You only have to go back four years to see a very bleak picture for the Central Coast Mariners. After finishing bottom of the A-League in 2019-20 for the third year in a row, there were calls in some quarters for them to be evicted from a competition with no automatic promotion or relegation.
Fast-forward to 2023-24, and the Mariners are the toast of the game Down Under, having completed a remarkable treble of Premiership, Championship and AFC Cup (to be known as the AFC Champions League Two from 2024-25 onwards) – almost certainly the best-ever season
