Ten years after suspension cost Nick Montgomery his place in the A-League championship match as a Central Coast player, the Yorkshireman will look to win one as coach of the Mariners in Saturday's title-deciding 'Grand Final' against Melbourne City.
Having been sent off in the 2013 semifinals, then-midfielder Montgomery had to watch from the sidelines as Graham Arnold's team claimed the club's first and only A-League trophy with a 2-0 victory over Western Sydney Wanderers.
It was a bitter pill to swallow for the former Sheffield United stalwart, who would go on to captain the Mariners through some of their bleakest years before helping revive them from the coach's box.
"Ten years ago, we won the final during my first season here as a player. I saw what it meant to the community. Then I’ve also seen the really tough times," he told reporters this week.
"Just to take the team into the final as the coach is something that I'm really proud of and I can’t wait for Saturday."
Most of Australia's neutral fans will back the Mariners over Melbourne City, who are owned by the powerful Emirati-controlled City Football Group and are playing their third successive Grand Final.
Based in Gosford, a sleepy coastal town an hour north of Sydney, the Mariners are the archetypal underdogs, renowned for wafer-thin budgets and struggling to secure sponsors.
Operating in the league's smallest regional market, they have never been a destination club for the country's brightest talents, leaving them largely to make do with their own.
Montgomery managed the club's youth academy for two years before succeeding former head coach Alen Stajcic in 2021, and a number of his prodigies are now key players including left back Jacob Farrell and midfielder Max Balard.
His faith in players with a chequered past has also paid dividends, with once-wayward Scottish-born striker Jason Cummings netting 17 goals in the current campaign.
Goalkeeper-captain Danny Vukovic is savouring his second stint at the club after struggling for game time in the Netherlands.
Fifteen years ago, Vukovic earned the A-League's longest-ever suspension for slapping the referee's hand during the Mariners' 2008 Grand Final defeat to the Newcastle Jets but the 38-year-old now has a chance at redemption.
City, the 2021 champions, will be hard to beat, hungry as they are a year on from losing the Grand Final to local rivals Western United.
Coach Rado Vidosic has overseen a seamless transition since the mid-season departure of title-winning former boss Patrick Kisnorbo.
Some would argue City could coach themselves.
Boasting a powerful mix of seasoned internationals and sparkling young talent, City won their third Premier's Plate as the highest finishing team at the end of the regular season – 11 points clear of the Mariners.
Striker Jamie Maclaren notched his fifth A-League 'Golden Boot' by netting 24 goals in 26 regular season matches, becoming the league's all-time highest scorer in the process.
Maclaren will be desperate to make his mark after missing the 2021 Grand Final due to international duties.
During the era of tight Covid-19 protocols, he was stuck in hotel quarantine when City beat Sydney FC 3-1 for the title, after returning to Australia from World Cup qualifiers.
For all City's strengths, the Grand Final could be their last chance for silverware before a period of regeneration.
It will be long-serving captain Scott Jamieson's final match before he retires to join the coaching staff.
A slew of other players are departing, including young defender Jordan Bos, who is Belgium-bound for an A-League record transfer fee, according to City.
Naturally, Vidosic is enjoying the here-and-now.
"At the moment, I’m the lucky one," he said.
"I have a fantastic bunch of players who are in full form and full of confidence."