Blog

Over the winter, Perth have built their campaign on gaining revenge, and going one better than last season. Whilst a healthy attitude to adopt, one has to be careful during the long A-League season. Perth hit form at the right end of the season in 2011/12, and will need to do the same this time around. They have built an impressive squad, and one that is definitely capable of going all the way.

The team has been built from the back this season, with Michael Thwaite and Adrian Zahra handy editions. But much will be reliant on the Kiwi magician Shane Smeltz, who has an uncanny knack for finding the back of the net. It will be a very exciting season for the Glory.

PREDICTION: Third. Predicting one worse than last year, but the shorter finals campaign may suit the Glory.

BEST FINISH: 2nd in 2011/12. Lost to Brisbane in Grand Final 2-1.

THE SIGNING: When Gold Coast folded last season, Michael Thwaite was the golden … Continue Reading

2011/12 Hyundai A-League Grand Final
Brisbane Roar vs Perth Glory
Sunday 22nd April. 4pm AEST
Venue: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Referee: Jarred Gillett
Broadcast: Live on Fox Sports 2/2HD

How they got there – Brisbane

Brisbane finished the regular season with a record of 14 wins, 7 draws and 6 losses, leaving them in second place on 49 points, two behind premiers Central Coast. In the two-legged major semi final against the Mariners, Brisbane took out the first leg 2-0 at home in front of 15,000 raucous fans, before travelling to Gosford a week later in the return leg to win 3-2, and 5-2 on aggregate. As the winner of the major semi final, Brisbane had the third week of the finals off, and qualified directly through to the Grand Final where they will host the match at Suncorp Stadium for the second consecutive season.

How they got there – Perth

Perth finished third on the A-League table with 13 wins, 4 draws and … Continue Reading

Week 28, otherwise known as Preliminary Final week, was a quiet and low-scoring week for the fantasy manager. One game and only two goals to go around didn’t help matters, with defenders unable to keep clean sheets, and only two forwards able to make a difference on the scoreboard. Thus, a score of just 39 was enough to top our league this week. Now, the fantasy competition has just one week to go, and once again you have unlimited trades to make this week. Keep in mind that you can only have a maximum of 8 players from any one team for the Grand Final, so make sure to trade out your Central Coast players for a smattering of ones from Perth and Brisbane.

Danny Vukovic was the best of the two goalkeepers from last week’s preliminary final, making 10 saves in total to rack up 5 points, ahead of Matt Ryan on just 2 points. This … Continue Reading

Due to an administrative stuff-up by Fox Sports, their fantasy system went a little bit weird, with fixtures being split up mid-round leaving managers scratching their heads as to exactly what happened. So, this week’s wrap-up will cover the prize winners for both week 26 and 27, and scores for week 27, of fantasy football.

The first two weeks of the finals were certainly interesting, to say the least. Both of the elimination finals (Wellington v Sydney, and Perth vs Heart) were particularly lacklustre in the first half, but once the second half kicked off, both fixtures went up a gear and were thoroughly enjoyable. In the major semi final, Brisbane took the chocolates in the first leg 2-0 at Suncorp Stadium, and eked out a hard fought 3-2 victory away at Central Coast to ensure the Grand Final is played at Suncorp Stadium in a fortnight’s time. 20 goals over the 5 games, however, was a … Continue Reading

Week 25 was a high scoring, action packed, nail biting round of A-League action. 19 goals across the final 5 games of the regular season provided plenty of points for fantasy owners, but with no teams managing to hold onto a clean sheet, it was the midfielders and strikers who scored the bulk of the points on offer this week. If you were shrewd (or lucky) enough to have a certain Perth striker in your team, and even more fortunate to have put the big ‘C’ next to his name this week, then you were in for a big points-scoring weekend.

The fantasy competition overlords this week have blessed each fantasy owner with a plethora of free trades (five, to be exact) in order to clean out the Gold Coast, Adelaide, Victory and Newcastle players in your team. So, make the most of this opportunity to bring in some big points scorers!

Let’s start with goalkeepers first, as … Continue Reading