The third matchday of the 2026-27 A-League Men season is in the books and there is plenty of action to dissect.
Here's the lowdown on whose stocks are up, whose stocks are down, and what has the people talking coming out of the weekend.
Stocks up: Phoenix are flying
Put your hand up if you envisioned that, after three rounds of the A-League season, the Wellington Phoenix would not only be top of the table, but also be the only side in the competition to have won every game they've played. Now, unless you're the most ardent Nix fan, put your hand down, because even coach Chris Greenacre remarked "I never expected it" in the aftermath of his side's 3-0 win over the Newcastle Jets on Saturday.
Certainly, there was a touch of fortune about the way that the Phoenix went about things at McDonald Jones Stadium. First, VAR signed off on soon-to-be New Zealand international Corban Piper's opener despite assistant referee Liam Smith raising his flag before his shot. Then they rode their luck through a second half in which they dug in and absorbed wave after wave of Jets attacks; the hosts possessing 87% of the ball in the second stanza, taking 24 touches in the Phoenix's penalty area, and sending eight shots on goal. There was also probably a bit of fortune in two of their three touches in the Jets' penalty area in that half resulting in goals, albeit Riley Bidois' and Nathan Walker's 87th and 93rd-minute strikes were textbook examples of lethal transitions.
But they don't count ifs and maybes on the A-League table. They count wins. And nearly a month into the season, not only are the Phoenix the only side in the league to have won every game they've played, but they've also scored more goals than anyone else (seven) and conceded the fewest (one). They've fashioned the fourth most big chances in the competition, and they've created the second most expected goals so far (4.8, trailing only Western Sydney Wanderers' 4.9).
In his first full-time season, Greenacre certainly looks like he's getting plenty out of a largely unheralded squad coming into the season. In particular, he's helped Piper -- now seemingly settled as a striker after playing pretty much everywhere in recent years -- go to a new level. Always a physical specimen, the Nix have worked to play to the 24-year-old's strengths, looking to free him in behind where he can work one-on-one against defenders and beat them for pace, power, or pace and power, and he's responded with goals in all three of their games, as well as recognition in the form of a first international call-up.
"We've simplified his game a bit," Greenacre said of Piper. "His forward runs make him a real handful."
The big question moving forward will be if this is all sustainable; if they can do more than transition teams to death if needed. As good as their results and output have been, three games do not make a reliable sample size, and, if they did, Wellington's underlying metrics would suggest that they are overperforming their performances right now. Time will tell.
Stocks down: Troubling times for the Jets
If one was looking for more reasons to short Phoenix stocks, it would be that all of the sides they've beaten this season -- Melbourne Victory, Central Coast Mariners, and the Jets -- remain winless three weeks into the season. But while Victory can at least point to a win over FC Seoul and run to the Australia Cup final, and the Mariners are operating with some of the lowest expectations any A-League side has had in recent years, the Jets can count on no such small mercies.
Newcastle are still looking for their first win in not just the A-League, but any competition in 2026-27: eliminated by Preston in the Australia Cup's Round of 32, losing their three Asian Champions League Elite fixtures by a combined score of 15 to four, and drawing with the Mariners and Macarthur FC before the Phoenix defeat this weekend.
Admittedly, the Jets have always been one of the most financially constrained sides in the A-League, which places a ceiling on their ability to sustain themselves atop the table. And after losing more than half a dozen starters in the offseason, some of whom were some of the most exciting young talents in Australian football, some level of regression was always likely. Doubly so given that they lost this talented core -- with the likes of Clayton Taylor, Eli Adams, and Lachlan Rose all moving overseas -- ahead of a campaign in which they would be tasked with domestic and Asian commitments.
Their trip from Newcastle to Kyoto and back this week, for instance, covered a lazy 15,408 kilometres, and forced coach Mark Milligan to swing eight changes, featuring three debutants, to his XI for the Nix's visit. It's the recurring theme in Australian football: you have a good year, can't hold onto your best players, can't afford to recruit players at that same level, and can't enjoy the rewards of your success the following campaign.
Giving some level of hope for the Jets, at least, underlying metrics would suggest they're still trying to play the way Milligan wants them to. They've had more of the ball than anyone this season while also having the most touches in opponents' penalty areas and winning the most corners -- demonstrating a level of territorial dominance with said possession. They've also created the second-most big chances. And in the likes of Alex Badolato and Max Burgess, they've got top end talent.
But again, ifs and maybes. And with just 4,558 fans attending their game against Wellington, the vibes from last year's incredible campaign already seem to be dissipating in the Hunter. This probably hasn't been helped by the Knights reaching an NRL Grand Final and reminding everyone in town that Newcastle is, first and foremost, a Rugba Leeg town, nor by an unedifying ban on Newcastle Herald reporter James Gardiner after his reporting of alleged late payments by the club. There have also been allegations published in the Herald that a "culture of fear" had been fostered in the club's women's academy by female academy technical director Ryan Campbell. It's not what you need to keep winning over hearts and minds after one of your best-ever seasons.
Moment of the weekend: Vamos Valadon!
What a way to score your FIRST EVER @aleagues goal! 🔥 Jordi Valadon levels the scores for the 10-men Victory, firing in an absolute ROCKET from outside the penalty area! 🚀 Watch #MVCvCCM live and exclusive on Paramount+ 📺 https://t.co/JAvOJHs3XV
— Paramount+ Australia (@ParamountPlusAU) November 1, 2026
Not only did Jordi Valadon's blast secure 10-man Melbourne Victory a draw against Central Coast on Sunday, it also gave him his first A-League goal after 74 games, which had been the longest streak amongst active players in the competition. That mark now passes to Wellington's Lukas Kelly-Heald, on 65 games, but he's got a long way to go before he catches all-time leader Adam D'Apuzzo, who went 150 matches without netting.
The week ahead: Socceroos spots up for grabs
With Wellington flying high and Auckland FC fresh off winning their first-ever A-League title in 2025-26 (even if they've not looked all too impressive under new coach Pedro Moreira so far), this coming week's Kiwi Clásico promises to be one of the most eagerly anticipated yet. But back in Australia, much of the build-up to the weekend looks set to be hijacked by Tony Popovic, with the Socceroos boss expected to name his squad for the November international window at some point later in the week.
With games against Qatar and Jordan scheduled -- fixtures for which ESPN will be on the ground in Doha and Amman -- the November window represents the last opportunity players will get to impress Popovic before he names his squad for next January's AFC Asian Cup. And while Tete Yengi's sudden rise before the FIFA World Cup means you can never say never, if you're a fringe player not making this month's squad, your Asian Cup chances probably don't look good. Then there's the matter of who leads the line (especially if Yengi, in addition to Mohamed Touré, is injured), if Mathew Ryan returns, if Cristian Volpato returns, and plenty more.
And that's all assuming that this window goes ahead as planned and that, if it does, it's in preparation for an Asian Cup that will actually be played in January. Security concerns have been raised for the Jordan fixture after nine people were killed when gunmen opened fire during a funeral at a Greek Orthodox church in Southern Jordan last month, and Jordanian border guards prevented 14 armed rebels from crossing into the country from Syria on Saturday. Omani journalist Issa Saeed, meanwhile, has reported that confirmation that the Asian Cup is set to be postponed to December 2027 is imminent amid ongoing clashes between Saudi Arabia and Yemeni-based Houthi rebels.
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