1. Adelaide United (1)
Adelaide United continued their incredible rise up the A-League ladder after beating the former ladder leading Brisbane Roar by three goals to nil. The win is their 10th in a 13 match unbeaten streak and has them within two points of the top of the table. The goals are flowing at the moment for United, with Kamau, Djite and Sanchez finding their way onto the score sheet this weekend. Adelaide aren't dominating games for 90 minutes, but they are using the ball better than any side in the competition right now. Their defence was able to limit the Roar to just three shots on target.
2. Perth Glory (2)
The Glory's six game unbeaten run, as well as their record five-game winning streak, came to an end after a 2-1 loss away to the table topping Wanderers. Unfortunately for the travelling Glory, the loss sees them pass up a chance to enter the top six for the first time in a long time, but the manner of the loss won't do too much to derail their momentum. The way they responded to falling a goal behind was admirable, equalising within a few minutes after an attack from the kick off lead to a spot kick. The Glory have done enough over the past month and a bit to position themselves very well for a shot at the finals. With four games of their remaining six against the bottom three sides, they're a great chance to leap over the likes of FC or Victory.
3. Western Sydney Wanderers (5)
The Wanderers returned to the top of the A-League ladder, and ended a three match winless streak with a solid victory over the red hot Perth Glory on Friday night. An amazing goal from super sub Brendon Santalab consigned the Glory to their first defeat since round 14. There wasn't a whole lot to be said about the first stanza, however the game roared to life in the second when Romeo Castalan scored a ripper of a goal just after the hour mark. Although the Wanderers would concede within two minutes, they were able to overcome the disappointment and set Satalab up to score a goal that needs to be seen to be believed. Following a slight hiccup, the Wanderers have now put two wins in a row together.
4. Newcastle Jets (8)
The biggest movers since the very early rounds of the rankings, but the Jets have won three of their past four, and drew in the fourth, meaning a four match undefeated run. Their good run of form has them just four points from the top six, something that just a month ago looked zero to no chance of happening. Although Sunday evening's game wasn't the prettiest of the season, the win is all that mattered and Steven Ugarkovic's first goal in the A-League was enough to wrap up the three points. Newcastle haven't won in Gosford for eight years, or even away from home since round four, so this was a drought breaking game as well as one that has given them confidence they can make a run for the finals.
5. Brisbane Roar (4)
The Roar have fallen from the top of the A-League ladder following defeat against THE form team of the competition, Adelaide United. John Aloisi's men travelled to Coopers Stadium knowing they were in for a tough night, and the battle promoted a surprising team selection. Thomas Broich was left on the bench for almost the opening hour, although he couldn't spark a revival to peg back the Reds when he did come on. Although they are firmly in the top six, their back-to-back losses have come from title rivals the Wanderers and Adelaide, two teams they can certainly expect to beat come finals time.
6. Melbourne City (3)
City fans may be starting to feel a little nervous after their side fell 2-1 away to the Phoenix, in a game that on paper they would have been confident of winning. After falling two-nil behind inside the opening 15 minutes, City did well to respond inside five minutes through Aaron Mooy, they passed up a chance to go equal top of the ladder. Conditions were far from perfect, especially from set pieces, but if City have genuine title aspirations, games like this should not be lost. City need to regroup, back at home, where they'll face a Sydney FC side low on confidence and high on fixture congestion. Anything less than a win could see their season on the line.
7. Wellington Phoenix (9)
The Phoenix continued to their mini revival on Friday afternoon with an extremely important 2-1 win over the travelling Melbourne City. Two wins in three games, and a ten year licence expansion makes for a pretty decent month for the Wellington based side. They absolutely flew out of the box against City and were two-nil up inside 15 minutes. Although they did concede a goal shortly thereafter, they were well worth their three points. They were aided by a strong wind which played havoc with Aaron Mooy's set pieces, but no one can begrudge them a win here.
8. Sydney FC (6)
Sydney FC fans may feel like they had a win on Saturday evening after taking a point off the Melbourne Victory, but their winless streak has now extended to six games. Truth be told, the point will feel like a win after heading into the final 15 minutes both a goal and a player down. David Carney took advantage of an out of position defender, found space that should never have been there and rocketed the ball into the net to steal an unlikely point. Sydney FC never really looked in trouble following the equaliser and even threatened to pinch it late. They need to beat City this weekend or face slipping out of the top six.
9. Melbourne Victory (7)
It's almost unimaginable that the Victory would be ranked only above the rock bottom Mariners, but the A-League champions haven't recorded a win since Australia Day, over a month ago. Although the latest ‘big blue' ended in a one-all draw, the game will feel like a loss to the Victory and their fans. As the home side, the Victory led 1-nil against a ten man Sydney FC side, yet conceded a shocking goal with 15 minutes left. Disorganised defending allowed David Carney to burst away and score from a tough angle. From there the Victory, despite man advantage, offered very little and the game petered out to a disappointing draw.
10. Central Coast Mariners (10)
The Mariners well and truly buried any hopes that they would go on a late-season run to avoid the wooden spoon after falling one-nil at home to local rivals the Jets. Shockingly this was the side's 23rd game in a row without a clean sheet. Not even a change of playing strip or the return of marquee Luis Garcia was enough to spark the side to a rare win over rivals the Jets, and the game really summed up the Mariners season. At times they showed some great signs, but they just lacked that quality. 2015/16 is over, truthfully it has been over for a long time, but there should be plenty for the Mariners to play for, mainly their long suffering fans.
