Three starting members of the Socceroos’ spine against UAE can thank Central Coast Mariners

THERE will be many proud families and mentors watching the Socceroos, but a handful can reflect on one club’s contribution to the cause.

Australia's Trent Sainsbury ,Mat Ryan and Mile Jedinak ready for their Semi Final against UAE .Picture Gregg Porteous

THERE will be many proud families and mentors watching the Socceroos, but a handful in particular can reflect on one club’s contribution to the cause. Four former Mariners started Australia’s quarterfinal against China, and while one - Alex Wilkinson - is likely to revert to the bench tonight, three more are increasingly mainstays of the team.

At a club famous for promoting young players, the likes of former coaches Lawrie McKinna and Graham Arnod, and former executives Peter Turnbull and Lyall Gorman, all had a role to play in creating a fertile environment.

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Tim Cahill, Mathew Ryan, Trent Sainsbury.

Wilkinson was 22 when he first played for the Mariners, Mile Jedinak the same age. Trent Sainsbury and Mat Ryan were 18. McKinna signed them all, having already given Wilkinson his debut at Northern Spirit. Arnold threw both Sainsbury and Ryan into the first team when they were barely eligible to vote, hothoused them and sold both on for serious money.

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“Years go past, but you still look back on those boys and remember what you saw in them as young players,” McKinna said. “It’s just a shame Wilko didn’t get a chance earlier, I’ve said for years I thought he was ready for the national team - an 8/10 player who gets on with it without fuss.

“But you know, as a coach you can give boys a chance, train them, hep them develop. But in the end it’s up to them to take the chance you give them, and those boys all took that chance and have turned themselves into what they are now.”

Australia's Mile Jedinak (C) and Trent Sainsbury (R) celebrate.

Jedinak in particular stokes a pride in McKinna, partly for the sheer dogmatic persistence that saw him drive from Western Sydney to Gosford daily for months in search of a contract. Eight years later he is captain of an EPL team and his country.

“The boy was supposed to have a trial against Brisbane in the Pre-Season Cup in Toowoomba in 2006, but the night before the game he came down with flu,” McKinna said. “We had to leave him there when we played the game and he thought his chance was gone.

“He just gets better and better the older he gets. He deserves everything, they all do.”