Perhaps the Central Coast Mariners weren’t the champions the A-League Men deserved after all the nonsense that gripped its 2022-23 season. But as Danny Vukovic lifted the league’s trophy aloft, surrounded by not just his teammates but also the friends, family and staff who had helped underpin the unlikely title win, there was a sense that, from a footballing perspective, they were the one it needed.
Not only did a fairytale narrative mark its conclusion as confetti rained down at CommBank Stadium, but the manner in which it was attained felt almost alien in the modern football context. The first team from outside the Sydney and Melbourne duopoly to win the championship since 2015-16, the Mariners had triumphed not because of any fiscal or resourcing advantage (they’d just beaten the league’s most blessed outfit 6-1) but because they were a smartly constructed, well developed, purposeful and effectively-coached football team.
