squad, but is likely to miss out.
Melbourne has included three youngsters in its extended squad with Mate Dugandzic, Aziz Behich and Nathan Elasi all in, while Tom Pondeljak will be given a last-minute fitness test on his hamstring.
Archie Thompson, fully recovered from a broken bone in his foot, is set to make his first start since January, leaving coach Ernie Merrick with some reshuffling to do. Pondeljak's fitness battle may mean he misses out, with Nick Ward preferred in a midfield role, while Surat Sukha is likely to win a starting spot at the expense of Evan Berger.
The final spot on the bench is likely to be between versatile defender Matthew Foschini and Mate Dugandzic.
Danger men
Melbourne has several lethal attacking players, but Johnny Warren Medallist Carlos Hernandez is the man Sydney will want to stop. Hernandez is deadly from both the dead ball and from open play and can score great goals and create them. Stuart Musialik has been used to negate him this season, and apart from the opening leg of the major semi-final has done a very useful job. Hernandez's weakness is his lack of pace, but his strength over the ball means that he can operate in limited space and can take pressure so to release the likes of Robbie Kruse and Archie Thompson.
Sydney's main attacking weapon this season has been Alex Brosque, who like Hernandez, can both score goals and set them up. Brosque is super quick and brings other players into the game with his clever passing and fast movement. He will kill you on the counter attack and if you try to block him out of the game, then Mark Bridge and Chris Payne come into the contest.
Where the game will be won
These two teams both play superb counter attacking football, with Sydney happy to push its wide defenders forward in order to create a more dynamic attack. Melbourne tries to boss the middle of the park from end to end, starting with Kevin Muscat at the heart of the defence, right forward to the Archie Thompson up front.
Melbourne will attempt to grab hold of the tempo of the game early and use the excellent distribution of Muscat and Grant Brebner as a launching pad. The options going forward will be either Nick Ward's pace or Hernandez's strength and skill. Regardless, the ball always moves quickly through this midfield region, with an emphasis on quality delivery to Kruse and Thompson.
Sydney's attacking drive comes more from midfield, where Karol Kisel and Stuart Musialik will look to give Payne, Brosque and Bridge good use of the ball in attacking areas. If they can't get the space on the ball, then the full backs will overlap to give more options going forward. It will be then a matter of using the skill and speed of Brosque and Bridge can create opportunities.
Sydney is committed to its brand of football and while that discipline has served it well on many occasions this season, there is no obvious Plan B, if Plan A doesn't work. Melbourne holds more aces in that department, with many attacking options as well a greater emphasis of its players being able to play in multiple positions.
The result of this match is likely to be determined by which team is able to impose its