THEY SAID IT: "When Goodie was here, we relied on him all the time to be the big-time player and to do the things that we needed to be done. Now that he's gone, the other players have to step up and I think they did tonight." - Adelaide coach Carl Veart after the Reds beat Central Coast 3-0 in their first game since Craig Goodwin's departure.
MAN OF THE WEEK: There is plenty of hype around young Western United striker Noah Botic. Against Melbourne City, the 21-year-old was largely well-held. But when Nunos Reis gave away a late penalty at 1-1, Botic stepped up and coolly dispatched the winning spot-kick in the 87th minute.
TALKING POINT: The heat was clearly a factor in Macarthur's 1-1 draw with Brisbane and Western Sydney's 1-1 draw with Wellington. Both games petered out to dour contests while Wanderers and Phoenix players were cramping consistently from the 75-minute mark onwards. Many believe the 3pm kick-offs must be reconsidered.
STAT ATTACK: Victory striker Bruno Fornaroli's goal against Sydney FC was his 90th in the ALM, drawing him level with Archie Thompson as the fourth-highest scorer in league history.
BEAT THAT: Zinedine Machach's first goal for Victory against Sydney was seriously special. He burst forward and flattened Sydney's Jake Girdwood-Reich, showed neat footwork to slip past Anthony Caceres and coolly powered the ball past Andrew Redmayne.
INJURIES: Central Coast will sweat on knee injuries to Brian Kaltak and Alou Kuol.
UNDER PRESSURE: City started their season with a tough loss and their bevy of new recruits are yet to gel. It doesn't get any easier, with a midweek Asian Champions League trip to Thailand before Adelaide away on Sunday.
UP NEXT: Brisbane host Sydney while Perth face the long-haul trip to Wellington. The Wanderers host Western United while Central Coast welcome Macarthur. Victory play their first home game against Newcastle before Adelaide take on City.
