Victory and Perth showed they are both capable, while not even the great Shinji Ono was capable of inspiring the Wanderers.
1. Who is more defined? Perth or Victory?
It would seem both teams are clearly defined in their shape and the way they play, they know what their respective coaches want and they give it to them.
In truth there was little to separate the teams. Both were threatening in attack and it was only a few moments of brilliance from those in the navy blue proving to be the decisive factor.
Marco Rojas-s goal was simply splendid, while at the other end of the park Nathan Coe delivered in a big way, blunting Shane Smeltz like no other keeper in Victory history has.
The Victory really are coming to terms with Ange-s brand of football and in truth are starting to look like the genuine contenders they always promise to be.
Who will miss their Qantas Socceroos more?
The 2-1 loss means it looks like the Reds missed their Socceroos more and when you add to the ‘outs- list Marcelo Carrusca, then Adelaide seemed to be at a clear disadvantage going into the match.
It would end up that the reds would lose their grip on top spot to the Mariners and ain truth they did miss their Qantas Socceroos more.
There is simply no way Eugene Galekovic would have let Josh Rose-s missile-like strike through his hands.
It-s not so much a knock on Paul Izzo as it is stating a fact, Galekovic is arguably the best keeper in the league and this match showed that Adelaide missed him greatly.
While the Mariners certainly missed the creativity of Tom Rogic in midfield, they coped without him, Adelaide for their part also struggled for true control of the game without Dario Vidosic.
How much longer will Rado get?
Brisbane were not pretty, but they won against a Jets side who were positively ugly north of the border.
It doesn-t look like Rado has truly got them going, but the loss of Thomas Broich midway through the game wouldn-t have helped and there was reason to take heart.
Erik Paartalu, who has been one shining light for the Roar this season continued to slip passes and pick locks through the Jets midfield as the Roar ground out a tough win.
Was it attractive, Ange-style football? No. Did they win? Yes. And that keeps Rado safe as the Roar look to string two together.
Will Shinji step up?
A resounding ‘no- was the answer, Shinji Ono has been building his form, of that there is no doubt, but when it came to him standing up and taking the game by the scruff of the neck when necessary at the weekend, it didn-t happen.
In fact if anyone did, it was his opposite number in Wellington-s Paul Ifill.
The Barbadian continued to build his form and looked the man most likely to bring the Wanderers undone, until God intervened, triggered a wind gust and allowed Jeremy Brockie to embarrass Ante Covic.
As for Ono though, the jury is out as to whether he has really delivered or perhaps even can? At this stage the Wanderers look fairly toothless when Aaron Mooy isn-t there to boss them around the park.
Will Frank get the bounce?
Well he didn-t get the three points and he was coaching from the stands, with Steve Corica on the sideline but a draw and zero goals conceded is better than a loss for the bottom-of-the-table Sky Blues.
Even though they didn-t win the match it might just have been Sydney-s most complete performance of the season.
They created the most chances throughout the match with Yairo Yau a shining light (shame about the finishing) and Terry McFlynn having what clearly was his best match of the season to date.
As for Heart, their performance was a strange one and almost coincided with a dip in crowd action from Sky Blues fans, who seemed to give up and shut up as soon as Alessandro Del Piero came off the pitch.
That reaction gave the Heart the confidence to take the game on and they did, almost pulling the game out of the fire when charging late on at Sydney.