The Argentine playmaker will be given until the last minute to prove his fitness after succumbing to a hamstring injury while Bojic is likely to slot straight back into his accustomed role at right back.

Graham Arnold has young gun Mustafa Amini in his ranks and he is a more than capable replacement if Perez doesn’t get up for the encounter.

It has been a quieter build up for Brisbane, who will have a blockbuster crowd behind them on Sunday.

Roar’s record against the Mariners is incredible, losing just three of their 22 meetings.

But all of the Mariners’ wins have come at Suncorp Stadium and confidence will be high after coming very close last time they met.

Arnold’s team has been building towards a victory over Brisbane all season, but Roar have proven it to be an almost impossible task.

Their unbeaten run has extended to 27 and few would begrudge that a grand final victory is deserved.

But the visitors have shown they are capable of causing problems and if they take their chances early, an upset is not out of the question.

A healthy crowd will expect to see a Brisbane win but the Mariners will want to complete their build to the final with a victory in the last game of the A-League season.

Roar Dominance
Brisbane have a stunning record against the Mariners – Played: 22, Won: 11, Drawn: 8, Lost: 3

 

CROWD RECORDS SET FOR BREAKING?
With Brisbane having its first Hyundai A-League Grand Final, the Roar is set to host the highest-attended Hyundai A-League match in the city’s history this Sunday, surpassing the current record crowd of 36,221 for the 2008 Major Semi Final 2nd leg (v Sydney FC).

Sunday’s match is on track to surpassing Brisbane’s highest crowd for any national league football match (40,446, 1997 NSL Grand Final), and may be amongst the highest in Hyundai A-League history for any city (current record 55,436, 2007 Grand Final).

Largest crowds in domestic league football matches, major cities:
55,436 – Melbourne (2007 Hyundai A-League Grand Final, Melbourne Victory v Adelaide United)
43,242 – Perth (2000 National Soccer League Grand Final, Perth Glory v Wollongong Wolves)
41,689 – Sydney (2006 Hyundai A-League Grand Final, Sydney FC v Central Coast Mariners)
40,446 – Brisbane (1997 National Soccer League Grand Final, Brisbane Strikers v Sydney United)
25,039 – Adelaide (2007/08 Hyundai A-League round 18, Adelaide United v Sydney FC)

Largest crowds, Hyundai A-League:
55,436 – 2007 Grand Final (Melbourne Victory 6 v Adelaide United 0) Etihad Stadium
53,273 – 2009 Grand Final (Melbourne Victory 1 v Adelaide United 0) Etihad Stadium
50,333 – 2006/07 Round 16 (Melbourne Victory 0 v Sydney FC 0) Etihad Stadium
47,413 – 2007 Major Semi 2nd leg (Melbourne Victory 2 v Adelaide United 1) Etihad Stadium
44,560 – 2010 Grand Final (Melbourne Victory 1 v Sydney FC 1 Sydney won 4-2 on penalties) Etihad Stadium

ONE MILLION FOR THE ROAR… Brisbane Roar, who have accumulated an aggregate crowd of 989,043 in their 74 home matches to date, will reach the milestone of ONE MILLION aggregate crowd in the Grand Final. The 10,957th person who comes through the gates at Suncorp Stadium this Sunday will be Roar’s 1,000,000th patron.

ROAR’S RECORD STREAK… Roar are aiming for their 28th undefeated match in a row, maintaining Australian football’s longest undefeated streak at national league level. Roar have surpassed the record in Australian Rules AFL/VFL history (26 games, Geelong, 1952-1953), and are approaching the long-standing rugby league NRL/NSWRL undefeated streak record (35, Eastern Suburbs, 1935-1938)

MOST SUCCESSFUL COACHES HEAD-TO-HEAD… in terms of ratio of games won to games lost, Central Coast’s GRAHAM ARNOLD is the Hyundai A-League’s most successful coach-to-date, with a win/loss ratio of 2.83 (17 wins / 6 losses) in his 33 matches coached to date. Brisbane’s Ange Postecoglou has the league’s second-highest win/loss ratio, 2.67 (24 wins / 9 losses) in his 48 matches coached so far.

Hyundai A-League Grand Final flashbacks

Hyundai A-League 2006 Grand Final
Sydney FC 1 (S.Corica 62')  Central Coast Mariners 0
at Sydney Football Stadium. Crowd: 41,689.

Hyundai A-League 2007 Grand Final
Melbourne Victory 6 (A.Thompson 20'/29'/39'/ 56'/72', K.Sarkies 90’+3)  Adelaide United 0
at Telstra Dome. Crowd: 55,436.

Hyundai A-League 2008 Grand Final
Central Coast Mariners 0  Newcastle Jets 1 (M.Bridge 64')
at Sydney Football Stadium. Crowd: 36,354.

Hyundai A-League 2009 Grand Final
Melbourne Victory 1 (T.Pondeljak 60')  Adelaide United 0
at Etihad Stadium. Crowd: 53,273.

