With only one match remaining in the regular season and fifth place all but locked in, this Friday provides Ernie Merrick and his management team with the added bonus of an opportunity to inflict some psychological pain on one of their fiercest rivals in the lead up to the finals.

Now that the furore that surrounded "that" tackle has dissipated and the lynch mobs have retreated to their dark, damp caves the fact that Victory are unbeaten in their last five matches, with the last three wins that were nicely wrapped up in the space of a week. If you look even further back you'll see that there have only been two losses in Victory's last 14 matches. To paraphrase one of my favourite bands, Interpol:

We'll be like the wrecking ball through your sides

And we'll change it all from the inside.

But why wait to the finals to cause some damage to our championship rivals when we can kick things off early by putting a severe dent in the finals aspirations of Adelaide? Adelaide, whose recent form has been patchy at best, inflicted on us our worst defeat of the season so far and Friday night provides the perfect opportunity for a small spot of revenge.

With the distinct possibility of another clash in the first week of the finals a win would be a timely reminder to reassert that hold we had over Adelaide for so long and reopen some of those wounds, especially those gained during the finals.

With Melbourne's defensive frailties seeming to have disappeared with the continued absence of our captain it is in the forward half that Victory should cause the most pain. With Kruse continuing where he left off before the Asian Cup and Allsopp looking like he never left, Melbourne's strike force is looking like the most potent going around. Combine that with a returning Archie Thompson and the defences of the other five finalists, let alone Adelaide will surely be a little worried comes finals time.

Whatever the outcome, the game is sure to be a great spectacle at Adelaide Oval and I for one am a little disappointed that I won't be there to witness it.