From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Aug 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market1 Aug 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Central Coast Mariners have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Market1 Aug 2027
The offer was not close and it was refused without much discussion. Whether the second one is refused as quickly is another matter.
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From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Jul 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Western Sydney Wanderers, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market1 Jul 2027
The bid was some way short and Western Sydney Wanderers did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Market1 Jul 2027
Fee agreed, wages agreed, and Auckland FC waiting with a shirt. Nobody at Sydney FC is pretending otherwise, and the supporters have stopped asking whether and started asking when.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Jun 2027
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Wellington Phoenix, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market1 Jun 2027
Roraigh Browne has one foot out of the door
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Auckland FC they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Market1 Jun 2027
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Western Sydney Wanderers can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 May 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market1 May 2027
“We are a long way apart, and pretending otherwise helps nobody.” Neither side is close, and the calendar is not on the club's side.
Market1 May 2027
Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Tom Lawrence’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Scoring charts1 Apr 2027
The month closes with Adam Taggart out in front — 4 goals in 2 games, and Melbourne Victory have the division's most feared finisher.
Scoring charts1 Apr 2027
Ifeanyi Eze is the division's player of the month — 8.18
A club's paper reports this as one of its own being honoured. On this page it is what it actually is: a verdict on everybody who played, and it went to a Wellington Phoenix man on 8.18 with 4 goal contributions.
Scoring charts1 Apr 2027
The division's brightest kid this month plays for Central Coast Mariners
Bailey Brandtman was marked 7.39 and had a hand in 1 goals. Every recruitment department in the country now has a file open, and the club that has him knows exactly what that means.
Market1 Apr 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Scoring charts1 Apr 2027
2 assists, 7.91, and a Melbourne Victory player who spent four weekends being the reason somebody else's name went in the paper. It is the least-rewarded skill in football and the easiest one to notice its absence.
Scoring charts1 Apr 2027
Highest marks in the league belong to a Melbourne Victory man
Adam Taggart averaged 8.54 over 2 appearances. Nothing about that will trend, and anybody who watched all four games would tell you it was the most accurate thing on this page.
Market1 Apr 2027
Only the photograph left for Wataru Kamijo
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Wataru Kamijo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Sydney FC the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Scoring charts1 Apr 2027
3 goals in 3 appearances for Perth Glory, and a chart that would look very different if two of them had gone in off the post instead of past it.
Scoring charts1 Apr 2027
1 in 3 for Melbourne Victory. Nobody outside his own ground is talking about him, which tends to be true of everybody on this list except the man at the top of it.
Scoring charts1 Apr 2027
3 appearances, 3 goals, and a place among the division's leading scorers for the month. Strikers measure a season in exactly these lines.
Scoring charts1 Apr 2027
2 goals in 3 appearances for Perth Glory leave him among the month's leading marksmen.
Market1 Apr 2027
Jay O'Shea told to find a new club
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Jay O'Shea has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Brisbane Roar.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Scoring charts1 Mar 2027
Clayton Taylor is the division’s leading scorer
5 goals in 4 games, and nobody else in the league close to it. Newcastle Jets have the man every defence in the division is planning around.
Scoring charts1 Mar 2027
Marked 8.20 across it, 7 goals and assists between them, and no serious argument from anybody else in the division. Newcastle Jets have had the whole benefit of a month somebody else will spend the summer trying to buy.
Scoring charts1 Mar 2027
The division's brightest kid this month plays for Central Coast Mariners
Arthur De Lima was marked 7.84 and had a hand in 3 goals. Every recruitment department in the country now has a file open, and the club that has him knows exactly what that means.
Market1 Mar 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Western Sydney Wanderers can pretend not to have heard.
Market1 Mar 2027
Sagan Tosu come back empty-handed
The bid was some way short and Brisbane Roar did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.
Scoring charts1 Mar 2027
Nobody made more than Keegan Jelacic this month
3 assists, 8.17, and a Melbourne Victory player who spent four weekends being the reason somebody else's name went in the paper. It is the least-rewarded skill in football and the easiest one to notice its absence.
Market1 Mar 2027
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Western Sydney Wanderers they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Scoring charts1 Mar 2027
Highest marks in the league belong to a Newcastle Jets man
Clayton Taylor averaged 8.20 over 4 appearances. Nothing about that will trend, and anybody who watched all four games would tell you it was the most accurate thing on this page.
Scoring charts1 Mar 2027
Keegan Jelacic up among the month's scorers
A productive month at Melbourne Victory — 3 goals from 4 appearances, and a place near the top of the charts.
