Jai Rose reaching for the stars at the Mariners

Ahead of their major clash with Mt Druitt Town Rangers this weekend, we spoke to Central Coast Mariners’ star striker Jai Rose on their win last weekend and his future in football.

The Mariners have experienced a difficult NPL Men’s NSW campaign so far in 2025, sitting bottom of the ladder, two points off second-last and three points away from safety.

“It’s been a challenging campaign for us so far,” said Rose.

“Being quite a young and inexperienced group at this level it’s taken us a while to adapt.

“But the group has become stronger, and our belief has grown the past few weeks.

“There’s so many strong players in the competition and I’m trying to learn as much as I can from them each week.”

But last weekend, Central Coast experienced strong success, defeating juggernaut Sydney United 58 3-1 at home.

Rose played a crucial role in the victory, scoring and assisting a goal each to keep his side firmly in the fight for survival.

“We really needed to pick up some points to keep the pressure on those teams above us on the table, so I was happy to be able to provide a goal and an assist in the win against United,” he said.

“I thought we all played well as a team and I just did my part to help with the opportunities to create goals and score.

“Getting close to the end of the round games, wins are essential to help keep us out of relegation so I’ll do whatever I can to help with that.”

This weekend, the Mariners will take on Mt Druitt in a scintillating relegation clash between bottom and second-last.

The Mariners could move outside of the relegation zone with a strong win – their goal difference is currently five worse than Western Sydney Wanderers in third-bottom – but would at least move out of last place with a victory this weekend.

It’s a crucial game in the context of Central Coast’s season, and one Rose is looking forward to.

“It’s set to be a really exciting fixture,” he said.

“They are a strong side and have players that can hurt us if we’re not on our game.

“The belief in our group is strong at the moment, and if we can focus and work hard like last weekend, it will give us a great chance for a positive result.”

Meanwhile, with 17-year-old Rose excelling for the Mariners, it’s likely he doesn’t remain in this competition for long, with the high-potential forward consistently impressing in the NPL Men’s NSW competition.

The son of former Mariners star Josh Rose, the sky is certainly the limit for the young gun.

When asked about his goals for his career, he said, “I’d like to play at the highest level I possibly can in the future.

“Right now I’m happy with where I’m at. I just need to keep refining my game, keep working hard and be ready for any opportunities that are presented to me.”

Watch the Mariners and Mt Druitt clash at 3pm on Sunday afternoon, with the match hosted at Pluim Park, and also broadcast live and free on Football NSW’s YouTube Channel