An Aaron Mooy free kick was cancelled out by Wellington's Brockie in a see-sawing encounter in Christchuch.

With 30 minutes gone Mooy scored a direct free kick from just outside the box to give the visiting Wanderers the lead. Both teams had a number of chances in a very free flowing and open game but neither could score before half-time.

Wellington replied after a corner kick was cleared to Bertos, who swung the ball in again for Brockie to get on the end of it and equalise. Mooy was again a stand-out performer. In addition to his goal he created numerous chances and was getting stuck in amongst the midfield.

The match will be another wakeup call for Wellington and another example for all the clubs in the A-League that the Wanderers cannot be taken lightly.

The Wanderers next scheduled match is against Bankstown City Lions at Jenson Park in Sefton on Thursday the 27th of September at 7:30pm. This is almost surely their last game of the pre-season campaign before the season kicks off against Central Coast on October 6th.

Unlike the Brisbane Roar, the Mariners have not been able to put to rest ownership and investment speculation. The Russian cavalry appears to be smoke and mirrors and that deal appears dead in the water. On the positive side the Mariners have opened their long awaited Centre Of Excellence. This includes several money-making ventures so it should in theory stop the club from going bankrupt at it's current rate of spending to the point where they might not need extra investment.

Last year a 15 game unbeaten streak propelled them towards the top of the League table. The unbeaten run stretched from a 2-1 win against Perth Glory in late October all the way to the 21st of January with a 3-2 come from behind win against Adelaide. Their late season form was inconsistent. Draws and losses mixed in with only 3 wins from their last 9 games. Despite the loss of form, they regrouped for the final two matches and defeated Wellington in New Zealand to claim the League Premiership.

Their finals campaign was an abject failure. A 2-0 loss in the first leg of their Major Semi-Final in Brisbane lead into conceding two goals in the first 25 minutes of the home leg. The Mariners threatened a grandstand finish by scoring two of their own in quick succession before half-time but an Henrique strike on 65 minutes condemned them to a 5-2 aggregate loss. They faced a resurgent Perth Glory line-up lead by Shane Smeltz in the Preliminary Final. A Kwasnik goal on 32 minutes was cancelled out by a Smeltz tap-in and neither team was unable to score after. With scores locked despite playing Extra Time the match headed to penalties. McGlinchey failed from the spot, Perth did not miss and the Glory won the shoot-out 5-3 going on to lose to Brisbane in a dramatic Grand Final.

The Asian Champions League campaign did not fare better. Three draws set them on the back foot before a 5-0 thrashing against Seongham Illhwa hurt their chances of topping the group. They replied by destroying Tianjin Teda 5-1 to confirm 4th place for that team. In a do or die match against Nagoya Grampus they were unable to resist a Japanese onslaught and fell to a 3-0 loss confirming their third place finish in the group.

The Mariners are a very settled side playing the methodical and consistent tactical strategy implemented by Graham Arnold. McBreen and Kwasnik will provide a solid amount of goals as well as being targets for the midfield and defence to hit passes to. Ibini and Rogic will be hoping to make a big impact on the season and if they can both perform the Mariners can take the title. Patrick Zwaanswijk is the key to their defence and someone who can power in goals from the set piece or the penalty spot. Mathew Ryan will look to continue his development and could be on his way out of the club to Europe in the mid-season transfer window.

The Mariners have a very tough opening to the season. They will be the opponent for the debut of the Western Sydney Wanderers. Their own home debut is the week after against the strong Perth Glory squad before they travel to Newcastle for the first F3 Derby of the new season. Week 4 sees them up against Melbourne Heart and then another local rivalry match against Sydney FC with new marquee player Alessandro Del Piero.

The Mariners have the ability in their squad and management to win both the Premiership and Championship this season. Anything less than a Grand Final appearance for the Mariners will be considered a failure and once there they will expect to win it finally.

I predict that the Central Coast Mariners will finish the season in 2nd position.

1. Perth Glory
   
2. Central Coast Mariners
   
3. Brisbane Roar
   
4. Melbourne Victory
   
5. Wellington Phoenix
   
6. Sydney FC
   
7. Western Sydney Wanderers
   
8. Newcastle Jets
   
9. Adelaide United
   
10. Melbourne Heart