And with that, I’ll bid you adieu. What a night. The party will continue into the night for those in sky blue, but spare a thought for Perth, who were the best team this season, and the manner of their defeat. It’s tough. But at least no one is talking about VAR. Are they? Until next time.

Some more Sydney FC players are talking. Here’s Milos Ninkovic: “To be honest, when its a penalty shootout, anything is possible, but Redders did a great job. He’s probably the best goalkeeper in the league. The way he was playing this year I knew he would save at least two penalties. I never thought I’d stay so long here. I say many thanks, my wife wand my kids are happy here. And I am too.”

Alex Wilkinson: “It’s special night. I’ve been on this situation a few times before, in penalty shootouts. It’s difficult to be on the losing side, as Perth are tonight. People wrote us off this year, but were always had belief in the squad. [On the disallowed goal] At half-time, let’s just forget about it. To me on the screen it looked onside. Luckily it didn’t change the result too much.”

Adam Le Fondre: “Unbelievable. It’s one of my crowning achievements. I came out here to win big things. I’m just buzzing. It’s a testament to the boys. They’re such a great group, it’s carried us all the way to here.”

Brandon O’Neill immediately sticks the toilet seat around his neck and embraces his wife. As you do,

Another grand final defeat for Popovic. “It’s still raw,” he says. “Obviously disappointed, we really wanted this. We were very close, we had our moments in the game but unfortunately it didn’t come off. But congratulations to Sydney FC.”

Rhyan Grant is called up. He’s roundly booed. That’s a shame, he played with his heart on his sleeve tonight, and he might have got under Glory’s skin, but as he said earlier, that’s football.

Alex Brosque begins his speech by thanking Perth and sympathising on the shootout loss. “You guys were the best team all year. To the city, and all the people who came out tonight, the atmosphere was incredible. You guys put on a show so thank you very much.”

And with that, the trophy is lifted, to the music of Queen. Sydney FC are champions once again.

Now the Sydney players are being invited up onto the stage to receive their medals. Oops, Paulo Retre is introduced as Carlos Retre. He can smile about it though.

The presentation ceremony is underway, with Michael Zappone conducting things. His first point of business: the Joe Marston medal. And the winner is... Milos Ninkovic! For a second time!

More reaction to come, but first Alex Brosque will lift the old toilet seat – an utterly fitting way to bow out of Australian football for the retiring 35-year-old.

Redmayne seems genuinely lost for words. “Pure elation. Amazing performance. We knew it was going to be tough and a tactical battle and that’s what it was. Just happy we could do it for our cpatain, our leader Alex Brosque.

Rhyan Grant: “It’s freakish. Over the moon for everyone involved. It was very cagey. Not a lot of chances but both teams were getting stuck in. I got booed for it, but that’s just part of the game. We backed ourselves. Unfortunately, it went to pens, it’s never a good way to lose.”

Perth 1-4 Sydney

Ghoochannejhad: Scores! Reza finds the back of the net and Sydney FC are champions!

Perth 1-3 Sydney

Santalab: Saved! He goes for the panenka but Redmayne picks it and simply plucks it out of the air.

Perth 1-3 Sydney

Grant: scores! Superb from the man who has been booed all night long, into the top corner!

Perth 1-2 Sydney

Keogh: Saved by Redmayne! Brilliant save to the keeper’s left to deny the Irishman!

Perth 1-2 Sydney

O’Neill: scores! Ooh Reddy gets close, low down to his right, but it’s perfectly placed!

Perth 1-1 Sydney

Jaunde: scores! Despite Redmayne’s best efforts to put him off!

Perth 0-1 Sydney

Le Fondre: scores! Despite a slip.

The spot kicks are going to be taken at the end where the Sydney FC fans are congregated. The Sky Blues will shoot first. Here we go.

An email! “Reading the blog,” writes Josh Patterson. “Can you educate me as to how Perth have made 4 substitutions when the limit was 3 as far as i knew.” I believe it’s a new rule that allows a team to make another in the finals if it goes to extra-time.

So, Perth go again in a shootout for the second time in just over a week. All eyes on Reddy and Redmayne, but also on those potential heroes and villains who will have to step up and be counted.

120 mins: Is this it? O’Neill slips and fails to deal with Davidson’s cross. But nothing comes of it. One minute of added time to be played.

118 mins: You can hear the hope in the Perth fans as Santalab looks to get on a long through ball, but the sound of disappointment is just as audible as he slips on the turf.

117 mins: Oh dear, there are some tired legs out there now. Namely O’Neill who first shanks a free-kick and then his efforts to get the ball back into the Perth box.

