- Newcastle are relevant again
It has been more than seven years since the Jets last played finals football and while we're still over five months away from playoff action, the Jets have already shown signs that they are well on their way to breaking that drought.
After smashing their regional rivals in round one, the Jets were seconds away from claiming back-to-back wins to open the season. Despite Adam Taggart's 92nd minute equaliser resigning them to leaving McDonald Jones Stadium with just one point, Ernie Merrick's off-season recruiting has paid off in a big way, shown in part by a strong crowd of 16,633 in their home opener.
2. Taggart is returning to his best
Rusty in his return last week, Taggart showed his quality against the Jets with a sublime strikers goal to open the scoring before powerfully heading home in injury time to claim a point for the Glory.
The former Socceroo can add another dimension to an already potent Glory attack should he stay fit this season.
3. The Victory need more out of Bes
At his best, he's one of the league's most polarising and destructive players but when things aren't going his way, as was the case on Saturday night, it's almost as though his side is playing with 10 men.
Berisha was a non-factor on Saturday night and while chances in front of goal may not present themselves, both he and the Victory need to find a way to get him involved. Cause for concern may not be there just yet for the Victory attack however, another sub-par fortnight could raise a few more questions.
4. Are City the real deal?
Two weeks in and Melbourne City are sitting pretty with two wins, including one against their cross-town rival.
Their defence was solid against a persistent Victory side, something that has let them down in the past, as Warren Joyce looks to proves he's the right man to bring on-field success to Melbourne City.
5. The A-League's crowd problem is real
Smaller clubs often escape the media bashing of the A-League's very real crowd problem and deservedly so. However, to open the 2017/18 season, it's been the bigger clubs that have suffered from this problem.
Two supposed blockbuster openings to Melbourne Victory's season has drawn average crowds at best, while Sydney's general sporting attendance conundrum has once against translated over to Sydney FC.
The Victory played in front of 25,000 in their season opener against Sydney FC at Etihad in a fixture that has drawn over 40,000 in the past. While the Melbourne derby, which has often seen crowds of upwards of 45,000, drew 35,000 on Saturday night.
Impressively, Newcastle managed over 16,000 fans to see them take on Perth Glory while Brisbane managed just 11,000 fans at Suncorp Stadium as they suffered consecutive losses to open the season.
