More than 60,000 fans packing into a purple-swathed Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday afternoon is proof that the A-League does grand finals better than the AFL or NRL ever will.
So much for Perth Glory struggling to sell tickets.
There were plenty of sceptics who before this week reckoned the Glory would go nowhere near filling Perth’s brand-spanking new stadium.
Many of them had at least one thing in common – they were more likely to be watching the West Coast Eagles or Fremantle Dockers on a Sunday afternoon as an A-League game.
As football fans we’re so used to followers of other sports belittling the A-League under the guise of offering friendly advice, that we essentially accept it as the norm.
Heaven forbid if the shoe’s on the other foot though and you happen to mention that you prefer the A-League to Australia’s provincial codes, because you’ll never hear the end of it.
But there are a few things the A-League does better than the AFL and NRL and one of them is grand finals.
Leroy George of the Victory during the 2018 A-League Grand Final between the Newcastle Jets and the Melbourne Victory (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Just ask North Queensland Cowboys fans.
When Johnathan Thurston kicked one of the most dramatic field goals in NRL history to win the 2015 grand final in golden point extra time, he did so in front of thousands of Cowboys fans who paid far more to attend the game than they should reasonably have been expected to.
That’s because in their infinite wisdom, the NRL saw fit to play a game between North Queensland and the Brisbane Broncos at ANZ Stadium in Sydney.
And even if West Coast and the Fremantle Dockers were to battle their way through to the AFL decider this season, the game would still be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The AFL might believe Melbourne is home to Australia’s national sport but at the end of the day, they’ll never be willing to budge from their stronghold.
That’s what makes the fact that A-League grand finals are hosted by the highest-placed team such a special thing – and one an independent competition would do well to protect.
It’s a money-spinner for Football Federation Australia too, and not even the fact that tickets for Sunday’s showdown were priced as high as $130 was enough to prevent them from flying out the door.
No matter what Glory owner Tony Sage says about them losing their home-ground advantage, playing at Optus Stadium was also a victory for common sense.
The A-League is simply not in the position to be turning away an extra 40,000 fans just because Perth happen to play their regular games at the more compact HBF Park.
As for the match itself, there’s no question Tony Popovic’s team head into the grand final as favourites. But do they deserve to?
Much as a Glory win would be great for the A-League, you have to wonder just how much their incredible penalty shoot-out victory over Adelaide United last Friday took out of them.
They’ll hope not to have peaked too soon, not least because if any team looked capable of getting the better of them this season, it was Sydney FC.
The Sky Blues beat them twice during the regular season and with Milos Ninkovic likely to dink diagonal balls in behind Glory’s marauding fullbacks all afternoon, suddenly the A-League’s strongest defence looks somewhat vulnerable.
Ninkovic’s versatility highlights how Sydney FC’s multi-faceted approach brought them success. (AAP Image/Brendan Esposito)
That’s not to suggest that Glory don’t have weapons of their own. There’s a reason Diego Castro will go down as one of the A-League’s classiest imports of all time.
And if it’s Popovic who clinches the silverware, it will go down as one of the finest managerial comebacks in Australian football history.
Whatever the outcome on Sunday afternoon, this is the grand final the A-League had to have.
Whether you’re tuning into Fox Sports or 10 Bold, watching on Kayo or the My Football App or following all the action on The Roar, this is one football game you simply cannot afford to miss.
ac
Guest
Will be great to see a grand final which delivers. But the rest of the season had been a yawn. I goes on and on and on.time to cut it by 6 weeks finish before AFL and NRL start and allow the game to glow before the others come in.
Fadida
Roar Rookie
You're either a SFC fan or you hate them. No middle ground
Fadida
Roar Rookie
Please repost this every time someone sounds the death knell of the A-league JB. If we factor in atrocious storms which took at least 20k off the Sydney derby, WSW losing 5k from a game at Mudgee, Roar having a shocking season, a homeless Sydney, who knows what we may have ended up with?
