Sitting in the rain at Bluetongue last weekend  watching the Mariners exterminate Victory was one of the most deeply satisfying moments I’ve ever had as a Mariners’ fan.  This was not simply a memorable win or an exciting display of all we do best but a massive statement about what the Mariners have become this season : a team that has repeatedly show itself to be mentally, physically and tactically a class above the rest.

It only seems like yesterday during the innocent freshness of pre-season that I held the Premiers’ Plate in my hands.  Standing in a carpark in Tuggerah with the smell of Primo franks wafting from the fan day barbeque, I felt its gleaming heaviness and imagined the countless hours of hard work, sweat, belief and determination that had brought it to my club.

I ran my fingers across the names engraved on the back and wondered whose name would be added at the end of Season 8.  Would someone make history and see their name added for a third (or first) time ? 

For my own team, I made no foolish predictions nor built up any grand hopes. But as the season moved on it was clear that we’d moved to some new level, shaken off the past for good and become a team universally expected to win.

For years we’ve thrived on our underdog status, gained strength from trying to punch above our weight.  Always we have struggled with financial insecurity and the loss of players that entails.

Suddenly this season everything seemed to go right for us !

  • We kept Arnie away from Sydney
  • We played Victory and it was loudly proclaimed “the best half of football ever seen in the A-League”.  
  • Our Number 10 was drooled over and shone so brightly we lost him to Celtic before we’d even learnt how to pronounce his name. 
  • The supermassive black hole left by Wilko’s departure was filled by a chilled out kid who seemed unfazed by the limelight. 
  • Veteran Daniel McBreen was reborn to challenge an Italian superstar for the Golden Boot while chicken-dancing his way to a new contract.  
  • For the first time in living memory, the Bluetongue pitch looked immaculate.
  • And lately, Matt Simon’s magic touch lives again in the shape of the unstoppable new Number 19 Mitch Duke

Even the hardest man to impress in Australian football (hello, Fozzie) recently described the Mariners as the epitome of professionalism which all other clubs should emulate. 

(It all reminded me of the unbelievable plot of some “heart-warming” English football movie : “Aye son, this be the proudest day in Dungfield United’s history!  If only yer grandad were still alive to see it!”)

Now all this success has been gratifying but there’s something a bit disconcerting about it as well.  After years of kicking against the pricks, is it possible all this acclaim might lead to complacency, possible our extra ACL matches before the season’s end will stretch us that bit too far? 

Call me fatalistic but I started to worry a few weeks ago when we had three draws in four games.  And our somewhat lacklustre performance against Perth felt like last season’s nail-biting end all over again (who could forget the Mat Ryan “sun in his eyes after a tough ACL trip” incident ?)

Trying to balance the demands of ACL and A-League matches over the next few weeks will necessitate a squad selection merry-go-round and a perilous balancing act of rest and training.  It’s here that Arnie and his fitness team led by the unsung hero Andrew Clark will need to be ringmaster and magicians while juggling The Plate.

Although not quite as bad as last season’s ACL schedule, it’s still a tough call full of unexpected obstacles :  injuries, suspensions, food poisoning and bus drivers who get lost in outback China.

Despite being sadly ignored in this country, playing in the ACL is a huge achievement for any A-League team and the Mariners are better placed to do well than ever before. ACL success will bring financial rewards and raise our profile in Asia in unimaginable ways so it is unthinkable that we would somehow favour the A-League fixtures.

Sure, we have to meet the Wanderers a mere three days after our match against Suwong Bluewings but it will be a challenge to be relished.  The Wanderers are riding a tsunami of success and public affection in their first season and good luck to them but they are not to be feared.  Forget fairytales, the reality is they haven’t got a goal past us in two matches at Parra Stadium while the sign outside Bluetongue currently reads :

“Abandon hope all ye who enter here !”

Just ask Ange, the most successful coach in A-League history. 

After watching his team comprehensively defeated he spoke with admiration about the Mariners mental toughness. It’s a toughness that’s been honed from seven seasons of frequently embarrassing richer, bigger, more favoured clubs.

So bring on the beautiful, pulsating, red-blooded heart of Western Sydney football passion to our little stadium. It will be a hell of a party but you’ll be leaving empty handed.  Like the Mariners, the Wanderers have a great team spirit but we are battle-hardened and our home is unshakeable. Come season’s end, there’ll be Primo Franks and Masterfoods sauce on The Plate yet again.