FEW goals, three draws, average crowds, and trumped-up reports of a "riot" at the SFS might suggest the A-League's new season opened with a whimper rather than a bang. It wasn't a blazing start, true enough, but scratch the surface and their was one big plus: recruitment.

With expansion on the horizon, plenty are asking the age-old question - are there enough decent players to go around? In the old era of semi-professionalism, it was a valid concern. In the new era of the A-League, those doubts can be put to bed. Last weekend proved that clubs are getting better, and smarter, at finding the right players. And some of them have been sitting there, in the backyard, all along. It was a point well made at either end of the spectrum - by the overseas recruits, and those plucked from the ranks of second-tier football around the country. Either way, among the 28 players who made their debuts in the opening round, there were plenty who caught the eye.

For the imports, the A-League's growing profile has become an attraction in itself. Some have taken a pay cut to sample a new challenge on the field, and a new lifestyle off it. Whatever the case - and first impressions are often a handy barometer - there was none of that sinking feeling of seasons gone by, "Oh my God, somebody's made a big mistake." Some of the imports started slower than others, but none were an embarrassment. And in the case of Melbourne Victory's new signings, Ney Fabiano and Jose Luis Lopez, Queensland Roar pair Sergio van Dijk and Charlie Miller, Perth Glory's Amaral, and Adelaide United's Alemao, there were pleasant surprises. Queensland's goal in Wellington - set up by van Dijk and scored by Miller - encapsulated the mood of the moment. By definition, an import has to bring extra quality, and an extra dimension, and the early portents are promising.