We are just days away from finding out who the latest champion of the A-League will be out of Newcastle Jets and Melbourne Victory but the attention of some has been elsewhere.
Troubles with ticket scammers due to the supposed uneven distribution of tickets has been the talk of the week in A-League circles.
In case you’ve missed the whole furore, Jets members were given first priority to tickets with the number of tickets each member was able to buy at once capped at 10.
This it seems unfortunately lead to some buying large slabs of tickets and reselling them for exorbitant prices online and has lead to widespread criticism on social media.
The Jets have attempted to combat the issue by stating that if they find out the names of any members reselling tickets for above face value, the club will revoke their membership.
🎥 Lawrie Mckinna spoke on the issues that Members and fans have encountered with securing tickets to this weekend's Hyundai A-League Grand Final
Posted by Newcastle Jets on Tuesday, 1 May 2018
Lawrie McKinna has also announced that the club have secured extra tickets from the FFA and will give them to members who initially missed out.
The simple fact is that with 33,000 or so tickets on sale there’s bound to be people who can’t go and that understandably hasn’t been helped by these ticket scammers.
But it’s time to leave those woes in the past and look forward to what is shaping up to be an epic Grand Final after arguably the greatest semi-final weekend’s in A-League history.
There’s a buzz about Newcastle of late that’s only felt when the city’s sporting teams, be it the Newcastle Knights or the Jets are at the top of their game.
McDonald Jones Stadium will make for an uncomfortable place for Victory to come who haven’t fared well in the Hunter this season losing 2-0 and 4-1 on their two visits during the regular season.
As we know though form can completely go out the window in finals football and both sides will be riding high after incredible semi-final wins against intense opposition.
The Jets certainly looked a different side against Melbourne City with captain Nigel Boogaard in the side with his experience and organisation having an effect not just at the back but filtering up the pitch as well.
Jack Duncan is hoping for a miracle to be fit in time for Saturday but it’s looking increasingly like veteran gloveman Glen Moss will step in between the posts.
As for Victory they’ll be without talismanic defender Rhys Williams after he was ruled out due to an injury to his calf in the warm up before the side’s semi-final win.
As the working week rolls on however the hype will inevitably build and it won’t be long before the first whistle on Saturday night with tensions in the stands and across Newcastle and Melbourne reaching all time high.
This game will mean a hell of a lot to Victory who have fought back valiantly from early season mediocrity but with the taste of Grand Final football eluding the Jets and their fans for 10 years it may be the extra incentive to push them over the line in front of a Novocastrian-dominant crowd.
Feature image credit: Sproule Sports Focus
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