When the topic of expansion comes up, Peacock mentions how the noise surrounding a potential Gold Coast team "won't go away". To which Rugari responds saying that its "possibly on the cards" and to "watch this space".

The A-League has already shown that it's willing to go back into cities that failed previously (and if it wasn't for Clive Palmer, who know GCU could still be playing A-League today) with Auckland, so maybe GCU could be getting lined up to join Canberra in 2028? Either then or maybe a few years later if South get chosen to come in alongside Canberra in 2028.

I went to my first A-League game last weekend Melbourne Victory vs Melbourne City and honestly, I loved it. The atmosphere was great, I could see the potential of the competition, and I’ll definitely be going again. I also try to watch games every weekend.

Something I noticed a few months ago got me thinking. A very popular influencer attended a game in Melbourne and posted about it on her Instagram story to her 16.1 million followers. She appeared to be seated in a VIP area, so you’d assume the club or organisers knew she was there. I was surprised that the broadcast didn’t seem to make any effort to show her in the crowd.

Look at American sports like the NBA, NFL and MLB. When celebrities attend games, broadcasters often make a point of showing them. It creates buzz, makes the event feel bigger, and reinforces the idea that going to a game is something worth being seen doing.

Obviously, one celebrity appearance isn’t going to transform the A-League, but why not take advantage of those moments? If someone with 16 million followers is attending a game, that’s an opportunity to generate attention well beyond the usual football audience.

The A-League has a lot of potential, but growing the competition isn’t just about what happens on the pitch. It’s also about the atmosphere, the experience and making matchday feel like an event people want to be part of.

Do you think the A-League and its broadcasters do enough to make games look like the place to be, or are they missing opportunities like this?

So, the company I work for is the front-of-shirt sponsor for Kyoto Sanga as well as having the naming rights for their home ground.

When I got into the office today, I found this in the break room/kitchen. After asking around a bit, I was told that head office in Japan had sent this over last week and the fact that it arrived yesterday was pure coincidence. Somehow, I find that just a little hard to believe...

FT: 90' - Persib Bandung 2 vs 0 Melbourne Victory

Stadium: Jalak Harupat Soreang Stadium , Bandung

Weather: 22°C, Light rain shower, Wind: 3.6 km/h

Fixture Date: 28/10/2026, 11:15 pm AEDT

Referee: Mohammed Sami Al-Ismail

Home Lineup:

Formation: 5-3-2

Substitutes: Uilliam Barros Pereira, D. Kusnandar, L. Menalo, R. Oratmangoen, M. Peralta, B. Putra, R. Rasyiq, K. Rudianto, R. Syafaka, I. Tanamal, N. Alfaro

Away Lineup:

Formation: 4-2-3-1

Substitutes: M. Olukhale, H. Sawyer, J. Valadon, William Kengni, B. Hamill, Jack Mihailidis, M. Grimaldi, D. Graskoski, J. Duncan, O. Dragicevic

###Match Events:

45': 🔄 Melbourne Victory - Jordi Valadon replaces Michael Ghossaini

45': 🔄 Melbourne Victory - Matthew Grimaldi replaces Xavier Stella

47': ⚽ Persib Bandung - Balsa Sekulic (Danijel Lončar)

67': ⚽ Persib Bandung - Balsa Sekulic (Berguinho da Silva)

72': 🔄 Persib Bandung - Uilliam Barros Pereira replaces Balsa Sekulic

72': 🔄 Persib Bandung - Mariano Peralta Bauer replaces Berguinho da Silva

75': 🔄 Melbourne Victory - Brendan Hamill replaces Franco Lino

75': 🔄 Melbourne Victory - Harrison Sawyer replaces Clarismario Santos Rodrigues

79': 🔄 Persib Bandung - Dedi Kusnandar replaces Gakuto Notsuda

90': 🔄 Persib Bandung - Nazriel Alfaro Syahdan replaces Thom Haye

###Match Statistics:

Last Updated: 29/10/2026, 01:08 am AEDT

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145 users are in the competition, and over a third of them (51) are already hanging by a thread! Meanwhile, only 28 are still on all three lives.

The NZ clubs were the popular picks this past week, with 34 tipping the Nix and 32 Auckland. Only one of those proved to be a wise choice.

Other popular tips were Sydney (23) and Brisbane (11), both of which were good choices. Only 3 backed WSW.

I'll put the round 2 results in the comments!

Anyway, without further delay, the games this week are:

• Brisbane vs Auckland
• Newcastle vs Wellington
• City vs Sydney
• Macarthur vs WSW
• Victory vs CCM
• Perth vs Adelaide

Pick one team that you think is going to win this weekend, and remember you can't pick the same team two rounds in a row.

Missed the first two rounds? It's not too late to join! Just comment your prediction and you'll be added to the comp (although you'll be starting on just one life).