116 mins: Djulbic doesn’t like this decision one bit, but that’s not going to persuade Shaun Evans to erase his name from the book, taken for a lunge on Ninkovic.

115 mins: Here comes Santalab, on for Ikonomidis.

114 mins: Time is running out to make a decisive intervention and steer this match away from the dreaded shootout.

112 mins: Or, for that matter, the winning penalty in a shootout?

111 mins: Now Ikonomidis and Ninkovic go hammer and tongs with each other. It’s all fair though. Meanwhile, Brendan Santalab is going to come on. Sydney FC fans don’t really like him too much, so it’s kind of set up for him to score a late winner, isn’t it?

110 mins: Lowry gets on the end of the corner but it’s over the bar and Redmayne has a goal kick to take.

109 mins: Grant and Davidson clash again! Great stuff! They’ve gone at each other all night long. This time it’s a free-kick to Perth, taken by Brimmer. It’s floated in and the ball comes off the top of a Sydney head, before bouncing just wide of the upright.

107 mins: Neville! Ooh! He lashes wide of the mark after good work from Davidson sees a cross run all the way through to the substitute. That’s just what Perth needed early this period, just to raise the noise levels in the stands.

106 mins: Brimmer is on for Kilkenny and we’re back underway for the final period of extra-time.

104 mins: Perth look like they’re about to make a third change with Jake Brimmer getting briefed on the touchline.

102 mins: Keogh is beaten to the ball by Calver as another promising Perth move forward is snuffed out.

101 mins: The good thing about Grant being public enemy No 1 in Perth at the moment is that if you’ve turned you head away from the game for a moment, you always know if he’s on the ball.

100 mins: The ton is up, and we’ve had just three shots on target all game.

97 mins: Here goes Reza with his first real chance to show Perth what he’s capable of. He sprints down the Sydney left, before crossing into the box, but there’s no one there to get on the end of it.

96 mins: Kilkenny’s latest corner causes a moment of concern in the Sydney defence, but Redmayne isn’t unduly troubled. Difficult to see where a goal is coming from at this stage.

95 mins: And there goes Brosque. The end of a fine, fine career. And he’s had a very good game tonight. Ghoochannejhad on to replace him.

93 mins: Brosque clashes with Kilkenny in the middle of the park, as Reza gets ready to enter the fray, most likely for Brosque, who is currently doubled over clutching his hamstring.

92 mins: Caceres pulls off an outrageous bit of skill on this near touchline, but it looks like he’s allowed the ball to go out of play. Still, mad skills.

91 mins: Scott Neville has come on for Ivan Franjic as Perth get the first period of extra-time gets underway.

90+2 mins: It’s not the best corner but Brosque asks the ref for a penalty, as Davidson tugs at his shirt. Nothing doing though and that could well be that.

90+1 mins: It’s a great delivery by O’Neill but Franjic stands up to the pressure and heads behind for a corner. Still danger...

90 mins: Juande is the next to go into the book as tension increases. You might call this squeaky bum time now. O’Neill over the free-kick...

89 mins: Noise levels rise as Ikonomidis jinks back inside and looks to get a shot off. Ninkovic ends up bringing the ball out of defence for Sydney.

88 mins: Finally! Grant gets booked! Fully deserved, after he slides in on Ikonomidis to deliberately break up a Perth attack.

87 mins: Ninety-nine goals between these two sides this season, Simon Hill informs us. Yet neither have been able to find one more tonight. Three minutes left for someone to etch their name into grand final folklore.

85 mins: Brilliant run from Grant, with Davidson (who else?) in hot pursuit! The Sydney FC player does well to get his team out of trouble there.

83 mins: Grant gives Davidson another mouthful of abuse as the Perth player lies prone on the ground after being fouled. This has been a duel for the ages. Not sure who’s winning so far, to be honest. It’s something of a miracle Grant hasn’t found himself into Shaun Evans’ book yet.

82 mins: This is going to extra-time, isn’t it? (Types hoping for commentator’s curse to kick in.)

81 mins: Here’s the attendance: 56,371. And it’s a new A-League grand final record. The crowd give themselves a round of applause, such is tradition.

78 mins: Zullo gets the ball into the Perth box, but it’s not going to trouble Reddy. Chances, real goalscoring chances, have been few and far between this evening, for both sides.

77 mins: It’s De Jong who comes off for Sydney. And that could be that for the Dutchman in a Sydney shirt. On comes Anthony Caceres.

76 mins: Caceres has his training top off and is ready to come on.

