Perth's long history of grand final heartbreak continued on Sunday when they lost the title decider to Sydney on penalties.

Glory players, coaches and staff were gutted after the match, with owner Tony Sage saying he and his family even shed some tears.

Still, he remains proud of the team and rates the season a huge success.

Glory secured the Premiers Plate with two games to spare and qualified for the Asian Champions League for the first time.

Sage has dreamed about the ACL for years and he doesn't want his team to merely make up the numbers.

Tony Popovic led Western Sydney to ACL glory in 2014 and Sage is hopeful the master coach can do the same for Perth.

"We really want to be the best club in Asia," said Sage, who has pumped almost $30 million of his own money into Glory over the past 12 years.

"We're the premiers. That's fantastic for us.

"My whole dream of getting into Asia - once we get over this disappointment, the realisation that next year we'll be hosting those bigger clubs out of Japan and China and Korea - that's going to sink in."

Glory will be boosted by the arrival of star striker Bruno Fornaroli next season.

He will join Andy Keogh, Chris Ikonomidis and Diego Castro in a formidable attack.

A record grand final crowd of 56,371 turned out for Sunday's match and Sage hopes to convert some of them into Glory members.

Australian Associated Press