Just over 15 minutes remained in the Central Coast Mariners round seven clash with Western United, and Alen Stajčić was plotting the next move to help defend his side’s slender, one-goal lead earned by Giancarlo Gallifuoco in the 49th minute.

With Jordan Murray already introduced for Daniel De Silva in the 64th minute, the likes of Matt Simon, Milan Đurić, Ruon Tongyik and Michael McGlinchey all sat on the bench, ready to answer his call and enter the fray.

Turning to such veteran talent would not have been surprising – a move in keeping with the A-League’s prevailing notions of risk aversion when it comes to making personnel decisions in moments that matter.

However, when the fourth official’s board went up in the 74th minute, it wasn’t one of the quartet’s numbers that was displayed as the game’s latest addition but was, instead, the number 26 of scholarship player Josh Nisbet.

Joining the already afield Samuel Silvera, Gianni Stensness and Lewis Miller, it meant that – for a brief period before a rapidly tiring Miller was replaced – the Mariners had four scholarship players on the field when the three points remain well and truly on the line.

“Staj is massively interested in the youth,” Y-League boss Montgomery told FTBL. “You only have to look at some of the young players in the first team at the minute that are playing regularly.

“That just shows what we’re doing here.”

A veteran of over 400 appearances with Sheffield United between 2000 and 2012, Montgomery moved to Australia to play for the Mariners at the end of 2012 and made a further 116 appearances for the Gosford-based club.

Retiring at the end of the 2017/18 season, he then moved into an off-field role.

Retained by Stajčić upon his ascension to permanent status as the Mariners Head Coach, the 38-year-old serves as boss of the club’s Y-League side as well as serving as an assistant for A-League team – allowing him to take on a unique, and vital, role in mentoring players making the transition from junior to senior football.

 “When he [Stajčić] came to the club he wanted to keep me on as an assistant while bringing in Nahuel Arrarte, and the opportunity for the NYL came up,” explained the former Blade. “For me, in my career as a coach at the moment, I thought it would be fantastic if I took the NYL and then I was a second assistant with the A-League team.

“For me, it’s a quite unique position. It’s one where the young boys train early in the morning and then straight after I go and help with the first team.

“Any of the young boys are going from NYL and training with the first team it allows me to keep an eye on them and continuing mentoring them through that transition.

“That’s something that we’ve put in place that will really help in the future.”

One of the first to gain two-star status from the FFA, the Mariners have junior sides from under-eights onwards and also runs a women’s program from under 14s to seniors.

Though the spotlight has been somewhat stolen in recent years by the junior setups of Western Sydney Wanderers, Sydney FC and Melbourne City, the 2009/10 and 2011/13 Y-League premiers do have one of the most historically successful academy programs in the A-League.

However, if the combination of the Mariners strong finish to the 2018/19  and beginning of the 2019/20 campaigns are any indication, a new generation of yellow-and-blue wunderkinder may be on their way.