The A-Leagues are back for 2026-27! Each week, ESPN's experts will take you through the weekend's action across the A-League Men and the A-League Women to give you the lowdown on whose stocks are up, whose stocks are down, and what has the people talking coming out of the weekend.
Here's what you need to know about the A-League Men's opening round.
Stock Up - The A-League Men's Kiwi Contingent
There really wasn't a true, standout side across the A-League Men's first weekend. There were moments of promise, to be certain, as well as hints that some teams may be better than lowly preseason predictions, but there wasn't a unit that took the field and laid down a marker as being true standouts. Not that that's surprising, either, given that it's the first week back after an interminably long offseason and well-publicised financial restrictions on squad building that the league is facing. Indeed, at this time last year, eventual premiers the Box Office Jets were smarting from a late F3 Derby defeat.
Nonetheless, if you're a Kiwi fan, regardless of whether you prefer to pair blue with your black or yellow, you were given something to smile about this weekend. For as we come to the end of matchday one of the 2026-27 campaign, the top of the table doesn't so much look like the A-League Men as it does the NZ-League Men, with Auckland FC sitting astride it following their 3-1 win over Melbourne City on Saturday, and Wellington Phoenix equal second after their 2-1 win over Melbourne Victory the following day.
Admittedly, given their status as defending champions, this was maybe par for the course for Auckland. Especially given that riding a base-level of competency to success has become something of their trademark across their two prior seasons in the league. But in Pedro Moreira's first game in charge since replacing now Yokohama F Marinos boss Steve Corica, it would have pleased 'The Port' no end to see one of their few new additions in Lachlan Bayliss providing a moment of inspiration to break things open early against City, before then finishing coolly to give them a lead they wouldn't relent.
While significantly less is expected of Wellington this season, they, too, were in the winner's circle; Riley Bidois' late strike securing a 2-0 win over Victory and celebrating their 20th birthday in style. Hit by injury and illness - skipper Alex Rufer missed the game - Chris Greenacre's side was nonetheless able to find a way to win. And after fading away and copping a few hammerings last season, that's a positive early sign.
Stock down - The A-League Men's Melbourne Contingent
Mirroring the above, it's just one week into the season, so we can't make any kind of definitive findings of doom and gloom on anyone. Nonetheless, it's fair to say that after an opening round that saw them both fall to Kiwi opposition, week one didn't exactly prove an auspicious beginning for either of the two Melbourne sides.
First, there was City, who made the trip to Mt Smart Stadium for the fourth time and came away empty-handed for the fourth time. Suffering three regular season defeats at the venue as well as a penalty shootout loss in last year's elimination final, Aurelio Vidmar's side has been outscored ten goals to two across their trips to Auckland, and they've never led in the 480 minutes of football they've played there.
Describing either side as better in Saturday's first half would be charitable, given the game was defined by muscle and a general lack of fluidity, but if there was one, it was City. They also bounced back from Bayliss' fantastic opener and equalised through Quinn MacNicol. But rather than build on that for the second half, they faded away and, following on themes from last year, were lacking penetrating movement on and off the ball, or a killer touch, in the final third.
Most of their first-choice midfield was injured, and the absence of a player with the skillset of an Emiliano Marcondes felt apparent, so it's too early to sound the alarm. But someone has to have their stock go down in round one, and round one has provided a baseline City will need to improve on as they get healthier.
But they aren't alone in that. They're not even the only AAMI Park tenant to experience that. Even accounting for it being their third game in eight days, it was notable just how often Victory bogged down in attack in their 2-1 defeat against Wellington, as well as being a step behind them when it came to scrambling and showing a level of urgency. This counted when they would lose possession, too, with the Phoenix able to win the ball back and rapidly bypass Victory's first-line of defence on their way to scoring both their goals.
Thus, while Giovanni Savarese's side controlled the possession stats 62% to 38% at Wellington Regional Stadium, they were outshot nine shots to five, with the Phoenix able to record 23 touches in the opposition penalty area compared to 13 of theirs. Even when Denis Genreau sparked Charles Nduka's goal, it came with the disclaimer that the Phoenix were down a man due to an injury to Rafael Durán.
Moment of the Weekend - Bayliss with the Bomba
LACHIE BAYLISS TAKE A BOW 💫 @fc_auckland kick off their season in style with a long-range bomb from Lachie Bayliss to give the champions their first of the campaign Watch #AKLvMCY live on Paramount+ 📺 https://t.co/jT06qjU2wS
— Paramount+ Australia (@ParamountPlusAU) October 17, 2026
Bayliss didn't need any encouragement to lace this long-range effort over Macklin Freke - easily the pick of the goals in the A-League Men's first round.
The Week Ahead - Derby Discourse
After their disappointing opening rounds, Victory and City will get the chance to immediately rebound this weekend when they clash in the first Melbourne Derby of the campaign on Saturday night. But in round two, is that a good thing?
"I'm not a big fan of the derby being the season opener," Western Sydney Wanderers boss Talay said after his side's season opening 0-0 Sydney Derby draw with Sydney FC last Friday. "The A-League has a big break anyway. People miss football. People will turn up to games round one, round two, round three, and I think the derby [in] round four, round five. [There's] always a build-up to it."
A season-opening Sydney Derby provided many things. There was a bumper crowd of 30,103, plenty of ill-feeling and narrative, and a major fixture on Network Ten's main channel to kick the season off. It was these #metrics that saw APL chief executive Steve Rosich defend the scheduling of the marquee clash on the first day of the season, telling NCA Newswire that "blockbuster games" were "prioritised in the opening match weeks to drive strong engagement at the start, and at key points throughout our season".
What was missing from this "blockbuster", though, was a good game of football. Instead, two teams still carrying the rust from preseason, on a pitch that had seen a Rugby League World Cup game played on it the night before, and carrying an obvious level of caginess, played out a stalemate that was scrappy and devoid of excitement.
In a league grappling with the contradictions that characterise its long-term goals and its short-term actions, the Sydney Derby - and this week's Melbourne Derby - feel like a perfect microcosm. In an effort to lure eyeballs and generate desperately needed buzz, the league schedules its biggest fixtures in the opening weeks of the season. But, in placing them so early in the campaign, while teams are still finding their gear, they increase the chances that the games turn out to be duds. And if you're a first-time or lapsed viewer tuning in to see the ostensible best that the A-League calendar has, only to get that, are you really going to be induced to come back?
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