Rookie Macarthur FC coach Dwight Yorke is keen to add Englishman Jack Rodwell to a spate of recent arrivals, as he re-constructs the club’s squad for the new A-League season. A free agent after being released by Western Sydney Wanderers, the former Everton, Manchester City and Sunderland utility has been offered a lifeline by the Bulls. He came to the A-League ahead of last season, joining after his release from Sheffield United. A source close to FTBL revealed that Rodwell is on Yorke's wish list, though a deal hinges on the 31-year-old tempering his wage expectations.

Kosta Barbarouses has returned for a third stint with the Wellington Phoenix and has his eyes on his fifth title. Kosta Barbarouses was barely given a chance during his first stint at the Wellington Phoenix from 2008 to 2010. His second ended prematurely, with an early exit agreed in 2017, halfway through a two-year deal. The All Whites forward has now returned for a third, putting pen to paper on a two-year deal that will keep him at the club past his 34th birthday.

Melbourne Victory midfielder Jake Brimmer has claimed the Johnny Warren Medal as the A-League Men's best player, while Adelaide's Fiona Worts won the Julie Dolan Medal for her prolific A-League Women's campaign. Brimmer, who shared the Mark Viduka Medal with Central Coast's Kye Rowles following Victory's FFA Cup final win over the Mariners in February, finished a clear winner on 32 votes. Brisbane Roar's Jay O'Shea (25) and Adelaide United's Craig Goodwin (24) finished second and third on the medal count.

This weekend, two A-League based Socceroos will battle it out at AAMI Park while the youngsters will face off against each other before heading to Uzbekistan for U23 duty. Another clash at AAMI Park against Western United awaits for Melbourne Victory's Ben Folami and Nicholas D’Agostino, as they look to qualify for an A-League Men Grand Final after finishing last in the previous A-League season with the Victory.

Australia senior national team skipper Mat Ryan has said he's eager to prove that he's still the real deal as he continues to play second fiddle to Alex Remiro at Real Sociedad in the Spanish La Liga. In a recent interview conducted as he turned 30 earlier this month, the Australia international said he doesn’t see himself as a number two. The Australia shot stopper is keen not to let the lack of game time at Real Sociedad affect his confidence especially in a World Cup year as he's eager to show his goalkeeping talents.

Injury-ravaged Adelaide United will be searching for their first win in five A-League Men outings when they host Macarthur FC on Friday night. It's been a brutal run for the Reds not made any easier by the absence of Mohamed Toure, who could miss the rest of the season after dislocating his shoulder after tangling with Melbourne Victory defenders last time out.

Nottingham Forest outcast Carl Jenkinson signed for Australian A-League side Melbourne City on loan in January. Despite the 30-year-old being told he was free to leave in the summer, Jenkinson had to wait until January before sealing his temporary exit away from the City Ground.

Former Australia U-17 international Rahmat Akbari is about to transition to the country of his birth, with Afghanistan calling up the A-League midfielder for a camp in Turkey later this month. Akbari - who has made 50 A-League Men appearances for Brisbane since his debut in 2018 - has been courted by the world’s 150th-ranked nation for three years. The ex-Joey Rahmat Akbari has accepted a call to join up with Afghanistan's national team later this month.

Sturridge had the perfect chance to equalise in the 58th minute, but he scuffed the shot from inside the box with the goal beckoning. There was plenty of late drama in the match after Macarthur defender Aleksandar Susnjar was given his marching orders in the 75th minute for a second bookable of fence. His first yellow card came for bringing down Sturridge.

But Susnjar only had himself to blame for the second yellow, with the 26-year-old penalised for standing directly in front of the ball while a Glory player was trying to take a free kick. Glory midfielder Daniel Stynes almost snatched an equaliser in the 90th minute, only for his strike to clatter off the upright.

The Australian main league which is called the A-League has been rocked with a recent surge of Covid-19 cases since the turn of the New Year. While there have been increased cases since the beginning of the Holidays in December, this recent swell in a number of positive cases has led to many league games being canceled as the league tries to manage the situation.

League organizers gave the green light for Sunday’s game between Western Sydney Wanderers and Adelaide United to be postponed. This would come as a massive news for Adelaide who has been on a bit of a mini-slide after losing back-to-back league games.