Confirmation Paramount has the rights to the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil

FT: 90' - Kyoto Sanga 5 vs 2 Newcastle Jets

Stadium: Sanga Stadium by Kyocera, Kyoto

Weather: 15.8°C, Clear, Wind: 24.8 km/h

Fixture Date: 27/10/2026, 09:00 pm AEDT

Referee: Kim Jong-hyeok

Home Lineup:

Formation: 3-4-2-1

Substitutes: H. Arai, Y. Ishida, H. Morooka, S. Nagasawa, K. Nagata, R. Nakano, M. Okugawa, G. Ota, Ko Sakai, Y. Suzuki, David Da Silva Costa, Alex Negueba

Away Lineup:

Formation: 4-1-4-1

Substitutes: N. Vergos, Nicholas Badolato, J. Baylis, E. Debono, W. Dobson, J. Goodwin, A. Grant, Jesse Hill, A. Nunes

###Match Events:

8': Penalty confirmed - Newcastle Jets - Zane Schreiber

13': ⚽ (P) Newcastle Jets - Patrick Wood

21': 🟨 Kyoto Sanga - João Pedro (Foul)

37': 🟨 Newcastle Jets - Julian Recchia (Foul)

43': Penalty confirmed - Newcastle Jets - Joe Lolley

46': 🟨 Kyoto Sanga - Takaaki Shichi (Foul)

47': ⚽ (P) Newcastle Jets - Patrick Wood

51': ⚽ Kyoto Sanga - Hisashi Appiah Tawiah (Takaaki Shichi)

45': 🔄 Kyoto Sanga - Alex Souza replaces Everton Maceió

54': 🟨 Newcastle Jets - Joe Shaughnessy (Foul)

56': ⚽ Kyoto Sanga - Alex Souza (Marco Túlio)

60': ⚽ Kyoto Sanga - Marco Túlio (Alex Souza)

60': 🔄 Newcastle Jets - Nikos Vergos replaces Patrick Wood

60': 🔄 Newcastle Jets - Will Dobson replaces Joe Lolley

64': 🔄 Kyoto Sanga - Haruki Arai replaces Marco Túlio

65': 🔄 Kyoto Sanga - Hiroto Morooka replaces Shimpei Fukuoka

67': ⚽ Kyoto Sanga - Rafael Papagaio (Haruki Arai)

69': 🔄 Newcastle Jets - Ethan Debono replaces Julian Recchia

72': 🔄 Kyoto Sanga - Ryuma Nakano replaces João Pedro

72': 🔄 Kyoto Sanga - Masaya Okugawa replaces Rafael Papagaio

82': 🔄 Newcastle Jets - Alex Nunes replaces Xavier Bertoncello

84': ⚽ Kyoto Sanga - Alex Souza (Masaya Okugawa)

94': 🟨 Newcastle Jets - Zane Schreiber (Foul)

###Match Statistics:

Last Updated: 27/10/2026, 11:02 pm AEDT

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Kyoto Sanga 5 vs 2 Newcastle Jets

###Match Statistics:

Discuss this match below or on the r/Aleague Discord Server

Highest attendance for this round - 4,162 (South Melbourne v Sydney United).

Lowest attendance for this round - 511 (Sydney Olympic v Bayswater City).

Average - 1,376 (down 715 or 34% from Round 1).

Source.

Another Aussie made a return from injury over the week.

Former Sydney and Brighton boy Cam Peupion featured off the bench for ADO Den Haag. Got 24 minutes in the tank against Heerenveen. Hopefully he can get back to full fitness.

Brisbane Roar vs Perth Glory - 6497
Newcastle Jets vs Macarthur FC - 7293
Western Sydney Wanderers vs Auckland FC - 8283
Melbourne Victory vs Melbourne City - 19008
Wellington Phoenix vs Central Coast Mariners - 5301
Sydney FC vs Adelaide United - 10773

Total - 57155
Average - 9525

Rough week, salvaged a little by a rained out Melbourne Derby. Thoughts?

Source: Austadiums

Love Josh Mansour's interviews that he does with footballers. He clearly loves the sport and knows it well.

We all know Irankunda has his great moments, but what I saw this morning convinced me that his future is enormous.

His output for Sporting today was extremely professional. He was prolific in creating very dangerous chances with vision and precise passes. He showed extreme confidence and competence in beating every defender. He made no real mistakes on the ball and tracked back more than I've seen in the past. I felt like I was watching a seasoned Premier League winger for a top half team, which is not how I have felt watching Irankunda in the past.

Popovic is right to say Irankunda's game has significantly improved since the transfer and I can see why Sporting CP are starting him in most games now, despite benching him at the start of the season. This kid is going to the top, and we're very lucky to have someone like him play for Australia. And to think he's still got many years of development still to go. He's going to give opposition managers nightmares in the future.

I highly recommend finding a streaming site to watch one of his Sporting games over the next couple of months. Its very entertaining.