75 mins: Nothing comes of the first corner, but Perth win a second one soon enough. Grant doesn’t like it, and the crowd get on his back once more. He’s playing the role of pantomime villain to perfection tonight. What chance a late winner from the mulletted one to collect the Oscar?

74 mins: Ooh! A real chance for Perth to take the lead! Lovely approach play starting with a lovely ball from Castro for Franjic to run on to and cross. It’s turned behind for the corner though!

73 mins: The stage is set for Keogh then. The Irishman enters the fray with just over a quarter of an hour remaining to do what he does best: score.

71 mins: Perth take their time in getting the ball out to Davidson on the far side. It finally gets out there, but Sydney win a throw and the move breaks down. Davidson and Grant clash again as they tussle for the ball.

69 mins: This battle between Davidson and Grant is fascinating. Neither are giving an inch. Looks like Keogh is coming on soon.

68 mins: Kilkenny is pulled up by the ref following a late challenge on O’Neill, who falls to the turf in some pain. Kilkenny gets booked for the effort.

67 mins: Again Castro gets his head to a ball into the box. Again Redmayne is equal to it, this time falling on the ball and managing to hold on.

66 mins: Boos ring out – is that the wave reaching the corporate seats, or Rhyan Grant? Could be either.

65 mins: There’s a Mexican wave in the stands as Zullo lines up a free-kick. The ball is cleared but recycled quickly. The flag goes up though and Perth can build from the back.

64 mins: Meanwhile, Djilbic appears to have jarred his knee when landing awkwardly. He’ll look to run it off though.

63 mins: Sydney FC break and threaten down the left-hand side. But the hope is shortlived as Zullo slips at a crucial moment.

62 mins: Grant does well here as he nullifies the latest Davidson attack, amid boos.

61 mins: Oh dear, Grant piles into Davidson and then he fires up against the Perth player. The pair are separated, no cards given, and Grant will now be booed by the home crowd every time he touches the ball.

60 mins: Sydney win what is their first corner of the game so far. But it’s wasted by O’Neill, whose effort finds Reddy’s gloves.

59 mins: Ninkovic is such a graceful player in possession. He shows it again here, with some beautiful poise on the ball. He needs to step it up a notch if Sydney are to find a way through the Glory back line.

58 mins: Brillante now with a rash challenge, on Ikonomidis, who to his credit springs up and looks to play on.

57 mins: A great turn from Ikonomidis puts Perth back on the front foot. But Castro seems to get in his way as he takes over the lead in the attack. It breaks down soon enough.

56 mins: De Jong goes into the book for trying to delay the restart following a Grant foul.

55 mins: Oh ,that’s nice from Brosque, who backheels his way out of trouble. Zullo’s caught offside moments later though.

53 mins: Perth have just upped the tempo after that slow start to this half. And the game is instantly better for it.

52 mins: Castro wants a free-kick here after a coming together with O’Neill but the ref’s having none of it and play continues.

51 mins: Ooh! Brilliant passage of play! Chianese and Franjic link up well to get the latter to the byline. He crosses for Castro, but his header is brilliantly tipped over the bar by Redmayne!

50 mins: “Man on!” shout the crowd, and Kilkenny is grateful for the heads-up. He toe pokes the ball away just as a Sydney FC shirt gets a challenge in.

49 mins: Brosque, who else, though breaks it up, chasing down Reddy who is forced to clear out of play. That man’s energy levels are incredible.

48 mins: Glory seem happy to play the ball around the back at the start of this second half and just keep possession for a while.

47 mins: Perth probably edged the first period, but they can count themselves lucky not to be behind.

46 mins: Here we go again. Back underway in Perth! Sydney FC get the ball rolling again. Plenty of drama to come this evening, that’s for sure.

Back soon with the second half. And maybe extra-time. And maybe penalties. Oh dear.

Neil Kilkenny on the disallowed goal: “He was just off. A toe off to be honest.”

Brandon O’Neill: “Looking at the replay maybe [we have been hard done by]. But you have to play to the referee.”

45 mins: Brosque’s well fired up here. He wants to go out with a bang, clearly. And why not. He absolutely should be running himself into the ground.

43 mins: Brosque’s bleeding heavily. It’s the base of his neck that’s been cut, and he doesn’t seem very happy about the challenge by Spiranovic that led to it. It appears there was a raised elbow. Off he goes to get it seen to.

41 mins: Kilkenny switches play as the clock ticks down towards half-time. Franjic gets there but is closed down quickly. No dice this time.

39 mins: Wow, is that a beer snake in the crowd. It’s enormous! The Glory fans handling it appear pretty pleased with themselves.