Scoring charts1 Mar 2027
Tom Lawrence up among the month's scorers
A productive month at Perth Glory — 5 goals from 4 appearances, and a place near the top of the charts.
Scoring charts1 Mar 2027
A productive month at Melbourne Victory — 3 goals from 4 appearances, and a place near the top of the charts.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Scoring charts1 Feb 2027
Mitchell Duke is the division’s leading scorer
5 goals in 5 games, and nobody else in the league close to it. Macarthur FC have the man every defence in the division is planning around.
Scoring charts1 Feb 2027
Marked 7.98 across it, 6 goals and assists between them, and no serious argument from anybody else in the division. Macarthur FC have had the whole benefit of a month somebody else will spend the summer trying to buy.
Market1 Feb 2027
The last thing about a transfer that is still about the player is his signature on his own terms, and it is there. Western Sydney Wanderers have lost him in all but the paperwork.
Scoring charts1 Feb 2027
The award the rest of the division reads as a transfer rumour. 7.06 over the month and 2 goal contributions, from a Perth Glory player whose price has just gone up without anybody at his club doing anything.
Market1 Feb 2027
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market1 Feb 2027
The offer from Western Sydney Wanderers for Craig Goodwin was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Scoring charts1 Feb 2027
The division’s top provider is Brandon Borrello — 7.61
3 assists across the month from a Western Sydney Wanderers player marked 7.61. Somebody has to open the door before anybody walks through it, and nobody in the league opened more.
Market1 Feb 2027
“It was not right for me. I am not going to explain why to anybody except the people I owe an explanation to.” A deal agreed between two clubs, and a player who declined to be part of it.
Scoring charts1 Feb 2027
Highest marks in the league belong to a Macarthur FC man
Mitchell Duke averaged 7.98 over 5 appearances. Nothing about that will trend, and anybody who watched all four games would tell you it was the most accurate thing on this page.
Scoring charts1 Feb 2027
5 appearances, 3 goals, and a place among the division's leading scorers for the month. Strikers measure a season in exactly these lines.
Scoring charts1 Feb 2027
3 in 5 for Auckland FC. Nobody outside his own ground is talking about him, which tends to be true of everybody on this list except the man at the top of it.
Scoring charts1 Feb 2027
5 goals in 5 appearances for Sydney FC, and a chart that would look very different if two of them had gone in off the post instead of past it.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Scoring charts1 Jan 2027
Mitchell Duke is the division’s leading scorer
6 goals in 4 games, and nobody else in the league close to it. Macarthur FC have the man every defence in the division is planning around.
Scoring charts1 Jan 2027
Player of the month: Mitchell Duke — 8.20
Everybody in the division was measured and a Macarthur FC man came out on top: 8.20 across the month and 7 goal contributions. There is no serious case for anybody else.
Scoring charts1 Jan 2027
Beckham Baker is the month's best young player — 7.62
The award the rest of the division reads as a transfer rumour. 7.62 over the month and 3 goal contributions, from a Melbourne City player whose price has just gone up without anybody at his club doing anything.
Market1 Jan 2027
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Central Coast Mariners can pretend not to have heard.
Scoring charts1 Jan 2027
Keegan Jelacic leads the division for assists — 7.41
The chart that decides who the scorers ought to be thanking. 4 of them made by a Melbourne Victory player marked 7.41, and not one will be in the montage at the end of the season.
Scoring charts1 Jan 2027
Mitchell Duke is the division's best-marked player — 8.20
The chart that catches everybody a goal tally never will: the centre-half who was immense for four weekends, the holding midfielder nobody outside his own ground has heard of. 8.20 across 4 matches for Macarthur FC.
Scoring charts1 Jan 2027
Adam Taggart up among the month's scorers
A productive month at Melbourne Victory — 4 goals from 4 appearances, and a place near the top of the charts.
Scoring charts1 Jan 2027
4 appearances, 4 goals, and a place among the division's leading scorers for the month. Strikers measure a season in exactly these lines.
Scoring charts1 Jan 2027
3 goals in 4 appearances for Central Coast Mariners leave him among the month's leading marksmen.
Scoring charts1 Jan 2027
3 goals in 4 appearances for Melbourne City, and a chart that would look very different if two of them had gone in off the post instead of past it.
Market1 Jan 2027
“We keep meeting, and we keep leaving the room with the same numbers we walked in with.” Another round of talks at Melbourne City, another week without a signature from Ashley Charles.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Scoring charts1 Dec 2026
Tom Lawrence is the division’s leading scorer
9 goals in 4 games, and nobody else in the league close to it. Perth Glory have the man every defence in the division is planning around.
