Melbourne Victory has wind at its back as it sails into A-League Women grand final

And suddenly, like a rush of cold wind before a storm, there she was; blowing past Melbourne City's brittle defensive line, her navy blue jersey whipping purposefully at her back, her stride lengthening as she thundered towards goal.

Melina Ayres had barely been on the pitch four minutes before she was barrelling towards Sally James, City's young and flustered goalkeeper, who defiantly dug her studs into the grass and held her arms wide in preparation for the oncoming blast.

But it never came.

At least, not yet.

Having latched onto the route-one pass that sailed over the entire field, Ayres looked up and realised she was galloping into an empty penalty box, with only James to beat.

She had time to think about her next move as City's defenders closed in around her like a fog. But time is a luxury in football, and Ayres hadn't had much of it this season. She laced her volley wide.

That should have been the first warning; the first ominous rumble of something approaching in the distance.

The second came 10 minutes later. Ayres dropped deep to receive the ball down the right wing before turning and cutting in-field as her Victory teammates whirled around her. Eight City players stood between her and the goal, but through the wall of sky-blue mist, Ayres spotted Alex Chidiac making a slicing run into the box.

In a flash, the Victory forward fizzed a pass right through them all, its angle and speed carrying the ball right into Chidiac's feet. The midfielder swivelled and opened her hips, but James came tumbling out of goal and smothered Chidiac's shot.

There was something different about Victory in Sunday's preliminary final, something new, yet something old at the same time. It was as if, walking out onto the field at AAMI Park, they