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The breath-taking turnaround of the Central Coast Mariners has galvanised a sporting community that had grown accustomed to failure from one of the competition's smallest clubs.
The Mariners - who were champions of Australia in 2014, remember - had been in decline for several years amid grave reservations about its ownership and its future as a professional club.
Many top players would not touch the Mariners and those who did wanted out while thousands of supporters abandoned the listing ship.
It was no surprise that the club ended the truncated 2019-20 with the wooden spoon, its fourth in five seasons.