Back to familiar territory: what went behind Scorchers' all-conquering season

In a fitting punctuation to an all-conquering season, perhaps their finest, Perth Scorchers clinched a record-extending sixth title against Sydney Sixers when Josh Inglis launched over the long-off boundary.

It sent a record Optus Stadium crowd of 55,018 into bedlam as the jubilant Scorchers players ran onto the field to trigger celebrations that will last long into the night. It capped arguably Scorchers' most dominant season, an impressive claim given the club has won back-to-back titles on two separate occasions.

But this explosive team certainly is right in the mix after winning nine of 12 matches, including an almost perfect road record, overwhelming opponents with bat in some games and with ball in others, while - unlike some teams - the bat flip proved irrelevant for them.

It was a remarkable bounce back for Scorchers, who missed last year's finals series for just the third time. They were determined to make amends but the genesis of Scorchers' rejuvenation started a couple of years ago, months after their bid for a hat-trick of titles ended in a home elimination final defeat to Adelaide Strikers.

Deep in the off-season, skipper Ashton Turner received a call from Inglis, who was playing in the MLC, where he was struck by the sheer power of Finn Allen, his San Francisco Unicorns team-mate.

Soon enough, Allen signed with Scorchers on a two-year deal after turning down a national central contract with New Zealand. "We knew that Finn was going to be explosive and, at that time, he gave us a bit of a point of difference," Turner told reporters after the final.

"Our batting had been successful but relatively conservative for a number of years, and that had served us well. But we felt like we needed to move with the modern game, become more dynamic and have more power. I think that shift in mindset started when we signed Finn Allen."

Allen struggled in his debut season the last time to adapt to the bounce and seam-friendly conditions at the Optus Stadium as Scorchers' top-order woes were once again exposed. But batting alongside Mitchell Marsh this season has seemingly taken the pressure off, and he learned the lessons from his tough debut season to unlock Scorchers with brave and bold batting that became a blueprint for this team.

Allen finished off a season, in which he topped the BBL scoring charts with 466 runs at 42.36 and striking at 184.18, with 36 off 22 balls, including another audacious scoop for six off Mitchell Starc in a carbon copy of a shot he pulled off in the Qualifier.

Inglis' six to seal the title was Scorchers' 118th this season - a record by a team in a single tournament - as they particularly relished belting bowlers on flatter surfaces on smaller grounds away from home.

But it wasn't just a case of Scorchers relying on their batters to blast massive totals, with their revamped bowling attack getting better as the tournament went along and they needed to amid lower-scoring games at Optus Stadium. Scorchers' attack had a renewal this season after the departures of stalwarts Jason Behrendorff and Andrew Tye, while speedster Lance Morris missed the entire season due to back surgery.

They also encountered injury issues after left-arm quick Joel Paris, recruited back to Scorchers as a like-for-like replacement for Behrendorff, and left-arm spinner Ashton Agar were sidelined in the second half of the season.

Mahli Beardman, the 20-year-old quick, stepped up in the shoes of Morris to become the attack's enforcer. Like Cooper Connolly before him, Beardman has proven a liking for the big stage and his engrossing battles across the two finals with Steven Smith will long live in the memory.

Connolly, meanwhile, became a genuine allrounder with his left-arm spin blossoming this season. His knack of taking wickets in the opening over was Starc-esque. He finished with 15 wickets at 14.93 and an economy rate of 6.40 - the second-best in the tournament behind Joel Davies for those who bowled more than 100 balls.

Scorchers also had good timing with left-arm seamer David Payne effectively replacing Paris after arriving in the back-half of the season, fresh off a title with Desert Vipers in the ILT20. Payne's variations and lack of pace proved ideal characteristics on the Optus Stadium surface, completely baffling Sixers' batting order across the two finals with five for 31 off seven overs.

Payne was part of Scorchers' title-winning team in their last triumph in BBL12, but was not able to stay in the squad until picking up a one-year deal for this season.

"It's (coming back) something I've wanted to do since three years ago and I was overjoyed when my agent called to say they had interest in bringing me back," Payne said. "It wasn't a long conversation to be able to say, 'yeah, I'd love to come back'.

"The environment and culture that's been created - and that would have been many, many years ago - means that any player that comes into this environment buys in. It starts right from the very top, the respect that the group has for the staff, and the staff has for the players. I think that sort of thing you can't buy and it's just very special to me."

Even in the glow of victory, as rabid Scorchers fans were going wild in the terraces as the party was well underway, the mild-mannered Turner remained unruffled and he presented to the press no different to any other game. Some confetti stuck in the spikes of his shoes was the only tell-tale sign that he just won the ultimate prize in the BBL.

But Turner's even-keel - same goes for coach Adam Voges - is at the core of Scorchers' sustained success, even though they did add a bit more panache this time around, much to the delight of a fanbase that continues to strengthen in Perth.

"It's a tribal following now and they're passionate," Turner said. "We're trying to future proof this team and this organisation as best we can. That's through players on our list, our pathways, the management and, ultimately, the culture that we foster is critical."

So, is this their most dominant team? Turner, of course, skillfully deflected but it's all rather moot. Behind his measured words lies a proud captain who has helped Scorchers, after a couple of lean seasons, lift right back to their familiar position at the top of the BBL.

"We've improved, our game's been more adaptable on the road," Turner said. "But to be able to be as dominant as we were away from home, and then to be able to put the icing on the cake here in Perth....it's a nice feeling."