The numbers that matter
Golden Boot race
The big winners of Round 21
Auckland FC opened up what was a six-point gap to Sydney FC in third place at the end of the weekend, and whilst the Sky Blues will have the opportunity on Tuesday night to bring that back to three, this could very reasonably have been earmarked a month or two ago as a trip where a draw would have been more than satisfactory.
Instead, the Black Knights knocked off the best team in the competition to move within one point of the summit, and Sydney dropping points on Tuesday would obviously move Auckland closer to the all-important double chance that comes with a top-two finish.
Similarly to their trajectory of last season, Auckland had a mid-season slump in January but were able to shake it off and resdicover their best football in February and March to win four of their last six games (D2), and three of their remaining five fixtures are to take place at home where they are unbeaten this season against everyone except the Jets (W5, D3).
With this result behind them, Steve Corica's side would have every reason to be confident about potentially hosting the Jets in a Grand Final later this season were it to happen.
The big losers of Round 21
They're getting mentioned in this section far too frequently for anybody's comfort lately, but it's hard to look anywhere else than Macarthur FC.
Four consecutive losses has stretched the Bulls' winless run out to six matches, either side of their AFC Champions League 2 loss to Bangkok United in February, and it leaves them in a position where they are now two points behind sixth-placed Central Coast despite having played one more game.
Now without a clean sheet in 12 consecutive matches since a 1-0 win over then-last placed Western Sydney Wanderers on New Year's Day, it's very difficult to imagine where their next win is coming from, particularly when they have to play Auckland and Newcastle in the next two rounds.
If the board is having any thoughts about looking to new management to save them from missing the top-six, they're quickly running out of time to pull the trigger - if they haven't already.
Team of the Week
Read more about our Round 21 Team of the Week here.
(Note: Tuesday night's Sydney FC v Melbourne City game not included)
Goal of the Week
Brisbane Roar's lacklustre defending made it far too easy, but we're still a sucker for a player giving the long Michael Holding run-up into a strike from outside the box. Props to Bozhidar Kraev.
Next weekend's fixtures