Stevo
Roar Rookie
Funny how I said “a tasty prospect for us neutrals” and then said “COME ON YOU GLORY!!!!!!” Non sequitur :)
Ben of Phnom Penh
Roar Guru
There is a feeling about this GF that it will add another story-line to the upcoming A-League seasons. If Perth take it and maintain their strength into the next few seasons then 'wrestling it from the West' will work its way into the media that tends to be transfixed on the 'Big Blue' and the Sydney derby. Surely everyone that isn't a Sydney fan is either secretly or overtly going for Perth. Go Glory! :D
Stevo
Roar Rookie
Grand final day has arrived. Something about this contest that feels more exciting than most that have preceded it. Castro, Ninkovic, Ikonomidis, Le Fondre and supporting cast is a tasty prospect for us neutrals. COME ON YOU GLORY!!!!!!
Nemesis
Guest
If you think AFL & NRL are "world's best" it indicates your world is confined to Australia, or, in reality, a few states of Australia for each of those sports.
jbinnie
Guest
Simoc -You use the term "world's best" to describe the standard of play in other codes and I assume you mean AFL and Rugby League. Don't you think this is a bit "tongue in cheek" when one considers Rugby league is only played in 2 or 3 counties in the 48 county England, and is only a secondary sport to Rugby in both France and New Zealand. AFL can't even claim to have that type of exposure in "the world" so I think your "descriptive" use of the word just a trifle misplaced. Cheers jb.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Perth Glory didnt triumph under Stange they lost on penalties.
Simoc
Guest
Before A league over 40k turned up to see Perth triumph with a German coach who did more for soccer in WA than the A league ever has. He was always in the news in an AFL city. Now its a return to those days in a new stadium. But soccer is not in the same space as AFL and League which is why their GF is now. They're gradually getting professional but the quality of football isn't worlds best as in the other codes. Its more like everything happens in slow motion. Only the huge egos are at EPL level.
Punter
Roar Rookie
Yes exactly, just crazy!!!
Midfielder
Roar Guru
loved the article Mike and agree with you on how well we run grand finals ... pity sometimes is many football posters can so wound up in FIFA models they can't appreciate a real achievement
jbinnie
Guest
Just for the those interested in the "awful' year we have had in HAL crowds. Last year all league games attracted 1,434,500 fans to all games. This year the figure had dropped to 1,411,900 a "horrendous" drop of 22,600 over 135 matches to average out at 168 fans per match. The fact not to be missed is that in those figures we have figures generated by the " Sydney gypsies",WSW, whose overall attendance figure for 14 home games stood at only 130,400, when last season they contributed 155,000 to the overall figure, a drop of 24,600 so this years deficit can be placed squarely at that calculation. As further "proof" to the fact that we have had an "as you were" season the first four rounds of this year's finals series is sitting at 59,250 compared to last season's figure of 60,100 and with last years 29,500 final figure looking to be smashed,maybe this season has not been as bad as suggested. Cheers jb.
Nick Symonds
Guest
ALEAGUE.COM.AU - Final release of 2,500 tickets for Hyundai A-League 2019 Grand Final https://www.a-league.com.au/news/only-2500-tickets-left-hyundai-a-league-2019-grand-final - Looks like it'll be a full house.
Brainstrust
Roar Rookie
Its the way the grand final should be, grand finals in this country used to be about the fans of the two teams. I never heard anyone say they wanted to go to the rugby league grand final in Sydney when their team misses out years ago. Why would you want to go and see someone else win the title . Nowdays the grand finals are just a big corporate bum rub, I suppose for the AFL its the only big show they have, but thats their fault they got rid of State of Origin because it would turn a bad light on NSW and QLD. Even people that hate both teams in the grand final will go there just to boast they were there and had better seats than their supporters and they had x number of seats to invite other corporates and I know someone from Sydney who has to pretend they like the sport and go to the grand final just to fit in.
coolncold
Roar Rookie
Will it be the greatest?
Redondo
Roar Rookie
Darlinghurst is Western Sydney to the humble folk of Point Piper
Redondo
Roar Rookie
Perth (WA) or Perth (Scotland) - not much difference in fares. I guess the flights would be cheaper if WA seceded.
Punter
Roar Rookie
Yeah never got that far to checking.
Redondo
Roar Rookie
The airfares put me off.