Tomorrow night's Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final is shaping up to be a David vs Goliath battle, as Melbourne City will play in their fourth Grand Final in a row against the Central Coast Mariners, who are on a fairy-tale run making their first Grand Final appearance in a decade.
Tara Rushton, one of the presenters and commentators for this year's A-League Grand Final, said that when she thinks about the theme of this year's season, it's all about goals.
"We've seen 18 goals per round every round of the A-League men's competition and that's the most goals we've ever seen," said Rushton.
"It's been a season of more goals, great spectacles, more teams, more matches, and for me as well, more homegrown superstars. If I look even further afield, and the World Cup that happened mid-season, it was the A-League players and their elite stars that shone."
"It's an incredible story and I think at the end of the Grand Final as well, it'll be bittersweet because we bid farewell to the players that couldn't help but garner attention of some huge clubs overseas. That is a huge feather in the cap of the A-League men's competition because this league is producing some of the best players in the world."
Rushton said that the popularity of the A-League is more than ever - more people are attending the games, and despite all sports being affected by COVID, football is growing with a higher fan base and a greater rate of engagement.
Paramount's GM of ad sales, Nick Bower, in talking with AdNews revealed that stream starts on Paramount+ are up 11%, streams on 10 Play are up 65% and broadcast audiences are up between 34% or 76% depending on the week of the Finals.
"You've got the Dub Zone and A-League all access, so fans have been bought into the inner sanctum and it's taken them closer to the action than ever before," Rushton told AdNews.
"It almost feels seamless when you're watching a Dub Zone and the way that the stories are told about the league and about the contest happening in front of you. I think that's been really positive for the league."
The response from brands and advertisers wanting to get involved in the game has also been strong - Rushton says this is because the A-Leagues, across both the men's and women's competition, is an "incredibly exciting code".
"The competitions are growing, which means more players, more opportunities, and more younger players are going to have their time in the sunshine," said Rushton.
"It is young, exuberant and more young boys and girls play football than any other sport - it is the biggest growth sport in this country and there is more to come."
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