After 28 weeks, 186 games, and one truly enthralling season, the 2024 NPL Victoria Men’s Grand Final serves up a tantalizing heavyweight bout.
Two years on from their championship clash at Olympic Village, South Melbourne and Oakleigh Cannons meet again to contest the competition’s ultimate honour.
The shadow of that Grand Final in the driving rain, which saw Oakleigh claim an emphatic 5-0 win, will loom large for South.
Having backed up that humbling with a 4-0 defeat to Avondale in the 2023 decider, Victoria’s most decorated side are hoping to avoid a third successive Grand Final day defeat.
Despite the obvious parallels to 2022, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest this South side is a different beast.
For the first time under enigmatic coach Esteban Quintas, South have successfully waged a war on all fronts. Off the back of a miserly defense that conceded just 20 league goals this season, they’ve secured their second Premiership in three years, qualified for the Australia Cup Quarter Finals and claimed Dockerty Cup honours against Oakleigh in August.
In both literal and figurative terms, the presence of captain Harrison Sawyer on Grand Final day is a giant one for South. After missing their 2022 Finals campaign to pursue a professional offer in India, the 6’4” striker has returned with a bang - sharing Golden Boot honors with Oakleigh’s Alex Salmon after 16 regular season goals.
While he didn’t score in South’s 1-0 extra time Preliminary Final win against Hume, his battle with Cannons defensive duo Jacob Tratt and Jordon Hall could well decide the contest.
With their star striker leading the line, there is genuine belief that the 2024 Grand Final could see Esteban Quintas finally restore South to the promised land with a historic state treble.
Over at Oakleigh, the planets are aligning in an eerily similar fashion to their 2022 title triumph. The Cannons finished third in the regular season, will face A-Leagues outfit Macarthur FC as part of a deep Australia Cup run and went the long way through Elimination and Preliminary finals to reach the decider.
Last time they did all of those things in a year, it ended with their maiden NPL Victoria title.
Finals progression has been far more assured this time around. Oakleigh swept aside both Dandenong City and reigning Champions Avondale, scoring seven goals across two finals fixtures.
The form of striker Alex Salmon - who has seven goals in his last five games after scoring in both finals - is emblematic of an Oakleigh attack presently firing on all cylinders.
Led by Victorian football’s most accomplished coach in Chris Taylor, who eyes off a record-extending fourth NPL Victoria Championship, there are few reasons to doubt that Oakleigh can climb the mountain again.
Remarkably, this will be the fourth meeting of the bitter rivals in 2024, with the ledger locked at one win apiece.
Their last matchup went all the way to penalties before South hoisted their ninth Dockerty Cup. 36 days on, at the very same venue, all signs point towards a similarly tight encounter tonight.