Perth early W-League leader

Boosted by the return this season of hometown Matildas duo Kate Gill and Collette McCallum, Perth made it two from two as it edged past Adelaide United 2-1 on Saturday night thanks to a late winner from Elisa D'Ovidio.

But Perth will be looking nervously over its shoulder after the W-League's big trio of Canberra United, Sydney FC and Brisbane Roar all secured their first wins of the season in round two.

Gill and McCallum were prominent in a deserved win for the west Australian side, Gill equalising moments before the break to cancel out Ann Mayo's opener, while skipper McCallum controversially had a goal chalked off for offside following a stunning individual run.

A flurry of late action allowed Canberra to rout Newcastle Jets 5-0 away from home on Saturday, as the reigning champion rediscovered some of the rampaging form that carried it through last season undefeated.

Remarkably, the match in Newcastle was deadlocked until the 74th minute when Hayley Raso broke through and a rampant Canberra scored a further four goals in the final 10 minutes.

Two-time champion Brisbane had a much harder task in Melbourne, edging a 1-0 win over Melbourne Victory on the artificial surface at Bulleen.

A perfectly-placed free-kick from Vedrana Popovic midway through the first half proved the difference in a hard-fought contest, with the Victory's debutant American import Jessica McDonald hitting the post in the second half.

Melbourne, now managed by former long-serving Queensland women's coach Mike Mulvey, slipped to bottom on goal difference after its second successive defeat.

There was further bad news for Melbourne with young gun Ashley Brown, who recently starred for the Matildas' US tour, suffering a suspected torn knee ligament.

She joins 10 other national team members on the sidelines with long-term injury.

Meanwhile, in the competition's maiden city derby, Sydney FC was made to work hard before securing a 1-0 win against new club Western Sydney Wanderers on Saturday.

The Sky Blues' New Zealand international striker Emma Kete hit an impressive first-half goal to give her side bragging rights against a team containing many former Sydney FC players.