A-League players hope the introduction of a 'Unite Round' at the expense of the widely panned NSW grand final deal can create a fresh wave of fan interest and excitement about the competitions.
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The A-League Men and Women grand finals will revert to the traditional system, where the highest qualifying team is rewarded with hosting rights.
Last year, the Australian Professional Leagues sold both deciders to Destination NSW, with ALM premiers Melbourne City losing to Central Coast and ALW premiers Western United beaten by Sydney FC in grand finals they normally would have hosted.
The league has replaced that with their version of the NRL's Magic Round and AFL's Gather Round, with each ALM and ALW team to play in Sydney between January 12-14.
"You play throughout the season to earn the right to host the final," Western United captain Josh Risdon said.
"It's a good decision that they've made to overturn it.
"I know for City last year to go play in Sydney, it was a bit unfair for them obviously playing a NSW team based there when they have the right.
"So it's good to see they've changed it and it's really good to see that they've added this Unite round in as well.
"We've seen in the AFL and the NRL that it gets a lot of traction and people make a weekend of it. So hopefully, you know we can start doing that and it will be big."
The first 'Gather Round' in Adelaide this year proved a bumper hit.
"We actually played in Adelaide the same weekend as the AFL had their round there," Risdon said.
"It was just everywhere you walked. There was just footy fans in the streets, we were staying at the hotel with a couple of footy players.
"So hopefully people can make a weekend out of it and make it a tradition every year for the family or something like that and just really boost the numbers for our crowds."
Matildas and Melbourne Victory attacker Emily Gielnik hailed the Unite Round as an opportunity to build on the bumper crowds of the Women's World Cup.
"Let's do something different. Let's bring the nation together," Gielnik said.
"Because off the back of the World Cup we saw how many people in Australia actually love football, both men's and women's.
"So why not put it all in one place at one time and get some good numbers and get everyone behind the game?
"Because the game needs to be moving forward. So let's use this as an opportunity to grow the attendance and to grow the game in one place."
Australian Associated Press
