The success story of the Mariners’ third Hyundai A-League season, Jedinak’s underdog tale is inspiring to the letter. Following a tough stint in Croatia’s top flight with NK Varteks Varazdin, Jedinak returned to Australia to link with NSW Premier League outfit Sydney United, whom he had debuted for as a 16-year-old in the National Soccer League some four years earlier. It was here that Jedinak was discovered by the Mariners and invited to trial with club ahead of their second season. Jedinak duly obliged and for months on end, commuted from his western Sydney home to the Central Coast without reimbursement. This sheer persistence was rewarded by eight Hyundai A-League appearances towards the end of the 2006/07 season and within a year, Jedinak had earned a reputation as the Hyundai A-League’s premier midfield enforcer. Capped by his country at Under 20 level in 2003, Jedinak debuted for the Qantas Socceroos in March 2008 to crown a phenomenal rise through the ranks of Australian football.