The numbers that matter
The big winners of Round 23
It looked as though Wellington Phoenix's late-season switch from Vincenzo Italiano to Chris Greenacre was less about saving their season and more about getting a head start on 2026/27, not least Italiano himself had written off their current campaign prior to his abrupt exit.
Italiano praised the potential of his squad in his resignation speech but wanted someone with more energy and a new direction to step in and reinvigorate a stale season, and perhaps even he would be surprised with what Chris Greenacre has been able to do it during his fourth stint as caretaker manager at the Phoenix.
Club bosses should be immediately writing up a long-term contract for Greenacre after the the Phoenix picked up their first win at AAMI Park in almost a decade whilst sealing the club's longest A-League winning streak since their four in a row that was halted by the postponement of the competition in 2019/20.
Were it not for Macarthur FC's pair of back-to-back wins, the Phoenix would find themselves in sixth place and snapping at the heels of Sydney FC.
But they're just one point behind the Bulls and with the momentum of a four-game unbeaten run, which could make their trip to Campbelltown Stadium in the final round of the regular season a knockout match.
The big losers of Round 23
Given the outstanding short-term form of the Phoenix and Bulls, and even Melbourne City's win, it's probably fair to say that Brisbane Roar have run their race following a ninth consecutive game without a win (D4, L5).
They repeatedly attempted to bang down the door with 11 shot attempts, including big three chances to score, but couldn't get past an out-of-form Sydney FC on home turf, which leaves them not only behind Melbourne City and Central Coast Mariners on points but with those two also having a game in hand that they'll be playing on Tuesday night.
They were a very difficult defence to penetrate early in the season, and head coach Michael Valkanis said he finally saw "signs of early season Brisbane" this weekend as they held the Sky Blues out, but they ultimately couldn't get the job done.
Congratulations to their women's team for qualifying for finals for the first time in five years, but it looks as though the boys won't be joining them this season.
Team of the Week
Read more about our Round 23 Team of the Week here.
Goal of the Week
What they said
Arthur Diles (Melbourne Victory): "It was not good enough. I didn't see that one coming and definitely not the performance we expect or worked towards. There were no indications leading into this match that we would start or play the match (so flat). We were stretched at times defensively and weren't good enough with the ball. There were cheap turnovers and it just wasn't us. That first half was probably our worst half of football of the year."
Warren Moon (Central Coast Mariners): "Truth be told, I was really disappointed with our first 20-25 minutes. The levels were well below where we expect and we were really lucky to still be in the game. But I'm proud of the resilience and character, and we probably could have even gone on to win the game based on our second half. There's no pressure on us. We've worked hard to get into this position and we're not going to feel the nerves. There are sides who are much more fancied than us that want to make that six."
Patrick Kisnorbo (Sydney FC): "In some areas I think we were a bit sloppy, but Brisbane is a hard place to come to. To come here without conceding a goal is a good point. It wasn't sloppy in terms of things we were trying to change. We lost the ball too many times in my opinion, and we gave sloppy passes away. That's more of a concentration sort of aspect. I'm proud of the players, especially given what they've had to endure in the last week with everything up in the air. They've given me everything."
Read what each manager thought of their team's weekend performance here.
Next round's fixtures
First thing's first - we have a Round 17 game that was postponed due to continental fixtures to make for on Tuesday.
