OPINION: There's not been a lot of good press for the Wellington Phoenix lately, and to be fair, they haven't really done anything to deserve any either. But they certainly do deserve some after Saturday's 2-1 win over Brisbane, and here it is.
Coach Des Buckingham took a hard-line stance on the troublesome trio - Roly Bonevacia, Tom Doyle and Ryan Lowry - after their response to the 5-1 thrashing at the hands of Melbourne City.
As it turns out, he got the decision spot on, and deserves a ton of credit for it, because it can't have been an easy call to make.
Bonevacia and Doyle are critical members of the team, it would have been easy to have let them off with a warning, and taken them to Brisbane for a big game against a very good side.
But he stuck to his guns, and suspended the three of them. That's how you set in place standards, something which has appeared to have slipped away from the Phoenix in recent months.
Those three now face a tough task getting back into the side, they'll know that, and now they've paid a big price for their misdemeanour they won't dare do it again.
It's not just those three either, the ban clearly had an effect on the rest of the playing group.
The three players who replaced the trio were three of the best on the park, and the whole team appeared to have a bit more fire in the belly than in recent weeks.
Buckingham's hard-line stance deserves praise, players now know they must toe the line, but it's all in front of the club now.
Five of their last six games are against teams currently occupying playoff spots, posing an excellent opportunity to storm up the A-League ladder.
But don't forget this side is just a week removed from being humiliated 5-1 at home. They need to show that the 2-1 win over Brisbane was now an example of what they can do, but what they will do.
That all starts with attitude and it appears Buckingham has that moving in the right direction.
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