When it comes to pre and post-round analysis of all the action in the Isuzu UTE A-League, the aleagues.com.au has you covered this season with FIVE shows to enjoy every week!
From the A-Leagues Highlights Show, to The A-Leagues Download, Total A-Leagues, The Tactician and A-Leagues Warm Up, our weekly content offering provides analysis, commentary and tactical breakdowns of all the action from every round, while simultaneously building up to what’s to come as the 2024-25 season gets rolling.
This week, aleagues.com.au writer James Dodd was joined by Socceroo Tommy Oar on Total A-Leagues to discuss the biggest talking points with the first-ever New Zealand Derby dominating headlines along with the fallout from a fiery Melbourne Derby in Round 2.
On The Tactician, Daniel McBreen dissected Melbourne Victory’s aggressive press that sparked a dominant derby win over Melbourne City, and highlighted two young Victory stars emulating last season’s Championship-winning midfield duo from Central Coast Mariners.
Read on for all the major talking points.
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The new Nisbet-Balard combination?
Last season, we saw the green shoots of an exciting partnership in Melbourne Victory’s midfield. Two rounds into the new season, the two young guns have taken it to the next level.
Jordi Valadon (21) and Ryan Teague (22) were pivotal to Victory’s Melbourne Derby dominance in Round 2, and in this week’s episode of The Tactician, Daniel McBreen waxed lyrical about the players who, on current form, he believes are replicating both the aesthetic and on-field effectiveness of Central Coast Mariners midfielders Max Balard and Josh Nisbet.
“Melbourne City were under pressure and felt like they couldn’t get out – and it was mainly because of Ryan Teague and Jordi Valadon,” said McBreen.
“They are a great partnership brewing here… these two are always around the edge of the box, and they are the first (people) to get on the edge of the box and win those balls.
“Melbourne City kept thinking: ‘this is relentless, we can’t get out’… that relentless pressure made City sit back deeper, and deeper and deeper.
“Valadon and Teague are forming a great relationship at the moment… these two, they look very similar in stature and in their partnership brewing to me of the two Championship-winning midfielders for the Mariners in Josh Nisbet and Max Balard.
“If they can go on to be like those two, well it’s a very exciting time for Melbourne Victory.”
Watch Daniel McBreen’s full analysis of Round 2 on this week’s episode of The Tactician below.
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Talking Points
‘Amazing banter’ adds to the ‘incredible’ hype for first New Zealand Derby
Buckle up, folks: the first instalment of the New Zealand Derby is this weekend, and in the battle between first and second, there’s just as much fuelling the rivalry off the pitch as there will be on the pitch when the action kicks off at Sky Stadium.
At Auckland’s home game in Round 2, the Phoenix organised a flyover at Go Media Stadium right on kick-off, with the plane overhead trailing a banner that read: “NZ is Yellow – see you next week!”
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A billboard outside the venue featured the very same slogan as the ‘Nix fired two early jabs at their new rivals.
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Tommy Oar spoke for every A-Leagues fan as he lauded the club for their creative attempts to rile up Auckland fans and players ahead of the derby, which pits the league-leading Black Knights against Giancarlo Italiano’s second-placed Phoenix in Round 3.
“I loved to see that – I thought the banter in that situation was amazing,” Oar said on Total A-Leagues.
“I think the whole build-up for this derby has been incredible. If you think back over the last few seasons, the last time I can remember this much anticipation in the lead-up to an A-League game was maybe when (Milos) Ninkovic changed to Western Sydney Wanderers, for that Sydney Derby.
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“I feel like this (game) has been on everyone’s lips for the last few weeks, and the way both teams have started the season as well, there’s just so much to look forward to in this game.
“The stunt that Wellington pulled off was to change the narrative back to them, because I think everyone in the last few weeks has been talking about Auckland. Wellington after finishing last season so strongly has started this year very well as well, but have kind of slid under the radar.
