Whilst a plethora of pampered AFC rivals enjoy honing their skills and unity in full time academies, and participate in an array of tournaments across the region, Australia’s U-17s are starved of minutes against international opposition, whilst playing the bulk of their football at NPL level.
 
As a result, Maloney believes, Australia are in peril of falling behind emerging South East Asian powers like Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia, not to mention regional giants like Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia.
 
Speaking before taking charge of a five-day camp in Sydney this week in preparation for June’s U-17 Asian Cup in Thailand, Maloney - who held assistant and head coaching roles with Malaysia’s U-20s and U-23s across seven seasons - gave voice to his concerns.
 
“We have some talented youngsters coming through but we just have to give them more exposure,” Maloney told FTBL.
 
“We went to a (friendly) tournament in Turkey in February which was great, but it was a short one (only three matches in 10 days).
 
“Whilst there we played Uzbekistan in our last game, and when we returned to Australia they headed off to Argentina to play friendly games.
 
“We really need to somehow increase the number of internationals we play to give our players the experience they need to be really competitive and perform (at the required level).
 
“The one game we lost in Turkey was against Uzbekistan and they’re street smart. They’re playing all the time and are about to become full time.
 
“We have to find a way to compete with that (sort of program). We can’t just expect to turn up to an Asian Cup (and finish in the top four) to qualify (for November-December’s U-17 World Cup at a venue to be decided after Peru pulled out).
 
“The nations around us are putting so much time and investment in the game at this level.
If we’re going to be serious about qualifying for big tournament then our preparation needs to be spot on.
 
"We’re looking at what we can do but the reality is other teams are full time.”
 
The former Socceroos midfielder took charge last year after returning from his adventure in Malaysia, who have splashed on youth development with full time national squads across all age groups from 12-17, with full time coaching staff to match.
 
“They eat together, train together and go to school together,” said Maloney whose charges in October grabbed top spot in their qualifying group in Shepparaton for Thailand, where they face Tajikistan, Saudi Arabia, and China in Group C.
 
Maloney’s 30-man squad this week is exclusively made up of home based players, with every A-League club represented except the Newcastle Jets.
 
Notable names include emerging young Adelaide United attacker Nathan Amantidis, yet another to spring from the Reds’ assembly line of hot prospects.
 
The squad also features Fabian Talladira, who is the son of Adelaide City legend Carlo, and Zane North, progeny of ex-Socceroos defender Jade North.
 
Western United striker Christian Derementzoglou is another to watch out for along with Sydney FC’s attacking midfielder Tiago Quintal, a recent futsal convert who oozes technical acumen.
 
The same applies to Western Sydney Wanderers speedster Junior Conde, who is highly rated on Wanderland.
 
“We have an ambitious group of players who are keen to learn and have the desire to be successful,” added Maloney.
 
“We just want to bring out the best of them. We’ll make the most of each moment together and plan to have extended time together in Thailand before the tournament.
 
“I’m enjoying the role - we have an excellent staff, a hungry group of players and the environment is always excellent when we get together. We just need more of it.”
 
Though not available this week, Maloney plans to pick Adelaide wonder kid Nestory Irankunda for Thailand, describing the attacker as “a rare talent and one to be nurtured”.