R15 v Brisbane Roar | Monday 2nd Feb | 10:00pm

So there is some competition called the a-league restarting up again.

Not the ASBP, not interested.

Huge game for us following the Glory vs. Tards 3 - 3 draw. A win takes us second, just TWO points of the top of the table.

Will be the first ever away game I've been to. Fire up!

So Burns available if UAE beat Australia?

Should be available regardless as final is Saturday.

3rd Place Playoff is on Friday too, so he'll still have a game left even if UAE do win. He will probably only get 30 mins anyway, so he should be fit to at least be on the bench on the Monday.

Ditto. Not the Asian Cup.

Given it is a split round, aren't the internationals unavailable for the whole round so that teams playing in the first weekend of the split round are not disadvantaged over those playing in the second weekend of the round? Or are we just super lucky that our game is after the final/3rd/4th place playoff?

Didn't Burns say himself that he will only be away for two games?

I think we are just lucky.

It's been jolly good of Wellington to acclimatise the lads to Brisbane temps before they go.  I've appreciated that myself.

It is currently 32 degrees in Brisbane, so not quite!

Should be training in Upper Hutt. Been over 30 degrees for the past few days.

Would have been pushing that at Farrington field yesterday.

31 degrees at Maidstone Park st 5.30 yestetday!

Bet the humidity was not 94 %

FTFAJ!

It wasnt  but still farking hot for welly!

Did not mean to.  Temp. to day is with that humidity is 34. Not nice.

the phoenix should come and train in the greenhouse at work before going to oz today it was 43 celcius at 10 am and not much breeze 

30 degrees in our car port just now in Upper Hutt. But there is a warmish breeze.

Manny hurt his ankle in a pot hole during training this morning.

Are they already at Suncorp then?

Sack the ground staff.

Someone can correct the holes in my argument here but with a Phoenix only training pitch, how do potholes appear? If there is a rabbit issue, surely someone would go over the pitch before training checking for that kind of thing and fill them in. If its always been there, how has it not been picked up/filled in prior?

That one baffles me. I think only in NZ, does a player find a pothole on the clubs training pitch.

Yay, we get a game thread again! Feels so long since our last A-League game!!

sabotage?  meerkats attempting breakout from next door?

"Take no prisoners!"

And Ernie says he doesn't know who's responsible for maintaining the ground. Surely not!

Not sure how much watering they are doing, but with such dry weather there might be less give in the soil.

I read somewhere that meerkats and moose-cats are natural enemies 

Anyway, we're going to get humped. The bubble has burst and I predict a wooden-spoon run to the end of the season.

Surely the groundsman has just been prepping it to resemble Suncorp.

Its not a Phoenix only training pitch. The top pitch has been used by thousands of kids for athletics in the past few weeks, and the dry weather wont have helped. Who knows if they have watered it

Obviously its shared, but you would think extra care would be put into it given its used most days by a professional side. 

Bet Marco is feeling vindicated for leaving us for the Tards now...

This pic from the recent event gives you an idea. It was still green then!

The top field was an assembly/marshalling and warm-up area