Tom Smithies says NSW's domination of the A-League couldn't have been more emphatic Domination ... Central Coast and Western Sydney finished one-two. THE domination couldnt have been much more emphatic  first and second in the regular-season table, followed by the same two teams contesting the grand final. Thanks to the Mariners and the Wanderers, NSW was the powerhouse of the A-League last season, ending two years of Brisbane's domination. Even with Sydney FC and Newcastle unable to make the finals, the best two teams in the country were separated by just an hour and half geographically, and just as narrow a margin in football terms. The question now is the degree to which those champion teams can sustain their elevated status in the face of improved challengers elsewhere. The slate, as always at the start of the year, is clean. That's more than just a cliché, for both the Mariners and Wanderers have fresh challenges - Tony Popovic's favourite word - to address if they are to be winners again. To take the champions first, Graham Arnold has lost half of his grand final team to a mix of retirement and transfers. It's true that Central Coast have always rather effortlessly covered for the regular loss of key men, but not to this degree. Their goalkeeper and defensive lynchpin are both gone, their marauding right back, their right winger - and even last year's golden boot winner is away on loan until round five. Fail ... Neither Sydney FC nor Newcastle Jets made the finals. In their place come a replacement Dutch defender in Marcel Seip, plus players with something to prove - neither Liam Reddy and Marcos Flores enjoyed their most recent stints in the A-League. It's a wonderful irony that at the point where the club is at its most financially secure for years, on the field there are more question marks than at any point since Arnold became coach. One thing is for sure - the coach will soon start the mindgames he can't help but indulge in, ahead of the opening round clash with the Wanderers on Saturday. Popovic admits - with a smile - he's expecting nothing less, and in fact the second-year coach knows there's a lot of pressure coming his way, thanks to the remarkable scenes of the first year. For Western Sydney to achieve such dizzying heights required a remarkable mix of cunning, talent, chutzpah and - yes - luck. The problem with scaling heights, though, is that at any point vertigo might strike. Popovic has been a conservative recruiter in the off-season, culling only fringe players and the misfiring forward Dino Kresinger. Tomi Juric, the young Socceroos striker, looks a potent addition to lead the attack, while Matthew Spiranovic's arrival signals Popovic's determination to see his side play the ball out from the back. Derby ... Melbourne Heart and Melbourne Victory suffered in 2013. The great imponderable, of course, is what happens if any of the senior players get injured. The loss of Youssouf Hersi to suspension was arguably key to the grand final, and the cotton wool around Shinji Ono, Mark Bridge and Matteo Poljak will be thick. The same is true at Sydney FC, but in terms of one individual above all others. Alessandro Del Piero brought a level of skill and vision never before seen in the A-League, but essentially dragged the Sky Blues along in his wake. This year Frank Farina has tried to reboot the club - not in terms of a footwear deal, but in reprogramming the players into a philosophy where possession is to be prized like oxygen in space. It's a brave move, if hugely welcome, for Farina and his assistant Rado Vidosic want the players to press high up the pitch and play constantly uptempo - a challenge for a side with more 30-somethings than a Generation Y reunion. The latter results in pre-season weren't good, and though Farina told the players he cares nothing about scorelines before the start of the season, now the real thing is upon us and it's time to care. Farina has recruited as well as could - proper fullbacks in Marc Warren and Pedj Bojic, a solid-looking centreback in Nikola Petkovic - but the core of the side is still there, and they know that a repeat of last year is simply not acceptable. The message at the far end of the F3 is not dissimilar, where Gary van Egmond knows that two years of rebuilding - without finals football - has to bear fruit this season. Emile Heskey's absence through injury for the first few rounds is a blow, but throughout the squad there are players with new international experience, plus the benefit of last year's game time in the A-League. Van Egmond has brought in experience at the back in Dutchman Kew Jaliens, and has held on to coveted youngsters such as Craig Goodwin and Adam Taggart in the face of overseas interest (not to mention captain Ruben Zadkovich). The mobility of Taggart and the vision of Michael Bridges should compensate for Heskey's absence, but over the season the success or otherwise of the Jets" season will be determined by the ability of Van Egmond's youngsters to show they have learned the lessons of last season and are ready to make the club a force on the pitch.