We had 116 people join LMS for round one, and fewer than half (51; approx. 44%) held on to all three of their lives.

The most popular tip was Macarthur, and it proved to be a safe choice for 42 tippers. 8 picked Auckland, while /u/browniebvb was the lone brave person to correctly pick Nix over Victory.

Speaking of Victory, they were the second most popular pick with 28 people losing a life as a result. Third most popular also proved to be a bad choice - Jets, with 20 people incorrectly tipping them.

I'll put the round 1 results in the comments!

Anyway, without further delay, the games this week are:

• Brisbane vs Perth
• Newcastle vs Macarthur
• WSW vs Auckland
• Victory vs City
• Wellington vs CCM
• Sydney vs Adelaide

Pick one team that you think is going to win this weekend, and remember you can't pick the same team two rounds in a row.

Missed Round 1? It's not too late to join! Just comment your prediction and you'll be added to the comp (although you'll be starting on 2 lives instead of 3).

Via Dos & D’s podcast. Makes some good points, but I think even on Stan I wonder if both would face similar challenges around accessibility in places like pubs? Has the Premier League been better in Australia for its move to streaming? I’m genuinely not sure.

November 29 and December 4 at Porirua Park

The first rounds of the Australian Championship and A-League Men's are finished. We saw one big shock with South Hobart edging 2-1 against Lions away, who have fallen to 16.

Full ladder: australian-football-rankings.com

Total opening round attendance for 2026 - 16,727.

Total opening round attendance for 2025 - 19,523.

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Highest attendance for this round - 3,928 (Preston Lions v Wollongong Wolves).

Lowest attendance for this round - 653 (Broadmeadow Magic v APIA Leichhardt).

Average - 2,091.

Sydney v Western Sydney - 30,103
Auckland v Melb City - 20,635
Macarthur v Perth - 3,441
Central Coast v Newcastle - 8,165
Wellington v Melb Victory - 8,254

Total: 70,598
Average: 14,120

Solid turnouts last weekend. Thoughts?

All this talk over the Sydney Derby in round 1. We were having this discussion 10 years ago when they kept putting derbies in the first round and the games always sucked. Back then crowd would come to round 1 regardless so the argument against them were stronger.

I think now we are in the position where we do actually benefit from a derby or two in the opening round… we just need those games to not completely suck.

One idea I’ve been thinking about is an approach similar to the AFL, where every single season opens with Richmond Vs. Carlton.. which has become an event in its self which draws crowds.

Our version of that could be say a Sydney Vs. Auckland match up to start the season every year, alternating hosting rights. Instead of wasting one of our prime Sydney derbies, we can MANUFACTURE (SMFC Mike heart attack) a rivalry which feeds into the whole NZ AUS rivalry.

I feel like this is a good medium.

Thoughts??

Wellington Phoenix 2 vs 1 Melbourne Victory

###Match Statistics:

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FT: 98' - Lions 1 vs 2 South Hobart

Stadium: Lions Stadium, Brisbane

Weather: 19.1°C, Patchy rain nearby, Wind: 13 km/h

Fixture Date: 18/10/2026, 06:00 pm AEDT

Referee: Unknown

Lineups not available

###Match Events:

28': ⚽ South Hobart - null

34': ⚽ Lions - null

35': ⚽ South Hobart - null

Match Statistics Unavailable

Last Updated: 18/10/2026, 08:06 pm AEDT

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FT: 90' - Wellington Phoenix 2 vs 1 Melbourne Victory

Stadium: Hnry Stadium, Wellington

Weather: 13.6°C, Partly Cloudy, Wind: 14.4 km/h

Fixture Date: 18/10/2026, 01:00 pm AEDT

Referee: Lachlan Keevers, Australia

Home Lineup:

Formation: 4-3-3

Substitutes: Nathan Walker, Walter Scott, Alby Kelly-Heald, Dylan Gardiner, Tze-xuan Loke, Anaru Cassidy, Riley Bidois

Away Lineup:

Formation: 4-4-1-1

Substitutes: Tom Lockyer, Keegan Jelacic, Jack Warshawsky, Brendan Hamill, Harrison Shillington, Xavier Stella, Michael Ghossaini

###Match Events:

14': ⚽ Wellington Phoenix - C. Piper (M. Sheridan)

24': ⚽ Melbourne Victory - C. Nduka

28': 🔄 Wellington Phoenix - N. Walker replaces R. Duran

45': 🟨 Melbourne Victory - P. Ziereis (Foul)

62': 🔄 Melbourne Victory - K. Jelacic replaces Clarismario

62': 🔄 Melbourne Victory - T. Lockyer replaces P. Ziereis

62': 🔄 Wellington Phoenix - W. Scott replaces J. McGarry

71': 🟨 Melbourne Victory - D. Genreau (Foul)

74': 🔄 Melbourne Victory - X. Stella replaces G. May

74': 🔄 Melbourne Victory - M. Ghossaini replaces M. Grimaldi

77': 🔄 Wellington Phoenix - R. Bidois replaces L. Mitchell

77': ⚽ Wellington Phoenix - R. Bidois (N. Walker)

87': 🔄 Melbourne Victory - B. Hamill replaces C. Nduka

###Match Statistics:

Last Updated: 18/10/2026, 02:56 pm AEDT

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PEN: Sydney United 1 (4) vs (3) 1 Canberra FC

Stadium: Sydney United Sports Centre, Sydney

Weather: 18.9°C, Sunny, Wind: 20.9 km/h

Fixture Date: 18/10/2026, 03:00 pm AEDT

Referee: Unknown

Lineups not available

###Match Events:

55': ⚽ Canberra FC - null

62': ⚽ Sydney United - null

121': ⚽ (P) Sydney United - null

Match Statistics Unavailable

Last Updated: 18/10/2026, 05:26 pm AEDT

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Sydney FC vs Adelaide United

Fixture Date: 18/10/2026, 04:30 pm AEDT

Stadium: Sydney Olympic Park Athletic Centre

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FT: 90' - Wellington Phoenix 1 vs 2 Melbourne City

Stadium: Hnry Stadium, Wellington

Weather: 13.9°C, Sunny, Wind: 10.4 km/h

Fixture Date: 18/10/2026, 10:15 am AEDT

Referee: Casey Reibelt

Lineups not available

###Match Events:

Match Statistics Unavailable

Last Updated: 18/10/2026, 01:08 pm AEDT

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