Will Booth 
Central Coast Mariners 2024/25 A-League season preview. Photos: Texi Smith. Design: Round Ball Australia
In the 2023/24 season the Central Coast Mariners achieved it all; creating history by lifting the AFC Cup, going one better in the league by securing the Premiership, and defending their A-League Championship in typical Mariners’ style to round it all out.
But how on Earth will they deal with the hangover and elevated expectations that come along with these achievements?
Mariners’ fans will be feeling a sense of déjà vu as the 2024/25 season rolls around, plagued by the same issues that sides punching above their weight in leagues all over the world go through.
The formula is apparent:
1) Unearth hidden gems by looking where other teams won’t in the market or by taking scraps from domestic rivals and turning them into world beaters.
2) Be underestimated by everyone in the league as the campaign nears, situating yourself perfectly as underdogs which will provide the drive and mentality required to succeed and play with passion.
3) Lure the opposition into an even falser sense of security by looking average in pre-season as you struggle to integrate your 10 new signings. For better results, drag this out into the actual season to really pull the wool over the eyes of the other teams.
4) Commit to the playing philosophy even if it looks shaky at first, remember that results will come and to trust the process.
5) Beat everyone in the league and AFC competitions with ease as you are now playing on easy mode. You barely even have to break a sweat to tear apart opponents’ defences as your signings from the 11th tier of the Bolivian football are now among the best in the A-League somehow.
6) Have 70 per cent of your key players picked at by overseas clubs who can offer triple the wages. Who are you to deny them the chance at their big move abroad, they delivered you silverware! They have certainly earned it.
7) Rinse, and most unfortunately, repeat.
At least, unlike most development clubs, the Mariners have delivered on the field and the trophy cabinet has no doubt undergone some renovations in order to fit all of their newly acquired silverware.
As enjoyable as last season will have been, Central Coast find themselves in exactly the same scenario where they were a year ago, with the challenge this time around looking just that little bit more daunting.
So far, steps one, two, and three have been completed, with signings coming from the Brazilian third tier, the Danish Superliga, England’s League One, and Qatar. But it is in parts four and five of the formula where the Mariners will be able to prove if they are up to the task of doing the three-peat.
The Manager: Mark Jackson
There was hardly any time to get to know Mark Jackson before last season got under way as he came in just weeks out from the campaign, replacing the outgoing Nick Montgomery who had earned himself a move to Scottish side Hibernian.
A largely unknown figure when he arrived, both Central Coast and rival fans met the deal with trepidation, and rightly so, with Jackson managing only six wins from 25 for MK Dons, which was his first proper head coach gig in the sport.
Four losses in the first four games of the season meant that the scrutiny was on him early, but even in those four losses there was a clear team identity being instilled. It just took a little while for the players to buy in fully, and once they did there was no turning back.
He has no doubt proved the cynics wrong since, displaying the tactical nous required to dismantle other teams and build a formidable squad capable of exhilarating attacking alongside super defensive solidarity.
He has shown he knows how to get the best out of the talent available to him, moving Josh Nisbet higher up the field that saw Nisbet’s best season in attacking output numbers.
There is no doubt he can back it up, it is just a question of the time it will take to do so. The club has put faith in Jackson, locking him down to a deal that will see him and assistant Danny Schofield remain on the Coast until 2027.
This is a firm showing of intent by the club, and with the credit he has already built up in just one season, it is hard to imagine Jackson not being at the helm regardless of the outcome of the 2024/25 season.
The Squad
The outgoing column makes for tough reading for Coasties, with the departure of three home-grown talents in particular inflicting the most pain.
Josh Nisbet finally gets his warranted move abroad, but leaves a small, yet gaping hole in the centre of the park for the side. His tally of three goals paired with 16 assists will make for tough replacing, but more than that, he embodied the values of the club more than anyone else.
Rejected by other clubs due to his stature, he became a core component in the most successful iteration of the team, and his departure hits hardest for most fans.
