by Isabelle Campbell at AAMI Park for Impetus (18/05/25)
Above: The Mariners following the winning penalty kick. Photo: Tilly McDonald for Impetus
From scratch to silverware, Emily Husband has guided the Central Coast Mariners to a historic championship, just two years after the club’s women’s program was reintroduced. The Mariners’ grand final victory marks not only a huge milestone for the team but a personal and professional triumph for the coach who built the project from the ground up.
“I was definitely overcome with emotion. I’m not a crier, but I cried like a little baby,” Husband said in a post-match press conference.
“I think it’s just emotion. I guess it’s meant so much to this entire group, to the staff, to the club. And so to see the girls get it over the line, it’s just an incredible achievement.”
Reflecting on what made the moment so meaningful, she added, “Nothing beats the feeling of watching other people around you being the happiest that they ever have been. Watching everybody who you care so deeply about, seeing how happy they are, it fills you with more joy than anything else.”
Husband praised her side’s composure and adaptability in a grueling, high-stakes final.
“I think we had the better of them in the first half and I think the momentum then swung their way,” she said.
“We had to change a couple of things, we’ve come off the back of not even a week ago playing 120 minutes, so there’s obviously tired legs out there.”
What makes the Mariners’ championship all the more extraordinary is the timeline: two years ago, there was no senior women’s team.
“Speechless, to be honest with you,” Husband said. “Coming into this job two years ago, I really wasn’t too sure. You know, I’d either sink or swim. I took the help when I needed it and lent on really, really valuable people, my staff especially.”
It was just last year, their first back in the league, that Husband’s team made it to the semi finals before being knocked out by Sydney FC, who would go on to lift the trophy.
“It was never that we settled for what we did last year. It was always that we wanted to be better. And yes, we did that. And it’s the players, it really is. They’ve just been an incredible group.”
Their path to the championship was anything but easy, knocking out league-leaders and unbeaten Melbourne City before going head-to-head with a near perfect Victory side.
“Momentum’s a funny thing. Everyone talked about how well Melbourne Victory and Melbourne City had come into the final series. And it’s great to have momentum in the league, but unfortunately, the final series is a completely different kettle of fish.”
“I truly believe that our girls had more heart and more desire and more, I guess, collective energy between them. They could overcome anyone when they really wanted to. There were quite a few times this season where we went down and there was never ever any lack of belief in the changing room.”
When asked if she thinks the group will stay together, she responded confidently: “I think they’ll bring themselves together. I really do. I think, how close they are as a group and how much they back each other, that’s enough of a selling point than anything else.”
After a season that saw the Mariners rise from a team few expected to dominate to national champions, one thing is clear: Emily Husband hasn’t just built a team. She’s built a belief system, and it’s winning.
With the title now secured, attention naturally turns to what’s next for this fast-rising club. When asked how she plans to top a championship season, Husband didn’t hesitate.
“Winning the league.”
“Doing the double?” came the next question.
“Yep.”
“And then? The treble the year after?”
“Yep.”
Now go to our Instagram page – @ImpetusFootball for EXCLUSIVE photography from the Grand Final from Impetus’ duo of photographers at the game – Beck Hartley and Tilly McDonald
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