These two teams have had excellent seasons and on the showpiece occasion both sets of players worked hard and put on a show. This season couldn’t be complete without a bit more VAR controversy and Sydney caught the brunt of an iffy non decision there.

The stadium looked gorgeous and fit in a record Grand Final crowd but the hard, slippery surface caused a couple of hiccoughs. The defenders will be thankful that all the worst slips were by attackers. 

In the end, penalties had to decide who took home the seat and Sydney Wiggled their way to the winner's podium. 

Perth Glory

Liam Reddy 7

He put himself under a bit of pressure with bad touches on a few occasions but otherwise he didn’t have much to do in the first half. Couldn't come up with any penalty saves during this shoot out. 

Jason Davidson 8

In the opening stages of the game he was a great outlet for Glory and he continued to be an attacking threat throughout the 120 minutes. His performance tonight was the sort of form that saw him become the Socceroo left back.  

Shane Lowry 8

It was a defender's night tonight. All the centrehalves from both teams put in good, solid performances. 

Dino Djulbic 8

Didn’t put a foot wrong in what might be his last game.

Ivan Franjic 7

Perth were playing a little lopsided through most of the game. Franjic wasn’t getting forward as much as Davidson but he put in a good effort. 

Matthew Spiranovic 8

Made several crucial tackles for his team and his deep midfield role lets him win a lot of headers in front of the Sydney strikers.

Neil Kilkenny 7.5

How Meblourne City let this sumptuous number six go is anyone’s guess. He often seems to be playing in his own time zone. Nearly all of Perth’s best attacks involved their classy number eighty eight.

Juande 7

Provided a few excellent balls for his forwards but those penetrating balls dried up as the game continued.

Joel Chianese 6.5

He wasn’t as prominent as Ikonimidis in the first half but his young team mate was having a cracker. Glory’s left side was a bit stronger than their right so Chianese didn’t see as much of the ball as he might have liked but he was tidy when he did get it.

Diego Castro 7             

The veteran maestro had a lot of the ball in the first half but most of it was deep in the midfield. Everyone in the stadium was expecting magic every time he got on the ball but he just couldn’t dig deep enough to pull the rabbit out tonight. His best chances came with his head.

Christopher Ikonomidis 8

Nearly scored the game’s first goal with a well time jump to meet a Davidson cross. He was a menace down Sydney’s right-hand side in the first half. He’s been one of the best players in the league all season and he was one of the best players on the pitch tonight. However, his best chance was the early header and a lot of his good dribbles came to nothing.

Subs

Andy Keogh 7

It was a surprise not to see him start.

Scott Neville 7

He had one chance to become the hero but his left footed effort flew high and wide. 

Jake Brimmer 7

His dead balls provided a real threat but his late arrival to the game meant he only got to deliver a few of them. 

Sydney FC

Andrew Redmayne 9.5

Of the two keepers with Red In their names he was the slightly more active. When it came to the penalty shootout he might not have had much dignity but he had a lot of the ball. He looks like one of the Wiggles but when you win or have millions of dollars, who cares about dignity. 

Michael Zullo 8

If he had clipped his toenails a bit shorter he might have been onside for Sydney’s disallowed goal. Otherwise he was outstanding tonight. He pushed forward well but his best work was defensively where he made some crucial tackles.

Aaron Calver 8

He’s become a very assured defender over the course of this season and he put in another strong performance tonight.

Alex Wilkinson 8

Was the last line of defence on a few occasions and none more so than in the second half when he prevented a tap in by toeing a dangerous cross out for a corner.

Rhyan Grant 8.5

He’s been one of the standout players in the league this season and he put in a good show tonight as well. Sadly for Sydney, his mullet provided too much weight for a header that might have been a goal if he’d only glanced it. He became Perth public enemy number one through the course of the game. He’s lucky he didn’t kick the winning penalty he might have been arrested on the way out.

Brandon O’Neill 7.5

Did a lot of covering for Grant on the right and even sometimes for Zullo on the left. Both Sydney defensive midfielders were playing like fullbacks at times.

Josh Brillante 7.5

Good positioning and discipline from Sydney’s defensive midfielders forced Castro much deeper than he’d have liked. That’s to their credit.

Milos Ninkovic 7

He got himself in behind the Glory defence a few times but his final ball or final decision were just a little off tonight. He's lucky to get the Joe Marston medal, there were more impressive performances tonight.

Siem de Jong 5.5

Whilst he may be the player with the best resume on the pitch he doesn’t stand out anywhere near as much as his team mates.

Alex Brosque 7.5

We were all shocked to see that Brosque didn’t bleed sky blue. He copped a sharp elbow to the back of his head in the first half and the blood was red! He fought hard tonight with few chances to trouble the goal. If tonight is his last A League game he put in a good show and led his team well.  

Adam Le Fondre 5.5

A record Grand Final crowd was counted tonight and Le Fondre might have been counted as one of the spectators.

SUBS

Anthony Caceres 7

He made a very good impact when he came on.

Reza Ghoochamejad 7

His first touches after coming on provided Sydney with a good chance. He ended up slotting home the deciding penalty.