Best moment of the season, Panni?

Probably my debut in the NYL against Gold Coast at Bluetongue. Playing in the NSW Premier League you don't play in all these big stadiums and Bluetongue right on the water is beautiful. I got the captaincy and felt very proud leading them out. And I ended up scoring two goals. The first a cracker when we were down 3-2 at the end then but a penalty to level it.

Youth player of the year and team captain, you broke into the first team late in the season but Arnie axed you. Can you explain it?

I sat down with Arnie and whatever needed to be said got said. But there are no hard feelings. It's all positive. I'm just thankful for the chance to play NYL and A-League debut. I've got to move on now.

Tell us about your A-League debut...

It was New Year's Eve against Wellington Phoenix and there was a very big crowd. It was pretty nerve-wracking. I was on the bench and came on when we were down 1-0. It was a good experience. My family was there too because I'm close to my family too.

How was the rest of the season...

I went back to the youth league and played six or seven more games. Then the last two A-League games I played against Newcastle and Wellington, a good 70 minutes in each game. Wellington was good because you learn how to prepare for a game in another country. Wellington was the last game, nothing to lose. Lawrie and Tony [Walmsley] helped me out. It was a positive experience but unlucky on the night.

How do you look back on your own season?

My goal was just to make the semi-finals with the youth team and score about five goals from midfield. I've achieved that winning the Premiership and NYL Player of the Year and making my A-League debut. The coaching staff, especially Tony and Damien Brown, were excellent to me. And the hype we created with the youth team, we had a lot of supporters to our games. I'm grateful to give something to the area and so were the boys.

Give us an insight into training...

We were training three or four times a week. We actually trained mainly in Ryde [in Sydney] near the turnoff in as quite a few of the boys were from Sydney, two thirds or more. It was only a park we trained in but it was enough to get us the Premiership.

But you didn't make it to the NYL Grand Final. What happened?

Two minutes of madness against Gold Coast United [in the finals]. They went 2-0 up in two minutes but we got back to 2-1 and we should've equalised but they snuck out of it 3-1. Overall due to our lapses in concentration on the daym they were the better team and deserved to go through.

What's your take on the first team's season?

It was disappointing. I know the boys could've done better but they were unlucky in some games. And lack of concentration at times. At times the ball just didn't bounce their way. But it's a new team this year and a lot to build on. They did well all year and Lawrie did great over the last five years and I'm just thankful he gave me the opportunity to even be on the bench.

What will Arnie bring to the Mariners?

I think discipline and organisation.

And I must ask you about Lawrie... what's your take on his twittering!?

[Laughs] We didn't talk too much about it. I heard it on the news but I think it's positive for the game if people are following him. What he does with his iPhone or Blackberry is up to him [laughs].

What's the future for Panni Nikas?

Right now I'm resting as I had back to back seasons with the NSW Premier League and then NYL and A-League at the end. So I've had about 60 plus games in about a year. It's been a hectic ride but a joyful one.  I'm waiting to see if there is any interest. There's been a couple of clubs express interest and I'll leave my agent Buddy Farah to deal with that. I've done as much as I can do. If I can get a deal in Australia, great.  If not, maybe look overseas. But right now I'm just resting and working towards an aim or a goal to achieve. Given the chance hopefully I can show what I've got. If you're low key, work hard, do your best slowly, slowly, step by step, things will work out. I don't want to say too much, I don't like to pump myself up. I'm not getting too ahead of myself. Maybe Greece, it's where I'm from. Or somewhere else. As long as the lifestyle is decent but the main thing is you want to improve in a professional environment.

NSW Premier League, how's life in the second tier of Aussie football.

They're trying to pump it up as much as possible with highlights on YouTube. We had a lot of fans at Sutherland and the culture was good. The team was like a family, no back-stabbing. We'd walk into the change-rooms and there's always some music cranking and someone dancing and laughing. It's a joyful environment but everyone's professional. It's showed on the field in the last couple of seasons.

How about you as a person? Who is Panni Nikas?

I've been studying for two years as a PE teacher but yet to finish it. I'm a joyful character, relaxed and like to hang out with my mates and have a laugh. I'm into RnB like Notorious, TuPac, Akon. I don't like the slow stuff, it puts me to sleep. I grew up in Carlton, then moved to Hurstville and played for San Souci. I grew up close to my brother and sister. A tight family. I played football in the park every night after school. I don't read many books! Probably the last book I read was in year eight! I've read some autobiographies.I'm not very serious and always have a smile on my face. If I can make someone else smile, it makes my day. I've got a girlfriend so I'm not on the market.  She's the one with the brains and hopefully I'm the one with the beauty!

Pictures by Aidan Ormond.