While it can be argued that South Melbourne WFC have enjoyed a sustained hold of dominance in the Women’s Premier League throughout the last few seasons, they’ll perhaps cruelly be remembered for something else.
Their poor record of converting said dominance into silverware threatens to underscore what could’ve been a golden reign for the powerhouse club.
But with their forced exit from the Women’s top flight etching nearer by the day, they have one final chance at redemption – but unlike every one of the four finals they’ve played in the last three seasons, they’ll go into it as the underdog, facing a Boroondara Eagles side that’s taken the competition to another level.
Speaking ahead of this year’s Grand Final clash, South captain Alex Cheal believes they’ll use that tag to their advantage.
“It’s 90 [plus] minutes of your entire career. If you have tired legs, then your adrenalin is going to get you through that 90 minutes or extra-time,” she said.
“It’s a case of who wants it more and the fact that we’ve been the underdog this year – we haven’t been the South that’s always been on top – I think that’s going to work in our favour.
“We’ve had plenty of years where we’ve won everything, won the title and then lost the Grand Final. It could be the same for Boroondara this year, we might want it more and come through on the day.”
So often they’ve finished bridesmaid’s in the past; they finished second to Sandringham SC in the league in 2011 in a first past the post system.
Two years later – in a dominant season in which they’d lost just once prior – they lost both the league and Women’s State Knockout Cup Finals to Sandy, starting heavy favourites in both encounters.
2014 saw them once again upset in a Cup Final, this time at the hands of Bulleen Lions in a year that saw them finish first in the league with 18 wins and two draws from 22 games.
But after so many close encounters, they finally managed to break the hoodoo with a narrow 1-0 triumph against Heidelberg United last season, despite their opponents having the better of the contest.
Ironically to get to the Grand Final this year, they had to overcome Ashburton United in the Semi-Finals, a side they had lost to three times prior in 2015.
“We have been conceding a few goals in our previous games, but [on Saturday], it was the fourth time [we had played Ashburton], three times we’d lost [so it was good to get the win and clean sheet],” Cheal said.
“We went out there [to give] 110% with the goal of winning as best as we can and not concede any goals.
“We’re trying to go back-to-back, that’ll be our goal. We’ve been training hard, working hard so fingers crossed.
“There’s no breaks, there’s no stopping and I think that’ll hopefully work in our favour [if] we give our all, and play with heart and our brains.”
Should they harbour any ambitions of triumphing on the weekend, Cheal will have to be up to the task of rallying the troops to secure back-to-back premierships and with it, completely banish the demons of previous seasons.
She’s hoping to push every one of her teammates throughout the week to take their games to another level in the build up to the contest.
“You have your leadership group that’s pushing every single player and that’s all about communication. You’ve got to be a role model,” she said.
“You have to train how you play, especially for those younger girls who are coming through the system, They need to know what it’s like to play and train in the best league [in Victoria].
“Obviously it has its challenges but it’s a really rewarding role, especially with a team of such amazing and friendly girls, where we get along really well.
“It’s not hard – there’s times where everyone is captain, every player contributes, every player does their best. I might have the captaincy title, but everyone is putting in and contributing.
“Obviously it has its ups and downs and I have to deal with some of the stuff but it’s really rewarding and it’s an invaluable experience.”