Bigger Australian stars, including Harry Kewell, Brett Emerton and John Aloisi, have played in the A-League, but only towards the end of their careers when opportunities in Europe had dried up for them.
Others, like Mat Ryan, got their start in the A-League before heading overseas to continue their rise.
Mooy, 25, has become a Socceroos regular as a critically important playmaker and he is still playing in the national competition.
Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou recently described him as not only the best Australian player in the A-League, but also the best player in the A-League.
The Melbourne City star is carving up the opposition almost on a weekly basis - scoring goals, creating goals, displaying tremendous skills, delivering superb long and short balls, and proving deadly from set pieces.
He appears certain to win the Johnny Warren Medal, for player of the season, even this far out.
It remains to be seen how long Mooy remains in the A-League before he inevitably heads overseas, but while he is still here he is absolutely killing it.
Long-time Melbourne Victory star Thompson, now 37 and recovering from a pre-season injury, was a couple of months short of his 27th birthday when the A-League kicked off in August, 2005.
He has been a star in the competition ever since and is the A-League's all-time leading goal-scorer, with 89.
Thompson's finest moment came in the 2006-2007 grand final, when he scored an incredible five goals in Victory's 6-0 thrashing of Adelaide United.
False 9 believes Mooy is playing the best football any Aussie has ever played in the A-League, but Thompson's amazing longevity deserves enormous respect.
What do you think, football fans?
Man of the hour (and a half)
False 9 can't give Aaron Mooy every award, it just wouldn't be fair, and Melbourne City striker Bruno Fornaroli deserves plenty of praise as well for keeping the goals coming.
City haven't had a finisher like Fornaroli up front before, going back to when the club was Melbourne Heart.
Fornaroli neatly created the gap through which he slotted his goal in the 5-1 win over Perth Glory.
The effort kept him at the top of the A-League goal-scoring chart with six, equal with Melbourne Victory's Besart Berisha.
The Uruguayan has dancing feet, much like another well-known Bruno. Yeah, yeah, yeah . . .
Angry "Arnie"
Sydney FC assistant coach Steve Corica told the post-match media conference after the team's 0-0 draw with Wellington Phoenix that coach Graham Arnold didn't attend because he thought he might say something that would get him into trouble.
Corica said "Arnie" wasn't happy about some of the 29 fouls called against his team and also thought Sydney deserved at least one penalty, but even if he was right the fact remains Sydney is struggling to find goal-scorers.
Sydney scored 56 goals in the regular season and finals series last season, but Marc Janko, who scored 16 of them, and Bernie Ibini (seven) are both gone now, while Shane Smeltz, who scored eight in 21 games, mainly coming off the bench, has scored just once so far this season.
The players who have replaced the departed aren't coming up with high returns at this stage and Sydney has just eight goals in eight games.
Arnie knows that sort of return isn't even remotely going to get the job done and is no doubt frustrated by it.
He could really do with a striker like this bloke right now.
The numbers game
18 - Number of goals scored by Melbourne City this season
13 - Number of goals scored by Brisbane Roar
5 - Number of goals City have scored since Roar coach John Aloisi labelled them anti-football
1- Number of goals Roar have scored since then
Tweet, tweet #1
Nothing gets past Marc Janko.
Tweet, tweet #2
Future Matildas playmaker?
Tweet, tweet #3
Marcelo Carrusca didn't get a lot of game-time in November, but in his spare time he grew a cracking moustache.
OK, it's not exactly a cracking "mo", but it's all for a good cause.
He said it
Even when he is down, Perth Glory coach Kenny Lowe is never dull.
After the 5-1 flogging against Melbourne City, in which Perth did create plenty of chances themselves but failed to put them away, Lowe put the players and himself on notice.
"It's a defining moment," Lowe said.
"You make choices now. This is an opportunity for people to either step up or step out, including myself, so I'm going to find out a lot about myself in the next few weeks and also the players are going to find out a lot about themselves in the next few weeks, so it's going to be an interesting time."
Can't wait for . . .
The bottom-of-the-table clash between Adelaide United and Perth Glory at Coopers Stadium on Sunday.
Yes, you heard right, the bottom-of-the-table clash.
There is a perverse joy in watching coaches suffer on the sideline and if there is a loser in this game, whether it be Adelaide's Guillermo Amor or Perth's Kenny Lowe, he will really be squirming.
A draw? Not much use to either team.