“In this game there (are) so many talking points on and off the field. A new club, the first away game for Auckland, how many travelling fans will there be, and will many Wellington fans maybe from Auckland change their allegiances to be in blue this weekend? There are so many interesting narratives and discussion points. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.”
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One player who will be full of nerves heading to Sky Stadium on Saturday afternoon is Alex Paulsen, a former Wellington fan favourite who signed for AFC Bournemouth in the off-season and is now on loan at sister club Auckland.
Oar says Paulsen will be enemy number one at Sky Stadium on Saturday, and is interested to see how the Auckland keeper copes with the scrutiny.
“This will be interesting because a lot of players relish that kind of atmosphere and that kind of reception,” Oar said.
“I don’t think he will have faced it so far in his career, the frosty reception he’s undoubtedly going to see. As a goalkeeper, there’s nowhere to hide. So that’s definitely an interesting one to keep an eye on in this game.”
City coach backed after press conference fury
“Horrendous.”
That was the first word used by Aurelio Vidmar in his post-derby press conference, to describe his side’s sluggish start against Melbourne Victory in Round 2.
City lost 3-1 to Victory on the day and the damage was done inside 25 minutes, with Victory scoring all three of their goals before the half-hour mark.
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“When you can’t get up for a game like this then something is definitely wrong,” Vidmar said.
“Do we need to cop three goals before we actually turn up? I don’t want to see that again.”
Strong words from the City coach – but those words were justified, says Oar, who believes Vidmar chose the right moment to put his squad on notice.
“He didn’t mince his words,” Oar said. “It was a very strong statement. I feel like he’s laid down a marker going forward, for a lot of his team – but I feel like it was called for.
“From a player’s perspective, it’s difficult when a coach comes out and makes comments when you feel like it’s uncalled for. In this game, the reality is: tactics are one thing, but they didn’t compete, they were way too casual, there was no intensity in their play – I feel like that’s why they lost the game – that’s down to the players.
“He was very justified in his comments, and from a player’s perspective I feel like there’ll be a lot of self-reflection this week and I’m sure he’ll be looking for a big reaction this weekend.”
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Breakout Jets star lauded for transfer decision that’s led to early-season breakout
In the eyes of Tommy Oar, 22-year-old Jets midfielder Eli Adams has made a career move all young footballers should aspire to emulate.
Bereft of opportunities at Melbourne Victory, Adams made the off-season switch to Newcastle Jets.
In four prior Isuzu UTE A-League seasons (two at Victory, two at Brisbane Roar), Adams made just five starts in 23 games, but he’s started both of Newcastle’s first two games of this season and played 90 minutes in each – and the benefits of consistent minutes are already starting to show on the pitch.
Staring down a 1-0 defeat to Macarthur in Round 2, Adams turned the game on its head in four glorious second-half minutes, scoring two brilliant goals – both of which were nominated for aleagues.com.au’s Goal of the Week.
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On this week’s episode of Total A-Leagues, Oar lauded Adams for identifying the right opportunity at the right club at the right time, and for seizing his chance so far in the Jets starting XI.
“The most important thing for any footballer, regardless of which league or which transfer you’re making, is you need to at least have an opportunity to play match minutes in men’s football,” Oar said.
“We’ve seen a lot of A-League players go overseas, go to the academies or youth teams at big clubs. For me, I feel like that’s wrong because the fastest way to learn is to play.
“Regardless of what coaching you get, you need the experience, the matchday experience and maturing. You need to mature as a player. I feel like that move to the Newcastle Jets, for him, was a really smart one.
“We’ve seen over the last few years how willing they are to give young players a chance who have maybe struggled for game time at the Melbourne or Sydney clubs. He’s started really well, and hopefully, this can be the beginning of him really kicking on this year.
“A lot of players are maybe impatient and they’re not willing to fight for their place, and they move on too quickly. There’s not one thing that players need to look out for when making these moves but I feel like Newcastle is a great place for him.”
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