John Hutchinson has finally done something worthwhile and every Mariners fan should let him know. Yeah I know he didn't even play against Perth but that suspension that he earned against Brisbane a few weeks ago opened the door for Mustafa Amini to make his debut. And is wasn't just Amini that benefitted from Hutch's suspension but the entire team and the 5-0 thrashing of Perth should be a fair shot in the arm for supporters as well.

It's hard to believe that Amini was the only change from the team that was well beaten by Brisbane because the team came out and played with clear purpose and Amini, who plays much higher up the park - read ‘where a playmaker should be playing' - opened up the space Mark McGlinchey and Oliver Bozanic to exploit. While Rostyn Griffiths would have appreciated being able to see open space and not Hutch's bucket arse each time he got the ball.

In one of my first blogs I mentioned that the Mariners season would be measured on the success of the youngsters that Arnold has had faith in and last night they showed they are more than capable of repaying that faith, provided it's invested. It wasn't just Amini that showed his vision and fast feet, but goalkeeper Matt Ryan who's confidence has grown and grown since he was shoved into the spotlight following Van Stratten's unfortunate injury, Oliver Bozanic is consistently one of the team's better performers and Matt Lewis took full advantage and came up with his first A-League goal when he got his chance towards the end of the second half.

Their positive start and weight of possession payed off when Griffiths headed home a Bozanic free kick in the 37th minute but the Mariners' lack of killer instinct allowed Perth back in late in the first half. If Matt Simon put as much energy concentrating on his first touch as he does yelling and screaming at his opposition markers that might have been different.

Things could have been different too, had Perth taken advantage of the Mariners slow start to the second half but as soon as Matt Simon took advantage of some bullish attacking by Daniel McBreen to score the Mariners second in the 60th minute, the game was all but over. Two more goals to Kwasnik (what a first touch!) and the aforementioned Lewis will did wonders for the team morale and a late Naum Sekulovski own goal made sure it was a long flight back to Perth for the West Australians.

The Mariners might not win the league this year, but their investment and belief in the young guns of Australian football showed signs of paying early dividends on Saturday night and it is for this reason, I tip my hat to Arnie, for having faith where Lawrie didn't - oh and of course to Hutch for finally doing something worthwhile for the team.