The amazing grand final the A-League needed following another tough season

After a tough season in the A-League the code finally got a moment and game it deserved. ROBBIE SLATER and MARCO MONTEVERDE share their likes and dislikes from the epic grand final week.

GOSFORD, AUSTRALIA - MAY 25: Ryan Edmondson of the Central Coast Mariners celebrates his second goal during the A-League Men Grand Final match between Central Coast Mariners and Melbourne Victory at Industree Group Stadium, on May 25, 2024, in Gosford, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)

Robbie Slater and Marco Monteverde go through their likes and dislikes from an incredible A-League grand final week.

LIKES

Grand finale

It was the grand final the A-League needed.

For a couple of hours on Saturday night we were able to forget about numerous problems plaguing our national competition and enjoy a fantastic contest between the Central Coast Mariners and Melbourne Victory.

In the end, it was the result that most neutrals wanted. The battling Mariners completed their treble fairytale by beating one of the competition’s biggest clubs.

Full credit to the Victory, who were within minutes of winning a fifth A-League championship.

However, they paid the price for inviting the Mariners back into the game by defending deeper and deeper as the second-half wore on.

Ryan Edmondson scored one of the three Mariners goals. Picture: Getty Images)\

In hindsight, Victory coach Tony Popovic probably didn’t get his substitutes right.

His decision to replace midfielder Jordi Valadon with his team still leading 1-0 but under pressure was particularly puzzling.

Valadon was one of the best players on the field, so unless he was injured, or out on his feet – which he didn’t seem to be – he should have stayed on the park.

Within a minute of him going off, Ryan Edmondson equalised from an area of the field that Valadon would have been occupying.

From then one there was only going to be one winner. The Mariners had the momentum and the marvellous crowd on their side, while the Victory no longer had Valadon on the field as well as their three main attacking weapons ­– Zinedine Machach, Bruno Fornaroli and Daniel Arzani.

Miguel Di Pizio came off the bench, Picture: Getty Images

In contrast, Mariners coach Mark Jackson worked wonders with his substitutions.

Edmondson, Miguel Di Pizio and Ronald Barcellos all had a significant impact on the contest after coming off the bench.

It was another coaching masterstroke from Jackson, who has proved his doubters wrong after questions were asked following the Mariners’ poor start to the season whether he was the right man to take over from Nick Montgomery.

He has well and truly answered all those questions by guiding his team to the A-League premiership and championship, as well as the AFC Cup is a magnificent 2023-24 campaign.

Joshua Nisbet was great at the weekend. Picture: Getty Images

Marvellous Mariner

Equally as magnificent has been Central Coast’s midfield maestro Josh Nisbet, the Johnny Warren medalist who capped off a brilliant season with another superb display in the grand final.

While his teammate Ryan Edmondson won the Joe Marston Medal on Saturday night for his two-goal performance, few would have argued had Nisbet got the award for player of the match, such was the impact he had, particularly in the second-half and in extra-time.

Nisbet was everywhere. He was relentless, and the Victory couldn’t shake him off.

There’s no doubt he will be named in the Socceroos squad this week for next month’s World Cup qualifiers against Bangladesh and Lebanon.

However, there is some doubt if the Mariners will be able to keep Nisbet next season.

Central Coast’s success in the past couple of seasons has been aided by the club’s ability to replace departing stars.

However, replacing Nisbet could be the Mariners’ toughest task yet.

DISLIKES

Commentary gaffe

As good as the grand final was, the question needs to be asked about why the best football commentator in Australia, Simon Hill, was absent from Network 10’s coverage of the decider.

The biggest game of the season should have been called by the number one commentator, and there’s no doubt that’s Hill.

It’s yet another baffling decision from Network 10/Paramount +, whose coverage of the A-League men’s and women’s competitions continues to disappoint.

What did you think of the All Star game? Picture: Getty Images

All-Stars farce

The quality of the grand final also made further mockery of the decision to bury it in “Global Football Week”, which included one of the most embarrassing football games ever held on home soil.

Friday night’s farce involving the A-League and a fourth string Newcastle United team was an absolute disgrace.

What was the point of the exercise if Newcastle weren’t going to field any of their best players?

The promoters should have insisted that the English Premier League club at least used a handful of their first-team players during the contest.

Of course, things weren’t helped by having Newcastle play two nights earlier in another Mickey Mouse contest against Tottenham.

So many lessons need to be learnt from a shambolic few days in Melbourne last week.

They included not having to Premier League teams playing each other in a nothing match three days after the final day of their season and a day after arriving in Australia following a long-haul flight.

If the All-Stars concept somehow survives last week’s disaster and returns next season, ensure that the opponent doesn’t play two games while in Australia.

One game between the A-League and a top international club willing to field some of its best players ­– as has been the case in previous years – is all that’s needed. We don’t want a repeat of Friday night’s 8-0 scoreline.

And please don’t play it in the same week as the grand final, which deserves its own space.

Nestory Irankunda should have played more minutes. Picture: Getty Images

Poster boy buried

What was also puzzling about Friday night’s disaster was All-Stars coach Patrick Kisnorbo’s decision to give Nestory Irankunda only 20 minutes of action.

The Bayern Munich-bound teenager was the face of the pre-game promotion, and should have played for at least half the match.

Instead, the most exciting prospect the A-League has arguably ever produced, gets not even half of that.

It was in keeping with the entire farce that the match was.

The Tackle’s team of the season: (4-1-4-1) Danny Vukovic (Central Coast Mariners), Jason Geria (Melbourne Victory), Damien Da Silva (Melbourne Victory), Jacob Farrell (Central Coast Mariners); Josh Nisbet (Central Coast Mariners); Joe Lolley (Sydney FC), Tolgay Arslan (Melbourne City), Zinedine Machach (Melbourne Victory), Kosta Barbarouses (Wellington Phoenix); Adam Taggart (Perth Glory). Substitutes: Scott Wootton (Wellington Phoenix), Anthony Caceres (Sydney FC), Jay O’Shea (Brisbane Roar), Bruno Fornaroli (Melbourne Victory), Alex Paulsen (Wellington Phoenix). Coach: Mark Jackson (Central Coast Mariners).

The Tackle’s player of the season: Josh Nisbet (Central Coast Mariners)

Originally published as The amazing grand final the A-League needed following another tough season