Who said history never repeats?

Sydney and West Coast are to meet again in the AFL grand final, and this is the best combination to showcase the game according to Brett Collett.

So here we go again. Next Saturday it'll be deja vu all over again when defending premiers Sydney take on West Coast at the MCG to decide who'll win this season's spoils, and with them, immortality. For even the seemingly least skilled and lauded premiership players such as Aaron Keating and Greg Madigan become infamous for their feat, if not famous.

This is the game that football lovers around the country - yes, even in the barren top-fourless land that is Victoria - wanted. Simply, when these two teams from east and west clash, you can be guaranteed of two things: it'll be tough and it'll be extremely close.

This stems from last season's qualifying final in Perth when Sydney were umpired out of a famous win as the Eagles won by less then a kick.

Then in the grand final Sydney exacted revenge with a three-point victory after Swans defender Leo Barry took a game-saving pack mark that will go down in the annals of football history as one of the game's most important, if not greatest.

As if that weren't enough, West Coast garnered another win by less than a goal at home in the regular season, before Sydney won a thrilling qualifying final rematch at Subiaco by a single point thanks to the efforts of Michael O'Loughlin and Barry Hall up forward.

Therefore, it is more than fitting that these two clubs - both products of the then VFL's expansionary vision of the 80s - will meet again on the biggest stage of them all. It is what another fantastic season deserves, and if either team by under 15.5 points at your choice of sports betting agency isn't a sure thing, this columnist will eat his hat.

There seemed some destiny about this. Once Sydney had eeked out their win a fortnight ago in the west, you had the feeling (and hope) that events would conspire to see these two teams face off again in the grand final.

West Coast has a fantastic recent record over Adelaide, and had beaten them narrowly at AAMI Stadium early in the year. Also, with the Crows missing or just bringing back key players, there were question marks on how they'd cope with the Eagles' run. In the end they couldn't and we're left with a match that the Football Gods have been very generous in granting, even if some precious Victorians consider their sacrifice of a local combatant too big a price to pay.

However, who has the edge? On form and precedent, the Swans should and will go in favourite. Their ability to clamp down on star midfielders and win the clearances - or at worse, break even - has propelled them to their position, and it is a formula that pays dividends in the fierce heat of finals football.

West Coast will be desperate to reverse last year's grand final result, and with players like Ben Cousins, Daniel Kerr and that bloke called Chris Judd, you'd be a fool to put it past them.

In the end, it could come down to forward lines. With the midfield battle expected to be tight, tough and bereft of breakways, it'll be up the likes of Hall and O'Loughlin for Sydney and Quinten Lynch and Adam Hunter for the Eagles to take their opportunities when they come, for they might be rare.

Regardless of who takes the cake on the last Saturday in September, this clash should be good football, and a reminder that while Victorians and their proud clubs might be going through tough times, grand finals like these and the rivalries and expectations coming from them validate the national push of the league two decades ago.

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