Pondeljak out of A-League decider

Melbourne Victory will go into Saturday night's A-League grand final against Sydney
FC without midfielder Tom Pondeljak, who has failed to fully overcome a hamstring
injury.
Attacking midfielder Nick Ward has been promoted to the starting 11 in Pondeljak's
place, while striker Archie Thompson has been named to start after proving his full
fitness from a broken bone in his foot.
Sydney FC preferred Sebastian Ryall for the contentious right-back position instead
of fit-again Socceroos defender Shannon Cole.
And the Sky Blues have included young striker Chris Payne in the starting 11,
replacing the injured John Aloisi.
A near-capacity crowd of 50,000 is expected for the match at Etihad Stadium, which
will kick off at 7.05pm AEDT.
Starting line-ups:
Melbourne Victory: Mitch Langerak, Surat Sukha, Kevin Muscat (capt), Rodrigo Vargas,
Adrian Leijer, Leigh Broxham, Grant Brebner, Nick Ward, Carlos Hernandez, Robbie
Kruse, Archie Thompson.
Sydney FC: Clint Bolton, Sebastian Ryall, Simon Colosimo, Stephan Keller, Byun
Sung-Hwan, Terry McFlynn (capt), Stuart Musialik, Karol Kisel, Mark Bridge, Alex
Brosque, Chris Payne.