Expert
The Melbourne Victory have been crowned A-League champions after a ninth-minute goal to Kosta Barbarouses was enough to seal the deal.
Final score
Newcastle Jets 0
Melbourne Victory 1
The Newcastle Jets and the Melbourne Victory clash at McDonald Jones Stadium in the A-League grand final for season 2017-18. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 7:50pm (AEST).
Well, here we are at the end of the road for the season, and a fitting match to find the Champions of Australia for season 13 of the A-League.
Newcastle go into this match as both the bookies and sentimental favourites, after finishing second on the ladder and navigating their way into the decider past Melbourne City.
The Victory muscled their way through Sydney FC, which was something of a surprise.
Both teams bring significant momentum into this game, but nerves will play a huge role – as with all big matches – and the youghtful Jets will be relying on the steadying influence of manager Ernie Merrick to get them across the line.
Victory seem a little more hardened and experienced and will look to use that to gain an advantage.
The home crowd will be buzzing and the stadium will be rocking, and it’s worth noting the Jets have beaten the Victory twice in the Hunter this season already.
The match offers Newcastle the chance to complete one the most remarkable turnarounds in the history of the game after copping the wooden spoon last season.
They finished second on the table behind Sydney FC during the home-and-away, but now get the chance to host a grand final thanks to the Sky Blues falling short of qualification.
Melbourne Victory made their way through to the decider with a thrilling 120-minute victory against Sydney last week.
Prediction
In such a close-run thing, one decision or moment will probably decide this game.
With an enormous crowd at their back, the Jets should complete the fairytale and claim their second A-League title.
Catch all the action live on The Roar from 7:50pm (AEST).