That was a brilliant weekend of football and The Scout’s finals predictions are coming true… At the moment.
GK Nathan Coe: What a night the two stoppers in the Big Blue had, the Victory keeper just shading Ivan Necevski, who was called into the Sydney-s starting line-up when first-choice Vedran Janjetovic got caught in traffic before the game. Either way, both Coe and Necevski were brilliant as their teammates went hell for leather.
RB Seb Ryall: It-s not often you see Seb Ryall-s name pop up in these quarters but he did enough against the Victory to catch our eye. Not only did he get forward in support of the attack, he also kept alert to the constant threat of Thompson, Rojas and Pain.
DF Trent Sainsbury: Patrick Zwaankswijk gets a lot of credit for organising the Mariners defence but plenty of credit needs to go the way of the two young Mariners. Sainsbury was excellent again this weekend, and closed down every Brisbane threat.
DF Nikolai Topor-Stanley: Look up “rock” in the dictionary, and there-s probably a picture of a rock. Next to that, there-s a picture of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Next to that, is a picture of Nikolai Topor-Stanley.
LB Dylan Murnane: What a game to make your debut in. It-ll obviously be some time before we find out of the kid has got longevity but he certainly stood tall in this frantic Big Blue, never letting the event, his emotions or the likes of Alessandro Del Piero get the better of him.
MF Iacopo La Rocca: This guy just sums up what the Wanderers were all about against Melbourne Heart. Dedicated, smart, precise, energetic and not a small amount of skills. He was huge in the middle of the park and topped it off with a brilliantly taken goal.
MF Terry Antonis: The Sydney Fc youngster looks to be finally learning the trade to go with his undoubted ability. He stood up against Melbourne Victory, with a mature, energetic performance in the middle of the park, involved in the attack but also working hard defensively.
MF Jake Barker-Daish: Why hasn’t this whiz-kid been playing all season? In his two starts over the last fortnight he has continued to grow. His work rate is great and his passing game and vision is brilliant. He combines the skills he showed at Gold Coast United with a great deal of graft and was Adelaide’s best player.
F Bernie Ibini: A real livewire since returning from Belgium, Ibini was a constant thorn in Brisbane side on Sunday night. Always ready to run at defenders and use his pace on the flanks to get into the area. Scored a tasty goal too.
F Dario Vidosic: Perhaps his exclusion from the Qantas Socceroos squad lit a fire under Dario, because against the Jets he showed the application, drive and skills we know he has in his arsenal. It looked like he had deservedly scored the match-winner late on, only for a shocking call from Lucien Laverdure and his linesman to farcically take it away from him. If he stays in this mood the Reds become a title threat.
F Archie Thompson: A tireless performance that showed just what a legend the Victory striker is. Even at 34 his legs are still of running and his brain is even quicker. The Scout would hate to play against him.
