Round Seventeen Report

It was a fantastic week in terms of bumper crowds, but not such a good one as far as spectacular football goes. With drab matches all around the league, it's difficult to discuss highlights. Sydney and Newcastle epitomised the high stakes tension when their desire to gain points was cancelled out by the fear of losing any. Melbourne's finals dash has all but whimpered to a halt after their unspectacular 1-0 loss in Adelaide. The most important item on the agenda for Victory this week is whether or not to immediately accept PSV's offer for Archie Thompson or (foolishly I would think) negotiate better terms. Perth somehow manufactured a truly pathetic display in their encounter with Queensland. Running out comfortable 2-0 winners, the formerly goal shy Roar have offered hope to their patient fans and with three home games to come they might just be an outside chance for the top four. Next week Queensland hosts Melbourne in what is shaping up as a desperate battle. Finally, the Mariners had a fortuitious win over the Knights, who for the fifth game in a row have either drawn with their opponents or lost by the narrowest of margins. Dean Heffernan was the stoppage time hero, giving Central Coast fans a little more comfort over the next few harrowing weeks.

Regarding the healthy attendances, it was the best turnout since Round 13 and the highest so far when only one of the top three crowd pullers (Sydney, Queensland, Melbourne) played at home. If not for the rain in Gosford (again!), the figures would be even more impressive. Over the remaining rounds there will be a few barometer matchups leading into the finals, when the FFA will be hoping for record sellout crowds. Perth hosts Adelaide next week in a match they must look to gain something from. If the Glory faifhful aren't willing to turn up for the league leaders, a team they've historically done very well against, I'm not sure where Perth will stand in the final analysis of this season's home ticket sales. Sydney and Queensland have massive home games next week against the Mariners and Victory respectively. Roar faces Sydney at home in Round 19, a match that's certain to draw in more than 20,000 viewers, while Adelaide hosts the Mariners in what looks to me one of the potential games of the season. In Round 20 the Knights have a chance to boost their overall average atttendance when they host the table toppers, while Perth gets another chance to view the Dwight Yorke show the next day. Then in the final round of the season two showcase matches stand out, both of which may be critical to the championship aspirations of the teams involved. Sydney and Adelaide do battle at Aussie Stadium in a showdown between two teams most likely to face each other two or three more times in the finals. Then in Newcastle, the Jets and Perth will face off in a kockdown drama that could well decide fourth spot on the table.

All of this suggests an increase in average attendances across the league. Currently a shave under 11,000 per game and three-quarters of a million in total, I think we can be quite hopeful of eclipsing 11,500 per game, comfortably over one million total admissions, once the finals series concludes. (If the Knights home matches are taken out of the equation, the overall figure for matches played in Australia will get close to 12,500, i.e. approximately what the FFA aimed for at the start of the season when "ten to fifteen thousand" was an often quoted objective.)

Best of Round Seventeen:

Player: Lucas Pantelis (pictured) - plenty of enterprising work from the flanker

U-20 Player: David Micevski - sterling debut from the Perth youngster who was among the best on ground

Coach: John Adshead - shrewd defensive tactics are playing a big part in the revival of the Knights

Match: Central Coast Mariners vs New Zealand Knights

Referee: Mark Shield

Goal: Dean Heffernan - an important goal, well controlled and placed into the corner with a fairly cunning low drive

4-4-2 Team of the Week:

Alex Brosque - Archie Thompson
Lucas Pantelis - Terry McFlynn - Zenon Caravella - Massimo Murdocca
Dean Heffernan - Alan Picken - Michael Valkanis - Jade North
Liam Reddy

Subs: Simon Colosimo, David Micevski, Ante Milicic, Glen Moss