38 mins: Nope, it’s taken short, which is a poor decision and Sydney are able to close down quickly.

37 mins: That kerfuffle seems to have taken the sting out of the game for a moment now. But here’s a free-kick for Perth, Kilkenny over it and with a chance of getting a decent ball into the box.

34 mins: Well, we’ll not want for a talking point later. Let’s get back to the action, it’s still goalless despite that scare for Perth.

32 mins: Cue Twitter melting down over the use of VAR with old mate Slater leading the charge.

31 mins: See for yourself. (Also, to note: it wouldn’t have been Le Fondre’s goal - the final touch seems to come off Spiranovic.)

30 mins: There’s sure to be much more on that. On the face of it, it looks like a poor decision.

29 mins: Corica gets a yellow card for protesting the decision. He’s (rightly) pointing up at the screen which is showing the replay. Apparently it wasn’t a clear and obvious error though, so the decision wasn’t overturned.

28 mins: Goal! No! Offside! Sydney FC think they’ve opened the scoring, but the flag is up and Le Fondre’s called off side! Lovely work from Brosque and Zullo fashion the opportunity down the Sydney left, and Le Fondre finishes from Zullo’s cross with aplomb, but it won’t stand. It goes to VAR to check, and the technology is in agreement. Replays on the TV appear to show otherwise...

27 mins: The small pocket of Sydney FC fans can now be heard. It’s not easy for them given the overwhelmingly local support inside the ground this evening.

25 mins: That’s a poor back pass by De Jong and Wilkinson is forced to chase it down and hack clear for a throw, avoiding a corner.

23 mins: And there’s the first booking of the grand final. The winner is Shane Lowry, for a rather clumsy challenge on Le Fondre.

22 mins: No official word on the attendance yet, but it looks pretty chock-a-block at Optus Stadium.

21 mins: Zullo tangles with Franjic and the Sydney man is pulled up for a free-kick.

19 mins: Perth just play it around the back before going all the way back to Reddy as the pace is taken out of the game momentarily.

18 mins: It’s been a decent start to this game. Neither side are afraid to push forward, which bodes well for the remainder.

17 mins: Oooh! Djulbic thumps a header from a free-kick on target and Redmayne is called into meaningful action for the first time, tipping the ball over the bar!

15 mins: Le Fondre wins a throw on the near side, and soon after Ninkovic finds himself in a bit of space deep in Perth territory. He tries to pull it back to a sky blue shirt but Kilkenny manages to get there first and clear.

14 mins: The cameras focus on Andy Keogh for the first time. Wonder how he feels having been left on the bench today.

13 mins: Franjic now delivers a teasing ball into the Sydney box... Castro tries to get his head to it, but he’s inches away and Sydney clear.

12 mins: Grant goes in hard on Ikonomidis and he’s lucky to escape a booking, to be honest. He’ll have to watch himself from now on.

11 mins: The markings of an AFL nature can still be seen on the Optus pitch, but otherwise it’s a decent enough surface. Zullo swings in a decent-looking cross but Glory are able to clear easily enough.

10 mins: Kilkenny whips it in, but Redmayne punches clear. The whistle’s gone anyway.

9 mins: Kilkenny looks to find Davidson now as Perth go on the front foot once again. It’s a little overhit, but Perth soon win a free-kick as O’Neill goes in heavily on Ikonomidis. Danger here.

8 mins: Ooh! O’Neill’s near-post delivery is met by Grant’s forehead, but it flashes wide of the mark!

7 mins: Brosque hustles and harries once again, and he wins a free-kick, which O’Neill will take from down near the corner flag.

6 mins: Not sure what Sydney were doing there, allowing Davidson to advance so high up the pitch. They’ll need to do much better from here on in.

5 mins: Davidson with the ball again, and he’s allowed to advance into space before delivering a decent cross for Ikonomidis, who rises to meet the ball but can only direct it past the far upright! First chance of the game goes begging.

4 mins: Ninkovic looks to find Grant with a deep ball into the box, but it’s well cut out by Davidson and Perth clear their lines.

3 min: Down to the other end, and Liam Reddy gives Perth fans a collective coronary as he dilly-dallies a bit on a back pass under pressure from the ever sprightly Alex Brosque. The ball pings off Brosque for a goal kick in the end, and the stadium breathes a collective sigh of relief.

2 mins: Jason Davidson wins the first throw of the game, down the Perth left, before moments later the ball falls kindly to him 30 yards out and he attempts a volley. He strikes it well enough, but it bounces well wide of Redmayne’s goal.

