Chaotic A-League Women's weekend further proof that season must be extended

What a weekend: 23 goals scored. Four clean sheets. A first league win. The downfall of two former giants. Team and individual histories written — for right and wrong reasons.

Round 11 of the A-League Women's competition delivered all the chaos and emotion that the league is known and loved for, squeezing its biggest and most-gripping storylines into a single, three-day frenzy.

All the questions we asked at the start of the season:

They were stirred up and slathered across the past weekend in what turned out to be one of the most exciting and unforgettable rounds of the league in recent history.

It began on Friday when the league's bottom two teams, Canberra United and newcomers Wellington, faced off at Viking Park.

Just three points separated the two sides coming into the match: Wellington at the foot of the table with one point while Canberra were just above them with four.

Both teams were winless, both had conceded the most goals in the league so far, and both had targeted this particular game to try to turn their fortunes around.

Friday night was a collision of these two trajectories: a legacy club sliding into mediocrity versus an expansion club growing into themselves.

And while Canberra showed glimpses of their past — a couple of sparkling moments from reigning Julie Dolan medallist Michelle Heyman, the flair of a Grace Maher, the energy and wisdom of an Ash Sykes — they were, as they had been all season, merely glimpses. 

Instead, it was Wellington whose dedication to their own principles and style of play finally came together and resulted in their first-ever league win.

The reaction from the players and staff after full-time was a mix of joy and relief: knowing that what they had been building — and that the belief