Above: Cortnee Vine chasing down an opportunity to score earlier this season. Image: Kris Goman for Impetus.
By Genevieve Henry (3/5/24).
Matildas star Cortnee Vine is all set to go in the A-League Women Grand Final this Saturday at AAMI Park against fierce competitors Melbourne City. She spoke to the media about Sydney FC’s relationship with finals, their opponents, and her outlook going into the match.
Going into their 7th consecutive and 11th ever Grand Final, the Sky Blues have every reason to back themselves. However, their Grand Final record against Melbourne City is less than desirable. Of the four times the sides have faced off in the ultimate game of the season, City have emerged victorious every time.
Melbourne City have rampaged into the final, high on confidence from winning the Premiership and after beating the Newcastle Jets 6-0 on aggregate in the two-legged semifinal.
“Melbourne City’s a quality side. For the last four years, I’ve always said they’re (one of) my top two teams. They play beautiful football and they’re coached very well. They have very talented girls and I think that showed during their semi finals. They have that confidence in themselves, they’ve been around for a little while. They take their chances when they get them, and I think it’s about stopping that when we can, and taking our chances when we get them. I think it’ll be a really entertaining game.”
But, Melbourne City aren’t the only stacked team. “We have a lot of great young players that are coming through. They’re just getting better and better.” Vine spoke specifically of Indiana Dos Santos, saying, “she’s one of those young ones I definitely see having a very successful career if she keeps going on the trajectory she is. She’s very exciting to watch, she always has a smile on her face, and she always wants to get better. Her and her sister (Jynaya) are out there another twenty minutes doing extra (training).”
From the beginning of the season, Sydney faced challenges and setbacks, with devastating injuries, travel complications, and large squad turnover. “Honestly, we kinda felt (like we couldn’t make the Grand Final) at the start of the year; new squad, young girls, just looked a bit different from the years before. To be in the grand final now, I’m very very proud of this group. Even Ante (Juric) himself says it’s been a different year– it’s been his most challenging year and has for us (senior players) as well.”
“It feels like the sweetest one to be apart of, just with the challenges we’ve had this year, the injuries we’ve had– the big injuries we’ve had, Nat Tobin, Kirsty Fenton, Shea Connors, Fiona Worts, even myself being out for about 8 weeks of the season– was a big hurdle. To get to this point, it’s very sweet. We’re all very proud of each other.”
When asked about how losing the Premiership has affected their desire to win the Championship, Vine clarified that it hadn’t changed much; they always wanted to win it. “I wanted both. I wanted to be greedy, I wanted the double.”
“I would obviously love to win another championship. I want more silverware, I want championships.” For Sydney, anything less than excellence is failure. That’s the culture that has seen the Sky Blues progress to their 7th grand final, a feat previously unheard of in the competition. Vine attributes it all to head coach Juric. “I think Ante Juric just does that honestly. I haven’t heard of anyone else doing that before. He breeds a culture that is a winning culture, an accepting culture. We don’t get to the places we’ve been without him being the coach. Everyone gets along very well, on and off the field. What we create off the field reflects what we show on the field. We back each other, if one person gets beaten, we’re behind them. He builds this culture and no other coach does it like Ante.”
Although Vine herself has never played a Grand Final away from home, for her, it only adds motivation. “I look at AAMI as a home away from home, we’ve had a pretty good track record there. We’re all looking forward to the trip itself, and to hopefully win this Grand Final.”
“I think we’ll get a decent crowd. I’m hoping everyone will show what this ripple effect from the World Cup has done, and come to this game not just as Sydney FC and Melbourne City fans, but as football fans. I want it to be the biggest crowd we’ve ever had. I want to show that we’ve taken a stride into Australian football and we’re making a difference, and I think the best way to show that would be to have the biggest Grand Final crowd there.”
A lot has changed for Vine since the World Cup. From being a relatively unknown speedy winger just a few years ago, to being the face of the A-League Women, her stocks have risen astronomically. Choosing to stay at Sydney instead of departing abroad has been a major factor in the crowds Sydney have managed to pull all season. But, it’s also put a target on her back
“I think this whole season I’ve been marked pretty tight, and I think that it was always what it was gonna be like with staying in the league. There are a couple of coaches who have done really well making sure that there’s a centreback covering me, there’s a winger on me, and there’s a midfielder coming back for me. There’s quality players on the field, if you mark me tightly, there’s opportunities that come from somewhere else.”
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