THE Mariners are officially on holiday as of Saturday but one of them is likely to be taking a very close interest in the grand final.

We hear that Adelaide are keen on turbocharged winger Mitch Austin, even though he is tied to the Mariners for another season. Given that transfer fees are not allowed between A-League clubs, it will be a test for the Gosford club if Austin decided that trading bottom for top might just be a good career move.

Given the number of players who were allowed to leave last season, any remaining Mariner who was denied permission to seek better options (sorry, that should read [italics]alternative[end italics] options) elsewhere might feel a touch aggrieved.

media_camera Central Coast Mariners winger Mitch Austin could be off to Adelaide.

THE FFA’s decision to cite Mitch Nichols for his reverse peace sign to Brisbane fans after last week’s semi-final didn’t go down too well with the Wanderers, who didn’t make a fuss about the gobful Roar assistant coach Ross Aloisi gave to fans behind him after Jamie Maclaren’s late equaliser in the game.

But Aloisi might have had mitigating circumstances, as it’s understood he was on the receiving end of some very graphic abuse in Portuguese from a home supporter. It’s even claimed that a Roar official mentioned it to security without any action.

THERE were some wild rumours doing the rounds on Thursday about Ante Covic joining the Mariners. But they all stem from Covic having a drink at the A-League Awards on Tuesday with Mariners CEO Shaun Mielekamp, an old colleague from the Wanderers, and no one expects to see the veteran keeper in Gosford next season — least of all the Mariners.

WANDERERS midfielder Andreu has collected over 100 football jerseys over the years, but few are prized more than the one Adelaide coach Guillermo Amor gave him after playing a Champions League match for Barcelona. Amor was Andreu’s favourite player while growing up in Spain, so meeting him in Sunday’s A-League grand final is a bit surreal for the Spaniard. “My hobby is collecting jerseys,” Andreu told Confidential. “And I have Amor’s shirt from the Champions League. He doesn’t remember, but he gave it to me when I was about 14-years-old.”

JOHNNY Warren Medalist Diego Castro couldn’t be convinced to attend Tuesday night’s Dolan-Warren Medal in Sydney despite efforts to get him there. The official word was that he had family commitments, but the Spaniard is actually on holidays in Bali. There’s also no guarantee he will return to Perth next season, with his coach Kenny Lowe — who collected the award on Castro’s behalf — calling him a “free spirit”.

INTERESTING to note that in the announcement of the players’ union’s team of the season, as voted for by the players themselves, the retiring Strebre Delovski was voted ref of the year for the sixth time in seven seasons — that’s the same Strebre Delovski who only once, in 2010, won the A-League’s ref of the year award. Which maybe says a lot about the disconnect between players and officials.

IT takes a lot to grab space in the Spanish press from Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, but Guillermo Amor’s award as coach of the year has been widely covered back home. Even Marca, effectively the house journal of Real, was gushing about the former Barca legend’s success.

Originally published as Austin tipped to swap Coast for Adelaide