Western Sydney Wanderers have Ante Covic to thank for securing a coveted top-two finish, which delivers a home final and a week off. The latter is particularly important for a team dealing with the superhuman workload associated with combining the A-League with the AFC Champions League.

You would think Covic would appreciate the downtime more than anyone, given he is the second-oldest player in the competition. But given goalkeepers tend to get better with age, it's more likely the 38-year-old will be asking his 72-year-old goalkeeping coach Ron Corry for extra sessions to make sure he doesn't lose the sharpness which produced two stunning saves when the game needed to be won against Melbourne Heart on Saturday night.

The Wanderers celebrate Youssouf Hersi's match-winning goal against Melbourne Heart. Credit:Getty Images

Truth is, there haven't been too many signs of a decline in his game this season. Covic remains warm favourite to win back-to-back Goalkeeper of the Year awards. Ange Postecoglou doesn't make many mistakes, but one of them was getting rid of Covic when he was coach of Melbourne Victory. Whether Postecoglou will acknowledge the error by taking Covic to the World Cup as his third keeper is an interesting discussion. He could do worse than use him as a mentor for the likes of Mat Ryan and Mitch Langerak, a role Mark Schwarzer would have filled if he had not decided to retire. You only have to witness the withering stare Covic gives his teammates virtually every time he concedes a goal to appreciate he demands high standards from those around him.

Taking Covic to Brazil, of course, is a short-term solution to a long-term problem. That the oldest keeper in the league is still the best reveals an undeniable truth: our goalkeeping stocks are in serious decline. This is the worst season in the history of the competition for goalkeeping standards, despite the fact that each club now employs a full-time goalkeeping coach. It doesn't get much better when you assess the goalkeepers playing abroad.