Alex Rodriguez-Gorrin (formerly Wellington Phoenix, now Motherwell)

Interestingly, Gorrin is now teammates at Motherwell with another ex-A-League man, former Melbourne City and Central Coast Mariners striker Ross McCormack.

Gorrin arrived at Phoenix with a decent pedigree having captained Sunderland’s youth sides from 2011. He landed in New Zealand in 2014 as a 20-year-old still finding his feet in professional football (he didn’t establish himself in the Sunderland first team) and left in 2017 for Portuguese club Boavista.

Did he set the team and league alight? Not really. The Tenerife-born central midfielder looked promising but didn’t stamp his authority on the team in just over 70 appearances in the A-League.

Following his NZ stint, a six-month stint in Portugal and a year with a Transylvanian outfit - the beautifully named Asociația Club Sportiv Sepsi OSK Sfântu Gheorghe - Gorrin appeared to be treading water.

But now at Motherwell, he seems to have got his career back on track. He joined the Scottish club in the last European summer and has made 12 appearances with one assist at Fir Park, adding a little more depth to a youthful squad.

And ‘Well stopper Trevor Carson was a former teammate of Rodriguez at the Stadium of Light. 

Playing for the Steelmen in the Scottish Premiership may have toughened up Gorrin, and with the Spaniard out of contract on May 31 this year, it’ll be interesting to see where the now 25-year-old former Phoenix man ends up next.

Gorrin against Corey Brown of Roar

Robert Koren (formerly Melbourne City, now Dravograd)

Coming towards the end of his playing career, Koren was an international marquee for the A-League in 2014, after playing in England since 2007 for West Brom and Hull City, both in the English Premier League.

Koren played 61 games for Slovenia and scored against Algeria in the 2010 World Cup. At West Brom, the box-to-box midfielder caught the eye alongside former Manchester United man Jonathan Greening. Koren was also an important member of Hull City’s subsequent EPL campaign.

Koren ended up playing around 30 times for City - and scored a hat-trick in Newcastle - but like the club itself, failed to make a dent on the A-League despite his undoubted qualities. He left the Cityzens in 2016.

After being clubless, he joined Slovenian outfit Dravograd in 2017 aged 36. It’s believed he’s still at the club where he could be transitioning into coaching.

Koren scored a hat-trick against the Jets