Archie Thompson aims to let actions do talking

The old brash, flash Archie Thompson, he of the bold predictions and outrageous grand final forecasts, is gone.

The smiling face is still there but the striker, now one of the A-League's more senior players, is treating Saturday night's showdown against Sydney with a little more caution than he has Melbourne's past two seasonal finales against Adelaide.

In 2006-07 and 2008-09 Thompson was, he said, supremely confident that Victory would beat the Reds.

While he remained confident about Victory's prospects this weekend, the 31-year-old forward was no longer keen to leave hostages to fortune.

He reasons that a highly competitive Sydney, perhaps the best-organised Sydney side he has played against, will be tougher to crack in the championship decider than Adelaide has been.

Melbourne has played the premier plate winner five times and defeated it only once, in the major semi-final first leg at Telstra Dome. Thompson is very aware that Victory has drawn twice with the Light Blues and was taken apart 3-0 in front of its own fans earlier in the season before losing 2-0 in the premiers plate decider in the final home-and-away game of the season. ''I don't want to make any predictions … they are keeping me muzzled a bit when it comes to making outrageous predictions but I am quietly confident about what I am going to do,'' he said.

''I think there's nothing in it between the teams. We were first into the grand final, we did get over them in the major semi-final, so the momentum is with us, and it's a matter of us turning up and performing as we know we can, and if we do that I don't think there's any team that can beat us. But I am still a little bit 50-50 over who is going to win. I mean, I still think we will win, but the Adelaide games, those grand finals, I have always had this feeling that we are going to win.

''This one is still a bit 50-50, a bit cagey. Because of the rivalry we have had and the games this season, it could go either way,'' Thompson said.

''I feel that this Sydney team is the best-organised Sydney team that they have, better organised than Adelaide.''

He also pointed out that in its two earlier grand final wins (6-0 in the first final, when Thompson netted five times) and 1-0 last year, Melbourne had the advantage of playing against 10 men for the majority of the game.

''We have had two men sent off early in the previous grand finals, which changes the complexion of the game enormously … I am sure there won't be anyone sent off in this game. It's going to be going right down to the wire.

''Even though I don't think it will go to penalties, I will definitely be practising them on Thursday and Friday.''

With two A-League winners' medals and a World Cup behind him, Thompson is fast approaching veteran stage and knows that the big matches must be savoured. Which is why his recent injury, which kept him out of action for some six weeks, was difficult to take.

Now that he is ready for action he intends to enjoy every minute.

''Now, I feel great about it. Before, when I had been getting little niggles it's been playing in the back of my mind. But when I am moving freely, as I am now, it's fantastic,'' he said.

''I am starting in my mind not to focus on the injury but to focus on the football. These six weeks I have worked really hard and tried to keep some form of fitness. Being out five weeks and playing 60 minutes in a major game [the second semi-final against Sydney], I felt great after it.

''I still could do with an extra lung . . but when you go into a grand final, adrenalin takes over, you find that extra lung and you forget you have been out for six or seven weeks.''

Saturday's game is far from the summit of Thompson's ambition in the next few weeks.

He hopes that the Asian Champions League and then the World Cup will keep him fully employed for the next four months.

- © Fairfax NZ News