The Central Coast Mariners won the A-League Men Grand Final in 2023 against Melbourne City with a score of 6-1. Jason Cummings announced just before the game this would be the last as a Mariner before moving overseas. The Mariners’ victory was an unlikely championship win as they were not expected to win the game. This is the second time that the Mariners have won the championship in their history – the last being 10 years prior.
The game was held at CommBank Stadium in Parramatta instead of Melbourne City’s home ground because of some very questionable deal done by the APL. The game was watched by over 30,000 people. Jason Cummings scored a hat-trick and won the Joe Marston medal.
The Joe Marston Medal is an A-League award given to the player of the match in the A-League Grand Final each year. Introduced in 1990, previously the award was also given to the best player in the National Soccer League grand final. The medal is named after Joe Marston, a former Australian footballer who played for South Melbourne FC and Preston North End. The medal is awarded to the best player in the Grand Final of the top-tier men’s domestic football competition.
Samuel Silvera, Jason Cummings, Beni Nkololo and Matheus Moresche were the other scorers during the game.
