Nothing is certain…

As the old saying goes, there are only two certainties in life: death and taxes. I’d like to add two more: Brisbane Roar will lift the Premiers’ Plate and probably the Champions’ Trophy too, while Perth Glory will find their silverware coming in the more wooden, spoon-shaped variety.

It’s positions two to nine on the table that make games like the Melbourne Derby, Central Coast’s unconvincing but much-needed victory against Sydney FC, or Western Sydney’s lukewarm showing against Newcastle, so interesting.

Nothing is certain.

If Brisbane loses all of their remaining games and Melbourne Heart wins all of theirs, the Heart could finish one point above Brisbane.

You read right. There is a mathematical possibility that Melbourne Heart could lift the Premiers Plate.

Melbourne Heart have Newcastle away, then Wellington at home, and Central Coast at home. At five wins in a row, Heart could be excused for calling all of those games winnable. Two of those are struggling to find consistency and Central Coast will be traveling to Melbourne after a midweek ACL trip to China. Heart could go into their round 25 match at Suncorp having won eight in a row. Then they would only need to dispatch of Adelaide away, and Western Sydney at home, at the tail end of their nightmare ACL schedule.

While only the most deluded of Heart fans would put their money on Heart winning the Premiers Plate (possible does not equal probable) a look at the final six rounds, and the form of the teams above them, suggest that a top six place is the Heart’s to lose. The question is no longer about whether the Heart will make the top six; it is fast becoming a question of just how high they will go.

Heart and Roar, the two form teams, have a distinct advantage over three of the other teams fighting for the top spots – they have no midweek commitments. They are not suffering from the fan discord that has been plaguing the two Sydney teams. They have both momentum and fitness. Both teams now have the weight of expectation on their shoulders. Given that three teams in the top six are struggling with Champions’ League schedules and two have been struggling with off-field problems, only Brisbane, Adelaide and Heart can legitimately call themselves top six favourites now.

But then again that could all change in a heartbeat if Heart are beaten this weekend or if Adelaide beat Brisbane, or if the Sydney Derby throws up an unexpected result (or any result at all really). Wellington or Perth could even put their season back on track with a convincing enough win.

Nothing is certain.

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