Hyundai A-League 2010 Grand Final
Melbourne Victory 1 (A.Leijer 82’)  Sydney FC 1 (M.Bridge 63’)
Sydney FC win 4-2 on penalties
at Etihad Stadium. Crowd: 44,560.

ROAR HOME RECORD
Having remained undefeated in all 16 matches at home so far this season, the Brisbane Roar will be aiming to finish the season undefeated in all home matches (including finals series matches) for just the fifth time in Australian national league history:

Undefeated at home, Australian national league:
1981  Sydney City (15 out of 15 home matches undefeated)
1983  Sydney City (15 out of 15 home matches undefeated)
1992/93  Marconi (18 out of 18 home matches undefeated, including 3 finals series matches)
1998/99  South Melbourne (17 out of 17 home matches undefeated, including 3 finals series matches)

YOUNG MARINERS
An appearance by 17-year-old Mustafa Amini in the  Hyundai A-League 2011 Grand Final would make the Mariners player the youngest Grand Final player in Hyundai A-League history, and the fourth youngest Grand Final player in all Australian national league Grand Finals.

Youngest players in Australian national league Grand Finals:
16y 293d - Jason Culina, for Sydney United, 1997 Grand Final (NSL)
17y 051d - Ufuk Talay, for Marconi, 1993 Grand Final (NSL)
17y 089d - Chris Kalantzis, for Sydney Olympic, 1984 Grand Final (NSL)
18y 007d - Joe Gibbs, for Sydney FC, 2009 Grand Final (Hyundai A-League)
18y 045d - Paul Okon, for Marconi, 1990 Grand Final (NSL)

Amini will be 17 years 327 days old on Grand Final day. 

An appearance by 18-year-old Matt Ryan in the Hyundai A-League 2011 Grand Final would make the Mariners goalkeeper the youngest Grand Final goalkeeper in Australian national league history. 

Youngest goalkeepers in Australian national league Grand Finals:
20y 220d - Vilson Knezevic, for Melbourne Knights, 1996 Grand Final (NSL)
20y 222d - Mark Schwarzer, for Marconi, 1993 Grand Final (NSL)
20y 343d - Danny Vukovic, for Central Coast Mariners, 2006 Grand Final (Hyundai A-League)
21y 191d - Frank Juric, for Melbourne Knights, 1995 Grand Final (NSL)
21y 210d - Mitchell Langerak, for Melbourne Victory, 2010 Grand Final (Hyundai A-League)

Ryan will be 18 years 339 days old on Grand Final da

 

 

Hyundai A-League 2011 Grand Final
Brisbane Roar vs Central Coast Mariners
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Local kick-off: 4.00pm (5.00pm AEDT)
Referee:Matthew Breeze
Assistant referees:Ben Wilson and Brad Hobson
Fourth official:Strebre Delovski

Live and exclusive broadcast on FOX Sports 3, FS3 HD and Sky Sports 3 (NZ). Hyundai A-League partner is 4BC 1116, ABC Brisbane and 96.3 Coast FM (Gosford). To purchase tickets visit www.ticketek.com.au

Brisbane Roar: 1. Michael THEOKLITOS (gk), 2. Matt SMITH, 4. Shane STEFANUTTO, 5. Ivan FRANJIC, 6. Erik PAARTALU, 7. Kosta BARBAROUSES, 8. Massimo MURDOCCA, 9. Jean Carlos SOLORZANO, 10. HENRIQUE, 12. Matt MUNDY, 14. Rocky VISCONTE, 15. Matt McKAY (c), 16. Daniel BOWLES, 17. Mitch NICHOLS, 18. Luke BRATTAN, 19. Chris BUSH, 20. Andrew REDMAYNE (gk), 21. James MEYER, 22. Thomas BROICH, 23. Milan SUSAK *four to be omitted*
In: Daniel BOWLES (promoted), Luke BRATTAN (promoted), Chris Bush (promoted), James MEYER (returns from injury)
Out: Nil
Unavailable: Nil

Central Coast Mariners: 20. Mathew RYAN (gk), 2. Daniel McBREEN, 3. Joshua ROSE, 4. Pedj BOJIC, 6. Patrick ZWAANSWIJK, 7. John HUTCHINSON, 8. Rostyn GRIFFITHS, 10. Patricio PEREZ, 11. Oliver BOZANIC, 12. Matthew LEWIS, 13. Michael BAIRD, 14. Michael McGLINCHEY, 16. Trent SAINSBURY, 18. Alex WILKINSON, 19. Matt SIMON, 22. Mustafa AMINI, 23. Adam KWASNIK, 24. Bernie IBINI ISEI, 30. Paul HENDERSON (gk) *three to be omitted*
In: Matthew LEWIS (promoted), Pedj BOJIC (returns from suspension), Michael BAIRD (returns from injury)
Out: Nil
Unavailable: Brad PORTER (knee - 4 weeks), Nik MRDJA (knee - season), Jess VANSTRATTAN (knee - season)