The Central Coast Mariners have a proud history of giving youth footballers a chance, allowing them to shine on the A-League stage.
Based in the rich footballing community that is the Central Coast, the Mariners academy has produced quality players not only for the club, but also for teams right around the world.
Whether it is the likes of Garang Kuol and Lewis Miller in the last 12 months or Alou Kuol and Gianni Stensness in years gone by, some of the very best Australian footballers have come through the halls of the Mariners.
This tradition has only continued this season under Nick Montgomery, with the current Mariners squad filled with youngsters proving their ability at the top level of Australian football. Currently sitting in third place on the Isuzu UTE A-League Men’s ladder, Montgomery’s faith in youth has certainly paid off.
Our coach has handed out numerous debuts’ since receiving the Mariners top job at the beginning of the 2021/22 season, including four this campaign alone.
So far in the 2022/23 season, the Mariners have comfortably given players aged 23 and under the most minutes of any A-League club.
Through 23 matches, over 11,000 minutes have been played by Mariners footballers aged 23 and under. That represents over 50% of the total minutes available this season.
Josh Nisbet leads the way in minutes by players aged 23 and under, totalling 1729 minutes to date.
This ranks him as playing the second most of anyone for the Mariners this season behind only Jason Cummings. His midfield partner Max Balard sits in fifth for the Central Coast, playing 1486 minutes.
18 players aged 23 and under have taken the field for the Mariners in the 2022/23 A-League season.
13 of these players have been a part of the Central Coast Mariners academy, with New Zealand junior international Zac Zoricich the most recent youngster to make his debut.
The Central Coast are over two thousand minutes ahead of second placed Brisbane Roar in this statistic.
This is extremely similar to last campaign, with the Mariners again coming out on top by almost three thousand minutes ahead of second place Brisbane.
It isn’t only players aged 23 and under who are being given an opportunity by Montgomery, with Jacob Farrell, Nectar Triantis and Harry Steele all ranking in the top seven for minutes played by under 20’s players in the A-League this season.
Both Steele and Farrell are academy graduates who were given their first A-League men’s minutes under Montgomery last season. Triantis on the other hand was brought to the club by our head coach at the start of this campaign, having played five minutes for the Wanderers last season.
This weekend is the last regular season match at Our Paradise, with Montgomery’s men aiming to secure a home final. With kick off at 5pm this Saturday, make sure to miss none of the action by securing your tickets HERE!
