Heffernan and Jedinak are fresh inclusions in the Mariners’ extended squad of 19 players for the fixture, a squad that also includes defender Nigel Boogaard and midfield talisman Andre Gumprecht, who are battling calf and hamstring concerns respectively leading into the match.

While Heffernan and Jedinak are welcomed back from suspension, the Mariners have lost attacking lynchpin and leading season three goal scorer Sasho Petrovski to a one-week ban, following his sending off against the Melbourne Victory last Sunday.

Petrovski is the only absentee from the Mariners squad that recorded the Central Coast’s sixth win of the current campaign at Bluetongue Stadium last Sunday and joins long term injured pair Nik Mrdja and Matthew Osman in the grand stands for Saturday’s match.

Otherwise, Central Coast are at near full strength for their second top of the table encounter of season three, following on from an identical scenario at home to the Newcastle Jets in Round 7.

"Obviously Sasho is out for this weekend and probably Nigel Boogaard, but Heffernan is back, Jedinak is back and Kwasnik, Clark and Wilkinson have a game under their belts from the weekend," said Mariners manager Lawrie McKinna.

"We’re starting to get a bigger squad, which is going to put more pressure on players who are playing and guys like Gumprecht, Bradley Porter and Matt Simon came on at the weekend and gave us that spark off the bench, which is what you want."

After eight consecutive A-League Sunday matches, the Mariners will play their first Saturday night fixture of season three this coming round.

Some of the Mariners’ largest ever Hyundai A-League attendances have been achieved on Saturday nights, including last season’s visit of this Saturday’s opponents, Adelaide United, which drew a then regular season record 13,119 spectators to the Central Coast’s picturesque bay side home.

On the subject of crowds, the Mariners’ second five-figure attendance of season three against the Melbourne Victory last Sunday brings the Mariners’ season average to an all-time high 10,083.

Compared to the same stage of season two, the Mariners’ home attendances are up by 22% this season – a record second only to the Mariners’ northern rivals the Newcastle Jets.

Furthermore, compared to the Mariners’ season one average at the midpoint of that campaign, the Central Coast’s 2007/08 attendance figures have improved by an astonishing 34%.

Saturday’s match will mark the twelfth occasion the Mariners have met Adelaide United in a competitive fixture, with the current ledger reading three wins to the yellow and navy and five to Adelaide, with four draws having been played out between the two sides.

The Mariners’ equal largest ever winning margin in a competitive fixture was achieved against Adelaide United in the semi final of May 2005’s Club World Championship qualifying series, a match won 4-0 by the Mariners.

In total, the Mariners have scored against Adelaide 14 times and conceded 13 goals, with current squad members Andre Gumprecht, John Hutchinson, Adam Kwasnik, Nik Mrdja, Sasho Petrovski and Tom Pondeljak contributing to the Central Coast’s tally.

Pondeljak, the Mariners’ match winner against the Melbourne Victory last Sunday, looms as the Mariners’ lynchpin against the Reds, having scored over a quarter of his Hyundai A-League goals against Adelaide United, including the match winner at Hindmarsh Stadium in the inaugural Hyundai A-League preliminary final in February 2006.

For Adelaide, exciting young striker Nathan Burns is one of two players to have netted a Hyundai A-League hat trick against the Mariners – the other being current Central Coast marksman Sasho Petrovski.

"Adelaide have had a great run but at the weekend they were a bit below par and I’m sure big Viddie will be making sure they’re back on their game this weekend," said McKinna.

"It’s going to be another hard game, it doesn’t matter if you’re playing eighth spot or second in the league, they’re all the same.

"Adelaide have got a good squad, a very attack minded squad with a great deal of movement in the team and they’re very hard to tie down and play against – it should be a good game between two good attacking teams."