The former Qantas Joey has just penned a one-year deal with the Gosford club and McKinna is looking forward to seeing the left-sided player grow this season.

McKinna is still looking to fill a couple of under slots in his team with further triallists expected to be given a chance to impress over the coming weeks.

But D'Apuzzo has made a good early impression with McKinna. He told au.fourfourtwo.com: "He's a great left-back, he's strong and he's quick.

"He's done well and I really think the time he had in the NSW Premier League has really toughened him up. He's had to perform consistently at that level and it's helped him."

While D'Apuzzo is definitely in, the Mariners have confirmed the exit of Adam Kwasnik but said there is life after the striker.

Executive chairman Lyall Gorman said: "We wish Adam all the very best with the Phoenix and thank him for his exceptional service to the Mariners during his stay on the Central Coast.

"Despite Adam’s exit, myself and our coaching staff remain totally convinced that our 2008/09 line up is more than capable of emulating and surpassing the feats of last season and to that end, we expect to announce some exciting new arrivals ahead of the new campaign."