1 min: And we’re off! Finally! Nearly 15 minutes after the advertised start time, impressive stuff. A great atmosphere at Optus Stadium and a loud cheer greets the kick-off. Shaun Evans is today’s referee, ably assisted by Andrew Lindsay and Paul Cetrangolo. The fourth official is Chris Beath and Kris Griffiths-Jones is in the VAR bunker miles and miles away from Perth.

Nice, Rhyan Grant. The Sydney FC full-back leans back away from the mascot positioned in from of him for the anthem and empties his nostrils in a fashion the absolute master of the practice, Brian McClair, would be proud of.

Moment of applause. For the three people who sadly passed this week: Glory’s original kit man, Wynnie Russell, former NSL star David Cervinski, and former PM Bob Hawke. The national anthem follows.

Toilet seats. There are plenty of them dotted around the stands of Optus Stadium, some purple, some sky blue, some wrapped in timeless tin foil. And here come the teams, past the real toilet seat, which is perched on a plinth, which in turn is placed on a red carpet. Very regal. Flame throwers go off, smoke wafts around the stadium, scarves go up, songs are sung. My goodness, this is a proper football atmosphere.

Alright then, it’s past official kick-off time. No sign of the players on the pitch yet. Are we going all Origin on this one?

Facts and figures. Fill yer boots.

Head-to-head: Perth 9 wins, Sydney 25 wins, 9 draws.

This season: Round 9 - Perth 1-2 Sydney FC, HBF Park; round 12 - Glory 3-1 Sydney, HBF Park; round 26 - Sydney 1-0 Perth, Jubilee Stadium.

Titles won: Perth: 2 (NSL 2002-03, 2003-04); Sydney FC: 3 (A-League 2005-06, 2009-10, 2016-17)

Entertainment update. Is it just me (watching on the telly), or was that massively underwhelming? “Ministry of Sound – Orchestrated”, a singer backed by some musicians, have been on and done their bit.

The P-word. Mention it? Don’t mention it? The reality is that this match will be settled tonight, and if that means penalties, then so be it. Teams would be remiss not to prepare for them (let’s be honest, there are no Germans in either lineup), but no one wants them. If it does come to it, don’t bank on many being scored – with Liam Reddy and Andrew Redmayne in between the sticks, we’re blessed with two of the finest penalty savers in the country.

The crowd. A big one is expected tonight, perhaps the biggest in grand final history. The highest attendance so far is the 55,436 who turned out to watch Melbourne Victory beat Adelaide United 6-0 at Docklands Stadium. 53,000 tickets have been pre-sold for tonight, so there’s more than a good chance that record will be broken.

Enough of this sensible chat, here’s the maestro of the black and white pen, David Squires, with his own version of a grand final preview:

And here’s the full cartoon, if you fancy it:

Jonathan Howcroft filed his preview during the week. As usual, he talks sense:

Grand finals are torturous affairs. They funnel the blood sweat and tears of a 140 match season into a single 90 minute duel. When the final whistle blows the victors can peacock into the off-season with their project validated. The vanquished will collapse to the turf knowing that despite the nearest of misses the narrative of their campaign will be retrofitted to one of failure. The stakes could not be higher for Perth Glory and Sydney FC.

Here’s Tony Popovic: “We know they’re a very good side and that’s why they’re here. We welcome them here today and we’re ready.”

On the change to his starting lineup: “It’s a tactical decision. Something that we see with Sydney FC we feel Joel can do something in a certain aspect starting. And we feel Andy can do something if he comes on.”

Pre-match entertainment. Perhaps as an nod to the formative years of Castro and Brosque in the 1990s, tonight’s show kicks off with something from the Ministry of Sound. I say “something”, as I’m not entirely sure if MoS is still doing music, as they used to 20 years ago. Indeed, a quick internet search tells me it is now a “multimedia entertainment business” and not merely the nightclub it used to be. It also boasts a “shared workspace and private members club, worldwide events operation, music publishing business and fitness studio”. Wow.

Ageing maestros. Football’s a youngster’s game, some bitter old bloke well past his prime probably once said. But try telling that to Diego Castro or Alex Brosque, who are expected to have a huge bearing on tonight’s events in Perth, despite their advanced years. Castro, 86, has been instrumental in Glory’s resurgence, prompting talk during the week that the Spaniard can rightfully lay claim to being the greatest A-League player of all time. Meanwhile, Sydney FC captain Brosque, a year younger but equally sprightly, as evidenced by his semi-final performance, has consistently performed so well this season, it beggars belief this will be his last game before retirement. Bowing out with a toilet seat is his pool room will be a remarkable way to end a brilliant career.