Nick Sculley blogs on the Melbourne Heart for BackPageLead.

I have a confession to make; before the announcement of the Melbourne Heart entering the competition I was a Queensland/ Brisbane Roar fan, I even have the bright orange jersey to prove it! Let me set one thing straight before proceeding any further, ever since the Heart were announced I have been a Melbourne Heart fan through and through, however whenever the fixture pitting the two against each other arises I am filled with mixed feelings.

I love the Heart with all my, well you know what, but as the country has seen this year the Roar play a passing game that rivals anything we've seen in the history of the A-League. Sunday evening's game brought together two of the form sides of the competition, and although the result didn't go the Hearts way, the match itself didn't disappoint.

Either side dominated possession and shots for large periods of the game at one time or another; however it was the Roar that finished full of running, scoring two second half goals to ‘steal' the game 2-1. I say steal knowing full well that it could be argued the Roar had more chances, but also that the Heart could have led 2 or 3 nil at half time without raising any eyebrows. My side had lost to my former side; however in the process the Heart won the plaudits of the Australian Football public with the way they took the game to the league leaders.

I feel the need to give a special mention to two players, one from either side. Young Kiwi star Kosta Barbarouses has taken the league by storm this season scoring six goals, including the Roar's first on Sunday. With Reinaldo suspended, Barbarouses took it upon himself to spearhead the Roar in attack, producing a quality performance and signalling that, together with Shane Smeltz and Chris Wood, New Zealand will have an imposing strike force in the coming years. Secondly, Wayne Srhoj has been much maligned in Australian football throughout his career. Having featured prominently for Australia at under 17, 20 and 23 level, Srhoj fell off the radar despite all his technical ability. This season for the Heart, particularly in recent weeks, Srhoj has begun to string together the sort of performances that have been expected off him for years. If he happens to net a strike from long-range that everyone knows Srhoj is capable of, expect to see him go from strength to strength for the remainder of the season.