Having recently brought up his 150th appearance for the Central Coast Mariners, Josh Rose goes 1v1 to reflect on his time at the club, the highlights, the decision to return to Australia and why 150 games for the Mariners means so much to him.
Q. When you started your career in the NSL did you think you would be racking up 150 professional games for one club?
JR: Definitely not. I think that where I came from I was playing in the Rockhampton league at 18 and I was very grateful to play even one NSL game. I just took it one game at a time and never did I think I’d get this far.
Q. After time in the NSL with the Brisbane Strikers and in the A-League with the New Zealand Knights you made the move to Romania. How did that move come about?
JR: I played a season with the New Zealand Knights and that did not go too well so I found it difficult to get another A-League deal and the Romanian option came up and it was something that was different and would take me out of my comfort zone so I jumped at it.
Q. How did you adjust to life off the pitch in Romania?
JR: I was a massive cultural difference but I think in a scenario like that you have to take it on and live the way they do. They lived a breathed football and that was fantastic for me and that was what I needed at the time and that helped me improve a lot.
Q. For many players Europe is the dream; was it a tough decision to return home having done well in Romania?
JR: My wife and I were just about to have our second baby and we thought it would be the right time to come back and a few options had come up. I felt I had lot to prove in Australia as I didn’t leave on the best of terms and I felt I had a lot to offer.
Q. Had the A-League progressed during your time away?
JR: I still followed the A-League a lot overseas and I could see it was growing year on year. When I came back you could see with Fox onboard that the league had become much more professional and that it had gone up a couple of notches.
Q. Did this show on the pitch?
JR: I came back at the time when Brisbane Roar went on that great run with Ange (Postecoglou) in charge and that was fantastic to watch, and at the Central Coast we were top two for about three years and the standard of football was getting better all the time. We found at the Mariners we had to improve ourselves all the time as we went along to stay at the top and that is a credit to the coaches in Australia. They are much more detailed in their preparation than many of the coaches I had in Europe.
Q. In your first year at the club you made the Grand Final. How do you look back on that season?
JR: It was surreal for me. In my mind when I made the decision to come back I just wanted to have a couple of good seasons and see what happened. Arnie (Graham Arnold) put a great squad together and to play in a grand final was great. The result was not great but it gave us the drive to achieve what we did in the end.
Q. Two seasons later you sealed the club’s first Championship with a fantastic performance. How important was the build-up for that match?
JR: The build-up for that game for me was three years in the making and there was a lot of hard work, training and video sessions. Arnie was very meticulous in his planning and is a perfectionist and credit to him for getting us to that point. That week in the build-up to the game was the most relaxed I have been, it felt like there was nothing that was going to stop us. We were calm and knew what we had to do to win the game. We had belief in each other and belief in ourselves.
Q. Did you realise at the time how big of an achievement that was for the club?
JR: Throughout the season we were determined to achieve something that had not been done at the club before and create history. I don’t think it sunk in until the parade after the Grand Final, through Gosford, we must have had tens of thousands of people out and it was amazing and that made it really sink in.
Q. During your time at the club there has been a lot of changes. Has your role in the team changed?
JR: I think now I am more of a senior player but my role hasn’t change too much. I think the boys respect me so for me it is about leading by example and turning up to training and working hard. If the boys want to talk about my past experiences I’m happy to help.
Q. You recently brought up your 150th game for the club; how much did that mean to you?
JR: This club has really looked after me since I have been here. People like Sharon Baxter, people in the office and the fans make 150 games very special for me.
Q. Finally, what stands out during your time at the club?
JR: Definitely the Grand Final win, that was a very special moment for a lot of people.
Each week the PFA will go 1v1 with a current or former member to gain an insight into the lives of professional footballers.
Image By Chad Gibson / Local FC.
