Catch up on the Isuzu UTE A-League Team of the Week, powered by Opta.
The Isuzu UTE A-League regular 2025-26 season came to a close at the weekend with plenty of entertainment and drama as ever.
Round 26 saw the Newcastle Jets celebrate in style at McDonald Jones Stadium having already wrapped up the Premiers Plate whilst Adelaide sealed second spot in the most dramatic finish in recent memory at AAMI Park.
However this week’s star performer was Macarthur Bulls midfielder Luke Brattan, who played a starring role in the Bulls’ 4-0 win over Wellington Phoenix.
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This season, Opta will power the Isuzu UTE A-League Team of the Week using Opta Points – a comprehensive player metric that evaluates a player’s overall contribution to the game. Each Monday, the Isuzu UTE A-League Team of the Week will be displayed in a 4-3-3 formation, highlighting the best-performing players.
*Editor’s Note: The Team of the Week features matches played from Monday to Sunday – some teams may play more than once.
Joining Brattan in midfield of the final Team of the Week of the regular season are Melbourne City ace Marcus Younis and Newcastle’s Clayton Taylor, with all three players scoring Goal of the Week nominations!
Up front, Adelaide United striker Luka Jovanovic bagged a crucial double to earn himself a share of the golden boot and the Reds second spot PLUS a spot in Asia next season. He’s joined in three man attack by Perth Glory youngster Sebastian Despotovski and Melbourne Victory’s Clerismario Santos.
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In defence, Sydney FC duo Alexandar Popovic and Ben Garuccio earn selection after both scored in the 2-2 draw with Auckland FC, whilst Adelaide’s Panagiotis Kikianis and Newcastle’s Joel Bertolissio also feature after helping their sides to respective victories.
Finally, for the first time this season your goalkeeper in the final regular season Team of the Week is Melbourne Victory’s Jack Warshawksy after he kept a clean sheet in Victory’s 2-0 win over the Wanderers.
Opta Points is a system where points are given to players for certain on-field actions. Players who complete the full game duration on the field typically end up with a point total ranging from 10 to 40 points. (View the full breakdown of Opta Points below).
Explained: Opta’s Team of the Week using Opta Points
The scoring system distinguishes only between field players and goalkeepers, assigning the same number of points to all field players for corresponding actions. A distinctive feature of this system is its exclusive focus on in-game actions, refraining from awarding points for post-game performances, such as securing a victory or allocating bonus points for maintaining a clean sheet.
Positive actions (goals, passes, tackles, etc…) will add to a player’s score and, conversely, negative actions (cards, own goals, goals conceded) will reduce a player’s points total. Theoretically, a player’s points value is unlimited, and players can conclude a game with negative points. However, players who complete the full game duration on the field typically end up with a point total ranging from 10 to 40 points.
Goals, Shots on target, shots off target, blocked shots, own goal, assists, passes, crosses, tackles, interceptions, fouls won, fouls conceded, offsides, yellow cards, red cards, goals conceded, penalty won, saves, penalty saved are included in Opta Points.
