Competition heavyweights Melbourne City and Sydney FC will clash on Saturday to determine who is the 2023/24 A-League Women’s champion.
Read our preview of the Grand Final below.
The Context
It does not get much bigger than Melbourne City and Sydney FC in an A-League Women’s Grand Final.
They are the two most decorated teams in the competition’s history. Melbourne City have won three premierships and four championships since entering the fold in 2015, while Sydney FC have five premierships and four championships of their own.
They have met in three Grand Finals previously, the last of which was in 2019/20. City has won all three. In fact, Melbourne City have never lost a Grand Final that they have participated in.
By contrast, Sydney FC have participated in eleven Grand Finals but have only won four of them, two of those – including last season’s championship - coming in their astonishing run of seven Grand Final appearances in a row since 2017/18.
The Season
Despite wobbly early season form punctuated by injury and squad changes, Sydney FC looked destined to take out the premiership in the latter half of the season. With two games to go, they only needed one win against Canberra United or Melbourne Victory to secure top place and head into the finals as favourites.
They weren’t able to do so, and Melbourne City – who had been top for much of the season before some inconsistent form of their own, thanks to injuries (including a season-ending ACL rupture to Holly McNamara in round five), international call-ups, and the outgoing transfers of Kaitlyn Torpey and goalkeeper Lysianne Proulx – capitalised, defeating Perth Glory on the final day of the season to lift the Premier’s Plate.
It is fitting that the sides that finished first and second on the ladder will do battle on the final day of the season. While Melbourne City had a substantially cruisier path through the semi-final, most of Sydney’s players were in this position last season and will back themselves to get the job done.
The CommBank Matildas
If you have followed Sydney FC this season, there is one name that has probably featured – Cortnee Vine.
Vine entered this season on the back of her tremendous success at the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023™ and all of the expectations that followed. She has succeeded on the pitch, with ten goals and six assists to her name, as well as the intangible impact of terrorising opposition defences with her pace and ability on the ball.
She will be a factor at one end of the pitch for Sydney, but so too will goalkeeper Jada Whyman at the other end. Whyman has been a big part of the most successful defence in the A-League Women this season – only conceding 20 goals in the regular season – and pulled off some tremendous saves in the semi-final to keep the Central Coast Mariners at bay.
Melbourne City’s early season form came off the back of an unbelievable start from Holly McNamara, who scored six goals in five games. Her season came to a devastating end when she ruptured her ACL against the Newcastle Jets, but she will be in the stands cheering on her teammates just weeks after Melbourne City posted footage of the youngster returning to running.
The midseason transfer of Kaitlyn Torpey came before she made her CommBank Matildas debut, but what an impact she has made this season, both domestically and on the international stage. Usually deployed as a right wing-back, she was the engine room of Dario Vidosic’s side and her departure was felt when she was signed by the San Diego Wave in February.
However, as is typical in the A-League Women, there are talented youngsters everywhere to step up to the plate when needed. Daniela Galic was rewarded for her league form with a call-up to be a train-on with the CommBank Matildas in February and it is clear why – with six goals and five assists from midfield this season, the 17-year-old is only getting better and better with every game, and is set to play a big role in the Grand Final.
The Details
The game will be held at AAMI Park in Melbourne on Saturday, 4 May, 4.15pm AEST.
You can buy tickets to what is set to be an enthralling Grand Final via Ticketek.
If you can’t make it live, no worries. You can watch live and free on 10Bold, 10Play, or Paramount+. Coverage will start from 3.30pm AEST.