To me that says if you are losing when you defend deep and you get exposed, and punished when you press higher up the pitch, you are going to have to be very lucky to win the game.

That is no criticism of Wellington coach Ricki Herbert or the players, just acknowledgment that Sydney had much more to hurt their opponents with than vice versa.

As I suggested last week, Sydney doubled up on an injured Paul Ifill, with Kisel protecting Ryall on the right, and McFlynn providing cover for Byun on the left.

That asked the question of Wellington to find another route to goal, and it remained unanswered until the physical presence of Eugene Dadi was introduced late in the match.

I have the utmost respect for Herbert, who should clearly have been coach of the year in my humble opinion, and Mark Bosnich, but they are cracking jokes with the assertion that Payne should have told the referee he had handled the ball.

Even my old mate Andy Harper risked the revoke of his strikers' union membership with the advocacy of the "Adam Gilchrist theory".

Strikers should ask the referees to disallow goals when defenders ask refs to award penalties because they kicked, elbowed, unbalanced, dacked or choked strikers in the act of shooting.

Similarly, goalkeepers will walk up to refs and ask for penalties to be awarded when they do clip strikers feet, rather than stand over the fallen attackers and berate them for diving.

I understand where "Harps" is coming from, and the game would benefit from more honesty, but let the defensive sides who receive 95 per cent of decisions in their own penalty area extend the olive branch of honesty and generosity first, because they get the benefit of the doubt almost all the time.

And if you think that's going to happen, do you want to buy a bridge? Sydney Harbour, not Mark, that is.

Consider the response of the two most offended against in the Payne goal.

Said Wellington skipper Andrew Durante, who was marking Payne, "It's a tough one. What's he going to do - turn around and say 'no, don't give the goal?'

"I don't think that's ever happened in world football."

And goalkeeper Liam Reddy, who was pragmatic to the nth degree: "If you talk to any Phoenix player in the same situation, I'm sure he'd be doing exactly the same thing."

And further: "You can't point the finger at the boy that scored the goal - for the referee and two linesmen not to see it, he's done well."

Final word - was it a goal? I looked in the paper on Sunday, and you better believe it was.

Thankfully, we can be assured that Kevin Muscat and company will be sticking rigidly to the letter of the law in the grand final on Saturday night and won't use any form of intimidation, either physical or verbal, to upset Sydney's dangerous strike force.

I'm sure "Musky" and his defensive cohorts won't be able to enjoy a grand final victory, if they get one, knowing they obstructed a run, tugged on a shirt, or bruised an ankle or shin in the quest for success.

Similarly, Sydney players will be keen to avoid testing out Archie Thompson's ankle, which was in an immobilising boot for a month to allow it to heal, in case they incapacitate Melbourne's danger man in any way.

All jokes aside, the two best teams in the competition deservedly meet in the grand final in Melbourne on Saturday night, and the contest could go either way.

Chances are that Sydney striker John Aloisi will miss the game with a hamstring injury - they don't heal as quickly as you get older - and that will leave coach Vetezslav Lavicka with a big decision.

Would he risk Chris Payne as a straight swap, given all the attention he has received this week, or would he shift Karol Kisel into the middle, push Bridge and Brosque up front, where they ripped Melbourne apart earlier in the season, and play Shannon Cole or Brendan Gan on the right of midfield? I'd back the latter option, on the score of experience and extra bite in midfield.

Melbourne have home-ground advantage and will enjoy massive crowd support. Sydney have the team most capable of beating Melbourne at home.

You'd imagine, like most grand finals, the pace will be fairly frenetic, with space at a premium and one mistake or one moment of brilliance deciding the contest.

It may be a question of which defence best copes with the danger men of both sides - Thompson and Hernandez for Melbourne, and Brosque and Bridge for Sydney.

Shane Smeltz may be the Golden Boot, but I believe Thompson and Brosque are the two best all-round strikers in the competition. Thompson knows he is; Brosque is just starting to truly believe.

Whichever of those two has the happiest night might decide where the "toilet seat" will sit for the next 12 months.