The score and the championship tally is now 2-1 to Brisbane after they defeated Sydney at Campbelltown Stadium in the Westfield W-League grand final on Saturday. It was Brisbane's third grand final appearance in three seasons and Sydney's second in two, with both teams boasting one premiership and one championship apiece heading into the match.

As defending champions and premiers, and having had the more free-flowing, goal-scoring season, Sydney went into the season two grand final rematch as favourites. But it was a determined Brisbane outfit, who'd struggled to recreate their smoothly flowing football and goal scoring of previous seasons, who'd seen the premiership slip through their fingers in round 12, and who'd scraped into the final with a taxing, hard-fought semi final win over Canberra 4-2 on penalties, who found their rhythm and then the back of the net first.

Both teams had early chances and defensive scares as they tried to settle into the game. Tameka Butt and Lana Harch, in particular, combined well for Brisbane, with each taking turns to put solid, goal-bound balls into each other in the box. Their efforts paid off, with Butt getting up and over two defenders with no concern for self-preservation to head the ball past Sydney goalkeeper Dimi Poulos.

Brisbane going one goal up early was what happened in last year's final, before Sydney struck back with three goals, so the Queenslanders had to work to quickly regroup and keep calm heads for the remaining 70 minutes of the match.

And strike back Sydney did. Golden boot leader Kyah Simon's curling cross forced Dumont to parry the ball out. The corner came to nothing, but Kylie Ledbrook took an opportunity to score while the ball was being repeatedly delivered into the box. Her shot (which may well have been a cross that happily found its way into the goal mouth) hit the far post and bounced in.

Both teams pushed for a second goal and Harch had a brilliant chance when she, flanked by two defenders, ran onto an Elise Kellond-Knight ball placed near post. She couldn't quite get a clean connection with it and, worse, landed awkwardly and potentially fractured her ankle (she's having scans this week).

It was a tragic departure for the player who won MVP in the W-League's inaugural season and who's had a blinder in season three—not least in the opening minutes of the first half of this grand final. But her early departure opened the door for Lisa De Vanna to make her way onto the pitch, and De Vanna's well-timed second-half ball poach gave Brisbane that much-sought second goal.

The rain had kicked in shortly before half time, and the second half was played in slippery conditions. Sydney had one of the best chances early. A poorly cleared shot allowed Kyah Simon a chance to shoot, with her shot dipping and giving Brisbane and Dumont, who saved it, a scare.

Khamis, who finished runner up in the golden boot race and who told us after the match that she hasn't to date managed to score against Brisbane, put in physical contests in her hunt for the elusive goal. She, Spence, and Dumont end up in a sandwich of bodies that left Dumont requiring treatment, but she recovered well to continue playing.

De Vanna tried to shoot through defenders when she should have passed off and scuffed her shot. But she redeemed herself by scoring soon after, edging Danielle Brogan off the ball and getting in front to slip the ball under Poulos' arm. De Vanna immediately jumped the fence and then into the stands to hug her sister. She received a yellow for her efforts, but acknowledged it with a short wave to the referee.

Fellow sub and striker Kennya Cordner almost made it 3-1 to Brisbane and secure the victory, but her shot hit the side netting. Meanwhile Sydney surged forward to pressure the Brisbane defence and bag themselves an equaliser. Khamis, who'd been issuing strong challenges all match, received a yellow for an accidental steamrollering of Dumont. In a succession of poor clearances in the final 10 minutes that left the crowd gasping, Brisbane handed the ball back to Sydney, who launched fresh and increasingly desperate attacks on the Brisbane goal.

They weren't able to find the second goal needed to take the match to extra time and possibly penalties, so Brisbane were crowned champions for the second time in the Westfield W-League's three-year history. It was a brilliant and gutsy effort for the team, whose season has been hard-fought and disrupted by niggling injuries to key players and the recent Brisbane floods.

And it was a gutting finish to the season for the team who's dominated the competition from start to finish and who definitively earned the premiership plate. Sydney coach Alen Stajcic himself noted that Sydney haven't had the best record at Campbelltown this season, and Brisbane had gotten the better of them at the venue on New Year's Day.

The result will undoubtedly intensify the already strong rivalry between these teams, and with one championship each from two consecutive grand final meetings, they'll be aiming for the best of three come the W-League's fourth season. In the interim, the players of both teams will be working towards the 2011 FIFA Women's World Cup, and hoping that their impressive in-season and finals-football form will earn them a call up for the Westfield Matildas travelling to Germany in June.

Fiona Crawford is also the Girls FC online editor (www.facebook.com./girlsfc).