McKinna In For the Long Haul

What a contrast it was to the melodrama going on in Sydney when Lawrie McKinna decided to put his signature to a new five-year deal with the Mariners.

Long-term stability is precisely what is required for a new team on the Central Coast. It says a lot about the organisation in Gosford that few players have aired any kind of grievance about the size of their contracts, lack of playing time, being out of the spotlight, or the like. The Mariners have set a few professional examples on and off the field in the past twelve months that every other team in the competition could take a few lessons from.

From what I can work out they have one or two rosters spots still open for next year, with possibly one to be filled by a returning overseas-based player. Given that Nick Mrdja will be fit again, Jamie McMaster trained-up within McKinna's system, Dez Giraldi ready to show his stuff and Alex Wilkinson likely to take on more responsibility, there seem to be enough reasons to think that the Mariners will remain a highly competitive outfit -- regardless of the double loss of Beauchamp and Heffernan to the backline.