Scoring charts1 Dec 2026
Tom Lawrence is the division's player of the month — 8.94
A club's paper reports this as one of its own being honoured. On this page it is what it actually is: a verdict on everybody who played, and it went to a Perth Glory man on 8.94 with 9 goal contributions.
Scoring charts1 Dec 2026
Young player of the month: Jonny Yull — 7.37
7.37 across the month and 1 goal contributions from a Adelaide United player everybody else in the division now has a file on. His price rose this month without anybody at his club lifting a finger.
Market1 Dec 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Macarthur FC, and it is not being withdrawn.
Scoring charts1 Dec 2026
Ifeanyi Eze leads the division for assists — 8.30
The chart that decides who the scorers ought to be thanking. 3 of them made by a Wellington Phoenix player marked 8.30, and not one will be in the montage at the end of the season.
Scoring charts1 Dec 2026
Best marks in the division for Tom Lawrence — 8.94
8.94 on average across 4 matches for Perth Glory. The chart that notices the players a goal tally never does, and this month it noticed him.
Scoring charts1 Dec 2026
Mitchell Duke up among the month's scorers
A productive month at Macarthur FC — 3 goals from 4 appearances, and a place near the top of the charts.
Scoring charts1 Dec 2026
4 appearances, 4 goals, and a place among the division's leading scorers for the month. Strikers measure a season in exactly these lines.
Scoring charts1 Dec 2026
Sam Cosgrove up among the month's scorers
A productive month at Auckland FC — 7 goals from 4 appearances, and a place near the top of the charts.
Scoring charts1 Dec 2026
5 goals in 4 appearances for Wellington Phoenix leave him among the month's leading marksmen.
Market1 Dec 2026
Joe Knowles told to find a new club
“They were honest with me, and I would rather know.” Joe Knowles has been informed he is not in the manager's thinking at Auckland FC.
Market1 Dec 2026
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Louis Verstraete signs something — a contract at Auckland FC or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Scoring charts1 Nov 2026
Michael Ruhs is the division’s leading scorer
3 goals in 2 games, and nobody else in the league close to it. Wellington Phoenix have the man every defence in the division is planning around.
Scoring charts1 Nov 2026
Young player of the month: Medin Memeti — 7.30
7.30 across the month and 2 goal contributions from a Melbourne City player everybody else in the division now has a file on. His price rose this month without anybody at his club lifting a finger.
Market1 Nov 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Auckland FC, and it is not being withdrawn.
Scoring charts1 Nov 2026
The division’s top provider is Ifeanyi Eze — 8.49
3 assists across the month from a Wellington Phoenix player marked 8.49. Somebody has to open the door before anybody walks through it, and nobody in the league opened more.
Scoring charts1 Nov 2026
Michael Ruhs is the division's best-marked player — 8.83
The chart that catches everybody a goal tally never will: the centre-half who was immense for four weekends, the holding midfielder nobody outside his own ground has heard of. 8.83 across 2 matches for Wellington Phoenix.
Market1 Nov 2026
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether Western Sydney Wanderers can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
Scoring charts1 Nov 2026
2 appearances, 2 goals, and a place among the division's leading scorers for the month. Strikers measure a season in exactly these lines.
Scoring charts1 Nov 2026
2 goals in 2 appearances for Melbourne City, and a chart that would look very different if two of them had gone in off the post instead of past it.
Scoring charts1 Nov 2026
Nikos Vergos up among the month's scorers
A productive month at Newcastle Jets — 2 goals from 2 appearances, and a place near the top of the charts.
Scoring charts1 Nov 2026
2 goals in 2 appearances for Wellington Phoenix, and a chart that would look very different if two of them had gone in off the post instead of past it.
Scoring charts1 Nov 2026
Sam Sutton makes the team of the month — 7.15
Eleven names, chosen against everybody in the division who plays where they play. The Perth Glory man is one of them on 7.15 from 2 matches, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a harder one to argue with.
Market1 Nov 2026
“There is a gap, and pretending there is not helps nobody.” Neither side has moved, and the calendar is working for exactly one of them.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Oct 2026
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Macarthur FC, and it is not being withdrawn.
Market1 Oct 2026
The offer from Central Coast Mariners for Vinko Stanisic was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market1 Oct 2026
Everything was agreed until it was not, and Riley Foxe reports back to Perth Glory with a summer to forget. Neither club is saying who walked away from the table.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market1 Sep 2026
The offer from Central Coast Mariners for Craig Goodwin was heard out and sent back the same day. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loudly the door closes.
Market1 Sep 2026
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
Market1 Sep 2026
“I know what people will say. I know what I want, and it is here.” Melbourne City had the fee agreed and the shirt ready; they did not have the player, and now they will not.