Another player who bled yellow was Jacob Farrell, who makes his way to Portsmouth to link up with another ex-mariner in Sam Silvera. By the end of his time with the Mariners he had the left-back position locked down, excelling in all aspects of the game.
He has been replaced with Lucas Mauragis who does look to be an excellent signing and has been one of the Mariners’ top performers in their pre-season competitions.
Captain and leader Danny Vukovic calls time on his career, which had a fairytale ending, finishing up where he first got his A-League chance way back in 2005, having delivered the club so many special memories throughout both of his stints.
New number one Adam Pavlesic arrives without much first-team experience and has not filled supporters with confidence in his early appearances, seemingly prone to an error in almost every one of his matches so far.
Dan Hall and Max Balard round out the remainder of the key players leaving Gosford, leaving a new-look side needing to do the business this time around.
Vitor Feijao follows the path of Mikael Doka, who will be instrumental this campaign, and arrives from the Brazilian lower leagues. He has had some promising showings already in the Australia Cup, but as with all of Jackson’s signings, there looks to be a period of time before he fully settles and can give his all.
Similarly to Ryan Edmondson, Alfie McCalmont arrives having crossed paths with Mark Jackson as part of the Leeds United U23s set-up. He will play a big role in filling Max Balard’s shoes in the centre of midfield this year but appears to have all the tools to thrive in this role and control matches for the Mariners.
Trent Sainsbury plays the role of this year’s returning star and looks to be an upgrade on the outgoing Dan Hall in terms of quality. The trouble will be staying fit, which has already proven difficult with the centre-back picking up an injury in which the details have not been revealed by the club.
The Off Field: Survival
What was once a basket case of a club, the Central Coast Mariners have turned things around in recent years and are now a case study into running a successful and financially viable club due to the model they have adopted.
The key this year will be to keep things ticking as usual. There is danger of the wheels falling off this campaign, however, if management sticks to their principles, then the stability of the club will not be shaken either.
The appointment of Alyssar Narey as Chief Executive Officer during the off-season is a strong move, as she takes over from the interim appointment Adam Thomson.
It is a tough gig replacing the beloved Shaun Mielekamp, who kept the Mariners alive during their darkest times, but it will be an integral role as the financial health of A-League clubs continues to be an unfortunate conversation point that never seems to subside.
If the Mariners can maintain their ability to perform miracles considering the constraints they are under, then the club will continue to function. They may not be winning trebles ever year, but for the Mariners that was a cherry on top.
Priority for the side is survival as a whole, and their current processes are serving them greatly. Talent will continue to come through and move on, that is just how it will be. But they should be immensely proud of the foundations that have been built as other clubs look on with envy.
Expectations
Moving on from last season is a tough ask, but it is a necessity if there is any enjoyment to be gained from the upcoming one. The Mariners come in as champions and premiers, but from season to season you have to be able to treat each year like an entirely new one considering the turnover that goes on.
If the Mariners could retain all of their talent for back-to-back years, then the bar should be first place, however, that is not reality. Every year a reset button is hit, and that should be the same for fans and their expectations too. They will only feel disappointment if they were to come into 24/25 expecting a repeat of either of the last two seasons.
This squad still has boundless potential, they just need to be given the chance to realise it, which means potentially copping a few humbling defeats while things are figured out.
They should be making finals at the bare minimum, but playing a role in an exciting top three challenge for the title should be the aim, which would appease fans whilst also being realistic given how some of the other sides in the league have spent during the transfer window.
Asia is a different task this year, and the Mariners have already felt the step up in quality that the Champions League Elite provides. A stronger showing to round out the campaign would suffice, however there is still belief that a top eight position could be obtained to advance to the latter stages.
This is a much harder task having lost their two opening fixtures but write off the Mariners at your own peril. This is a team who have had their backs against the wall in every season they have taken part in, with their recent track record proving that this is where they can do some of their best work.