It’s a long-held convention in the W-League – if you want to win silverware you have to live on the eastern seaboard.
In seven seasons, three clubs have held a virtual monopoly on the W-League, and with Brisbane Roar and Sydney FC slumping this season it’s left to two-time premiers and 2011-12 champions Canberra United to fly the flag for the establishment clubs in Sunday’s Grand Final against Perth Glory.
Yet not since Brisbane (née Queensland) Roar in the inaugural W-League competition has a side shown such supremacy across a season as Perth has this year. The purple panzer has ruthlessly rolled its way to a maiden Premiership and a record points and goals haul – the latter coming in such abundance the league’s Golden Boot race became a virtual intra-club affair between Perth’s two strikers Kate Gill and Sam Kerr.
In a competition where players don’t follow the money but rather the players, the return west of prodigal daughter and current FMA international player of the year Sam Kerr enticed a coterie of fellow Matildas West – Caitlin Foord, Alanna Kennedy and Mackenzie Arnold to join veteran stars Kate Gill and Collette McCallum in Perth, laying the foundations for a remarkable “West-naissance”.
With strength across the whole starting XI, it is the comparatively unheralded players such as Shannon May, Elisa D’Ovidio and Marianna Tabain – with the Glory throughout the ups and downs of five finals-less seasons across the entire W-League era – that provide the glue, cohesion and fighting spirit that typifies this Perth squad.
So in the face of this seemingly unstoppable force, who can be Canberra United’s immoveable object at the nib stadium on Sunday?
For the girls in gecko green it’s not been a season without incident. Injuries to Matilda’s No1 Lydia Williams, and midfielder Grace Gill saw Canberra United scrambling to find replacements, and following losses to Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane, they only crept into the finals courtesy of some last-day heroics.
Their opponent in that crucial final round fixture? Perth Glory. And that 2-1 win is a tremendous confidence boost ahead of the Grand Final, knowing that they are just one of two sides who have found a way to beat Perth this season.
So where will the 2014 W-League Grand Final be won and lost?
For Perth, the loss of Sam Kerr to injury during the final round game against Canberra was a tremendous blow. One of the league’s top-three players, Kerr almost single-handedly destroyed Sydney FC in their 5-0 league demolition of the two-time Champions.
That the two players jostling to replace Kerr in the Perth line-up, Elisa D’Ovidio and Gabe Marzano, both got on the scoresheet against the same opposition in the semi-finals will however be of comfort to a Perth side still brimming with goals.
In Golden Boot leading scorer Kate Gill the Glory have a striker so exceptional she follows in the footsteps of Phar Lap, Pavlova and intermittently, Russell Crowe, in being absolved of her New Zealand heritage to distinguish Australia with pride.
A strong, tall No9, Gill’s ability to provide both a target and a link-player for Caitlin Foord and Marianna Tabain could prove too much for Canberra United’s defence, who will need a titan to match the veteran striker.
Ellie Brush, the no-nonsence Canberra stopper who former Matildas striker Sarah Walsh has deemed “one of the players I enjoyed playing against the least” may be charged with the task of shackling Gill; she’s carrying a slight ankle concern though, so will need all her 80+ W-League games of experience to marshall her defence.
With Kerr missing, much expectation will fall on the shoulders of her partner-in-crime Caitlin Foord. The versatile and high-energy midfielder-cum-striker was voted best young player at the 2011 World Cup, and if employed deeper in midfield will add quality and industry to a fluid Perth attack.
For Canberra, much rests on the shoulders of the W-League’s most prolific striker of all time, Michelle Heyman, who notched her 50th goal during the 2-1 win over Perth in round 12. Her combination with Canberra’s recently-awarded player of the year, Ashleigh Sykes, will be crucial to the side from the capital’s chances, with Sykes’ pace especially set to trouble Perth in transition.
In Alanna Kennedy and the Canadian international Shelina Zadorsky though Perth have arguably the toughest centre-half combination in the league. Kennedy was rested in the last clash between the two sides but look for Heyman to face a tough battle getting much out of Perth’s central pairing.
As is often the case in football though the outcome of this clash could hinge on whoever wins the midfield battle. Here Canberra face a real challenge with regular starter Kendall Fletcher finishing her guest spot and Grace Gill only just back from a lengthy injury layoff, United will need a hard-working player to complement the vastly experienced but slowing duo of Lori Lindsey and Caitlin Munoz.
If Perth captain Collette McCallum is allowed too much time to dictate the tempo and passing of the game therefore, it could quickly slide from Canberra’s reach.
To bill this Grand Final as a David v Goliath battle is to do a tremendous disservice to the quality and mentality of this Canberra United squad. With the talent at Perth’s disposal however the Glory has rightly been deemed favourites to become the first side since season two to do the double.
And with the FFA Cup slipping through the hands of Perth Glory earlier this week, perhaps drought-breaking silverware in the form of a first W-League Championship could be fair reward for the efforts of the team, the staff and the state federation – and relief for the long-suffering fans.
