington Phoenix
Stocks Up: After his side meekly surrendered to Victory a fortnight ago, it looked as though Giancarlo Italiano was on his last legs as Wellington boss. But after holding out with ten players to defeat Brisbane last week, the Nix once again found the fight that they needed to come back and secure a 2-2 draw, one they were very unlucky not to turn into a win, with Adelaide this weekend, suggesting that while the gaffer is far from out of the woods just yet, the players are still working hard for 'Chiefy'.
Making his first appearance since he broke his collarbone in a round two win against Brisbane, Tim Payne played a massive role in his side bouncing back from their abject first half, setting up Corban Piper's equaliser with a pinpoint cross from the right. With 47-time New Zealand international Bill Tuiloma also signed and set to be eligible for his new side's clash with Sydney this month, things certainly aren't as dark in Wellington as they were a few weeks ago.
Stocks Down: The addition of Payne and Tuiloma is important because, for all the positivity of their past two results, the Phoenix have still shipped the second-most goals in the league this season and, given that their 22 goals conceded is exactly in line with their 22 xG against, they can't really point to misfortune or injustices as being to blame, either.
The second-half move to a back four and the shift of Luke Brooke-Smith into the midfield seemed to pay dividends against Adelaide and could be a sign of adaptation moving forward that could bear fruit. And though failing a late fitness test on the weekend, goalkeeper Josh Oluwayemi should be close to a return, too.
Western Sydney Wanderers
Stocks Up: Pretty much every man and their dog, as well as the Wanderers' fox mascot, probably expected Alen Stajcic to be sacked if the Wanderers failed to get a result against Victory on Saturday, with multiple figures around the league expecting Patrick Kisnorbo to be inserted post-haste. But the Wanderers got the result, securing a 1-0 win that moves them off the foot of the A-League Men table and ensures that Stajcic will live to coach another day.
It wasn't derived in a good game of football to watch whatsoever -- Stajcic himself would acknowledge his side probably played better in every other game they played this season -- but being able to drag your opponents down to play the game you want when your backs are against the wall isn't something to be sneezed at. And thanks to the permissive nature of the top six, the Wanderers are less than two games outside the top six after the win and, combined with a defence that, going off xG conceded, is the best in the league, their season's hardly dead, either.
Stocks Down: Nonetheless, as mentioned, this wasn't a win derived from fluid football. And with Kosta Barbarouses' lone goal of the game coming from a penalty won from a long Anthony Pantazopoulos throw-in, the Wanderers have still only scored one goal from open play -- Aydan Hammond's 55th minute strike against Adelaide -- since they secured a derby win over Sydney in late November.
Indeed, while the Wanderers' xG of 17.5 might be fourth best in the league, it's been derived from 181 attempts on goal, the third most in the competition, and from just 23 big chances, which is ranked tenth in the competition. More simply, the Wanderers rack up a lot of xG, but much of that seems to come from quantity, rather than quality.
Socceroos World Cup bolter watch
Stocks Up: He's going to have to hit the ground running in Campbelltown, but the stars seem to be aligning for Mitch Duke to stake a claim to a place in the Socceroos' squad. The veteran striker finished the 2025 Japanese season on a good note, playing consistently and even netting an assist as he started in Machida's 3-1 Emperor's Cup final win over Vissel Kobe and while the end of the J1 League campaign means he hasn't played since December 6, his competition for places in the Socceroos squad haven't been banging in the goals during this period, either.
In fact, with D'Agostino reportedly on the verge of an A-League Men move himself, and he and Duke potentially battling it out for the hard pressing, battering ram striker role in Popovic's squad, the veteran striker might even have something of a head-start in the ever-shifting battle for Socceroo places. Heck, and at the risk of delivering a take that could end up freezing cold, with Lachlan Rose leading the Golden Boot race with six, it's not out of the realm of possibility he could even end the season as a Golden Boot winner if he locks in as the focal point of the Bulls' attack -- his last A-League campaign returning 14 goals, with nine of those coming in the back end of the season, in 2019-20.
Stocks Down: It's a good thing that the Socceroos have fostered plenty of depth in the centreback position because it's being tested.
After battling multiple setbacks after initially suffering an Achilles tear in late 2024, Harry Souttar underwent minor surgery for an unrelated injury last week, per Leicester boss Marti Cifuentes, which has set his recovery back further. In Japan, Jason Geria signed a new contract with Albirex Niigata last week that will likely see him play in the J2 and J3 League's bridging competition as they switch seasons, meaning he won't be playing regular, competitive football between now and the World Cup. Elsewhere in Europe, Miloš Degenek completed a move from Serbian outfit FK TSC to an APOEL side that sits fifth in the Cypriot league, and that isn't playing European football, while Hayden Matthews has been ruled out for eight to ten weeks after injuring his ankle with Portsmouth.
If you're a Kai Trewin, Jack Iredale, Gianni Stensness, or even a Pantazopoulos, there's a window of opportunity opening up in the coming months.
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