A-League champions will always have a finals say

Alex Brosque’s call to ditch the A-League finals will never become reality, says new Sydney FC skipper Alex Wilkinson.

New Sydney FC skipper Alex Wilkinson says the A-League must celebrate its premiers better Picture: Getty Images

Alex Brosque’s call to ditch the A-League finals will never become reality because Australia loves a knockout too much, new Sydney FC skipper Alex Wilkinson says.

But he does agree with his predecessor that premiers should get more plaudits, as they do in the world’s biggest leagues, including the English Premier League.

Straight after second-placed Sydney beat runaway premiers Perth Glory on penalties in May’s grand final, the retiring Brosque used his final media interview to declare the finals series should be scrapped in favour of football’s traditional first-past-the-post format, arguing Australia’s fondness for a sudden-death showdown was now satisfied by the FFA Cup.

Five months later, on the eve of the Sky Blues’ title defence, Wilkinson said post-season action wasn’t going anywhere. “They’re never going to scrap the finals, that’ll just never happen,” Wilkinson said.

“It’s just the Australian way, what’s done here in every sport. The Australian public love it, and I love a final series, I think it’s fantastic. Big games, big crowds, and they’re the sort of games you want to play in as a player.

“It can be cruel at times, like it was a couple of years ago where you finish on top — we won the league by 14 points — and then all of a sudden you have a bad day at the office and you’re out.”

In 2017-18, Melbourne Victory placed fourth but defeated premiers Sydney in the semi-finals to become the first club outside the top three to qualify for a grand final, which they went on to win in Newcastle in highly controversial circumstances.

“You need to give more credit to the team who finish on top throughout the season like they do in Europe,” Wilkinson said.

“In Europe they’re called the champions, but up until two or three years ago the premiership winners didn’t even get a medal here in Australia.

“There needs to be a lot more focus on the end-of-league winner because that is the most consistent team over the year, and in most ways it’s harder to win the premiership than it is the final series.”

The Daily Telegraph