(Sean Walsh is a regular BPL contributor on the A-League.)

Five Observations from the A-League's opening weekend:

1.  All hopes of Brisbane fading back into obscurity are forlorn.  Ange Postecoglou's side have hit the ground running and will again be leading contenders for the title. Nichols and Broich picked up from where they left last season and will cause problems for any defence they face.  Nichols in particular has gone from chubby kid with talent to box-to-box midfielder before our eyes. I'm sure having the likes of Energizer bunnies McKay and Murdocca to measure yourself against helps eradicate any lazy tendencies.

2.  If I lived on the Central Coast I would love the Mariners.  Year after year they give there all against seemingly better opposition only to often fall agonizingly short.  However I do not live in that patch of Coastal NSW and could only find them more objectionable if they recruited Jacob Burns.  Granted my ire rests primarily with three players (Kwasnik, McBreen and Simon).  Kwasnik's expression is constantly set to whinge. McBreen and Simon are wonderful examples of the diving hardman. Fouling one minute, falling to the ground the next.

3.  There are still some concerns regarding crowd numbers.  The numbers in Gold Coast continue to sit the wrong side of horrible.  Hopes of the beginning of a new era in Perth may be a mirage, 9,452 is 6,500 short of their highest attendance in the A-League and only 1,000 more than the average.  Brisbane suffered a 37,000 drop from grand final to Round 1.  The 13,000 figure is right on their average crowd numbers over the history of the club. Such fair weather support bodes ill for any decline in on-field fortunes. (Figures courtesy of ultimatealeague.com)

4.  Early indications are that Victory will be a contender. Kewell, Rojas and Solorzano unsuprisingly showed they improve last year's outfit. Trial signing Fabio showed enough to suggest he can hold down the problematic left back slot. Foschini was good and Brebner shielded his centrebacks well. Cernak had a bad night and Celeski may struggle to stay fit.

5.  Despite what all those Sydney fans on twitter appear to believe, one thing is clear. An elbow to the throat is a red card and the usual reaction to being struck forcefully to the throat is to drop to the ground gasping for air. Bridge deserved to go and at least his coach showed the good grace Sydney's fans were unable to manage.

.... And three questions for Mehmet Durakovic:

1.   Why, when Sydney went down to 10 men, did we continue with two centre backs and two defensive midfielders when those four were defensively responsible for only Carle and Emerton? Could Solorzano for Allsop instead have been Solorzano for Fabio (who was cramping at the time)?

2.   Who replaces Celeski: Broxham, Ferreira or Hernandez?

3.   After the great performance of Covic who is now first-choice keeper: Covic or Velaphi?