“It’s as simple as that. We just need to be tight on them and be ready for anything in behind. Hopefully, we’ll have the midfield stop their service and that will make our job easier.

“I am a bit of a leader back there, but we have so many great [defensive] players. I do know that in every game I have to be quite vocal and I know that some of the players look to me to lead that line.”

Foord is also well-prepared and relishing her growing responsibilities on the pitch.

As the league’s second-highest goal scorer, the Sky Blues have often depended upon Foord’s quality up front to keep their campaign alive.

“That’s where I want to be,” she said. “I want to be one of those players that my team relies on. That’s a good feeling.

“Even looking back to see I’ve scored nine goals this season, I’m so stoked at that.

“The other day at training, Alanna [Kennedy] said to me, ‘you’ve really improved in front of goal, your finishing is so good now.’ That’s something that means a lot to me… because that’s something I’ve been working on, so to see results is obviously massive.”

Coming up against her old club Perth Glory, however, Foord is ready for anything.

“When it’s finals, you could know the other team’s whole tactic book, but in that game it’s different,” she said.

“It’s so much more intense, everyone is up for the game, everything you know goes out the window because even if you know they’re gonna do it if they do it well, it’s still gonna work.

“We know what we’re coming up against, we’ve already played them once this season, we all watched the semi-final, we all know what Perth are capable of. I’ve said this all season: if our focus is on us and we as individuals and as a team get our jobs right, I honestly believe we can beat any team.

“The core group [we have] and the way our team takes the field together, when that’s one hundred percent and the best it can be, I believe we can beat anyone.”

 

Sydney FC will take on Perth Glory at Jubilee Stadium on Saturday at 4:30pm. The match will be broadcast live on SBS, Fox Sports 505, Kayo, and the My Football Live app.