It may not suit the football purist's idea of the game, but after sixteen years of finals football — a rapid series of knock-out matches that rewards the fittest team on the day rather than over the course of a season — there is little doubt it has become one of the A-League Men's most thrilling and defining features.
From Sydney FC's inaugural championship victory in the competition's first season in 2006 to last year's triumph by the league's newest dynasty in Melbourne City and everything in between, the now-or-never terror of elimination football can often throw up a slew of unexpected moments and results.
