Sydney FC’s captain Rhyan Grant is looking forward to putting one over their Big Blue rivals in their high-stakes Isuzu-UTE A-League elimination final in Melbourne this Saturday.
The four-time A-League champion has said his side’s focus this week is the final series, but getting one over on their interstate rivals would make it even sweeter.
The defender has notched up over 400 appearances for the Sky Blues over his 18-year career, including more than 20 Isuzu-UTE A-League finals appearances. With the side set to return to finals, the skipper’s experience will be pivotal to their success throughout this series.
“[Melbourne] Victory is a big rival,” he said. “We want to beat them and get one over them, but the final series is what it’s all about.”
“It’s going to be very tough, they’ve been on a pretty good run of late.
“It’s always nice beating Victory, whether you’re playing through the season or in a finals series.”
“We know if we can play to the best of our capacity, then we can give any team a good run for their money.
“So hopefully we turn up and put in a good fight and get a satisfying win down there over a big rival in front of their fans.”
The 35-year-old, who scored a 100th-minute winner in Sydney FC’s 2020 Isuzu-UTE A-League Grand Final, also revealed his side will be leaning on ex-captain and Sydney FC Hall of Famer Alex Wilkinson and Head Coach Patrick Kisnorbo for guidance.
“Wilko [Alex Wilkinson] is still involved and very much around the club all the time. I speak to Wilko on a daily basis anyway, but yeah, he’s definitely someone I would lean on.”
“I don’t think there’s a player that’s played more finals series or grand finals than him in Australian football.”
“I’d be silly not to sort of lean on him and ask him for a little bit of advice… get some of the boys to have a yarn to him and get them revved up, or show them what it’s really about.”
“With Wilko there, someone that’s Mr Cool, Mr Calm, using him as a reference point to see how he approached it and stayed level-headed is a good way to go about it.”
“The way PK [Patrick Kisnorbo] leans into it, he’s a really good man-manager or motivator. He’ll have a few things to say, and I think that will get us going.”
“Finding that nice blend there to get everyone ready to go, I think is the perfect sort of solution.”
The Sky Blues return to the finals after narrowly missing out in the 2024/25 Isuzu-UTE A-League season and are eager to make an impact this time around.
“We’ve only just found out the results, but you can already tell that everyone’s very excited.
“Sydney FC as a club expects to be in this position at the pointy end of the season, so for us to miss out last year was very disappointing.
“To be back in and involved in finals is just the first of many expectations that we have on ourselves as a club and as a team.”
Rhyan Grant and the Sky Blues look to extend their unbeaten run under Patrick Kisnorbo this Saturday at AAMI Park as they compete in ‘The Big Blue’ for the fourth time this season. Kick-off 7:40pm.
