Melbourne has broken its Newcastle hoodoo in emphatic fashion, hammering the Jets 5-0 at Telstra Dome and stamping its credentials as a title contender.

Thompson, in his first game for the season after a foot injury sustained during the Olyroos' Beijing campaign, was instrumental in Melbourne's first three goals, including scoring one himself.

The match changed when Thompson entered the game in the 24th minute, before a goal had been scored, giving the Victory a potent attacking set-up alongside his fellow strikers Daniel Allsopp and Brazilian Ney Fabiano, new to the club this season.

Allsopp scored two goals, three minutes apart early in the second half, with the others to midfielders Carlos Hernandez and Grant Brebner.

It was an extremely impressive performance by Melbourne in their first home game of the season, highlighting their scoring potency, after last round's 4-2 victory over Wellington Phoenix.

Sydney FC claimed a share of the A-League lead after hammering 10-man Perth Glory 5-2 in an incident-packed clash at the Sydney Football Stadium.

Fiery Glory defender Dino Djulbic was sensationally sent off in the 20th minute for allegedly spitting at referee Peter Green as Sydney all but settled the contest with four goals in a wet and wild opening half.

Alex Brosque, Steve Corica, Mark Bridge and Shannon Cole all put their names on the scoresheet for FC, with Glory defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley conceding an own goal late in the second half and exciting Perth import Eugene Dadi bagging a double.

The win sees Sydney join Melbourne Victory and Adelaide United in a breakaway group at the top of the ladder with Perth languishing in the bottom two after their second loss in the opening three rounds.

Brazilian striker Cristiano scored a second-half double as Adelaide United cruised to a 3-0 A-League win over Wellington Phoenix at Hindmarsh Stadium.

Left-sided midfielder Lucas Pantelis gave the home side a dream start when he collected a right wing cross from Brazilian fullback Alemao in the 15th minute and finished in style from just inside the penalty area.

Then Cristiano stole the show in the second half with close range strikes in the 48th and 60th minutes to seal a win that kept United on pace with A-League leaders Melbourne.

A classy Central Coast Mariners ambushed the Queensland Roar with a 4-2 victory in an A-League match that included a five-goal second half at Suncorp Stadium.

A lacklustre start from Queensland Roar made Mariners' keeper Mark Bosnich's slide back into professional football in front of a crowd of 12,185 fans a relatively smooth one.

An early chance went begging for the Mariners when what looked to be a certain goal was saved off the line by Roar defender Luke DeVere in the first few minutes.

However before long, the Roar were playing catch up for the second week running after Predrag Bojic fed a great long ball to Matt Simon in the 31st minute.

Roar keeper Liam Reddy came off his line to intercept the pass but was beaten to the ball by Simon, who rounded the keeper and scored from an acute angle.

DeVere desperately tried to put himself between the ball and the net again, but Simon expertly threaded the tight gap to ensure this time the ball found the back of the net.

A foul by Roar defender Hyuk-Su Seo on Dean Hutchinson in the 48th minute saw the Mariners awarded a free-kick literally millimetres outside the box.

Regardless of where the foul officially took place, the Mariners' Mile Jedinak ensured the ball ended up in the net after a small detour via the right post.

A desperate attempt to come back from the 2-0 deficit saw Roar coach Frank Farina make a triple change in the 60th minute, subbing Andrew Packer, Tahj Minniecon and Robbie Kruse on for Michael Zullo, Reinaldo and Hyuk-Su Seo.

However the change failed to stunt the Mariners' momentum.

A mix up between Roar keeper Reddy and DeVere with a high bouncing ball in the 64th minute gave Mariners substitute Dylan Macallister an easy goal.

Looking down and out, the Roar finally found the back of the net in the 69th minute when Charlie Miller fired a free-kick home from 20 metres out which beat the hapless Bosnich.

The Mariners hit back immediately, as Macallister scored his second goal two minutes later after a superb finish to extend Central Coast's lead to 4-1.

Bosnich was in the spotlight after bringing down Massimo Murdocca in the penalty area, the referee pointing to the spot without hesitation. Serginho Van Dijk slotted the kick into the side-netting to produce the final score of 4-2.

The win came at a cost for the Mariners though with Ahmed Elrich damaging his anterior cruciate ligament and he is expected to be out for the season.

A-League table after Round Three

AAP