Haine Eames has enjoyed a history-making debut season in the Isuzu UTE A-League and there is more to come from the Central Coast Mariners teenage. aleagues.com.au looks at the numbers behind the talented midfielder.
Haine Eames only celebrated his 17th birthday last month. Let that sink in for a second.
His rise has been rapid but the frightening thing is, there is still so much more to come from the Central Coast Mariners sensation, who has shattered all kinds of records in his debut season.
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Eames signed a scholarship contract ahead of the 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League campaign and has backed that up by becoming Central Coast’s youngest ever scorer, debutant and starter.
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“When I first came into the club, I can remember watching, I go quite often and watch the academy work,” Mariners head coach Mark Jackson said on an episode of Total A-Leagues last month.
“I stood with Matt Simon. He said, ‘Listen, this kid here, he’s only only 15, and every time he gets bumped up an age group or gets given a challenge by playing up or playing against all the players, he just takes it in his stride’.
“So we got to a stage at the end of last season, I said okay well let’s test him now, and let’s bring him up with the A-League. He did exactly that. It just fitted straight into what we were doing. He’s actually developed quite a bit physically in a short space of time, but he still looks very young.
“But he’s done that, and he does that from every session we work on every game is getting stronger and stronger. He is a real level headed young man.
“He’s got an abundance of talent and potential.”
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It has been a challenging campaign for two-time reigning champions the Mariners following a host of key departures following their Championship triumph – Josh Nisbet (Ross County), Max Balard (NAC Breda) and Jacob Farrell (Portsmouth) were all lured abroad, while star defender Dan Hall joined Auckland FC and Danny Vukovic retired.
But it has been a memorable season for rookie Eames – who has amassed 1,168 minutes of football across all competitions – and Central Coast’s youngsters having been exposed to senior football, domestically and on the continent.
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For Eames, he has emerged as a bonafide talent destined for big things with composure on the ball beyond his years.
“He’s a really level headed young man who just gets on with it, takes everything in his stride,” said Jackson.
“To see him starting early games now and playing in the Champions League, it’s fantastic for us, it’s fantastic for him, but I think it’s really good for Australian football as well.”
Eames leads the Mariners for passing accuracy in the final third (86.4%), while he is second for assists – only behind Mikael Doka – and his numbers stack up globally in his age group.
At the time, Eames ranked equal sixth per 90 minutes for U20 players across the 45 non-big-five top divisions in the world (at least 630 domestic minutes played).
Looking closer to home, Eames’ numbers stack up well in the history of the Isuzu UTE A-League for players aged 18 or younger (minimum five games played).
In that category, the midfielder is first for passing accuracy in final third (86.4), while he is second for possession won in the final third (five) and assists, while he is third for possession won in the middle third (20) and passes ending in the final third and successful passes in the final third.
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Eames also ranks in the top four for possession won in the defensive third (17), total carries (100) and total carry distance (975.4).
If we raise the age to 19 or under (minimum five games played) across the 20-year history of the competition, Eames sits second for passing accuracy and passing accuracy in the final third, while he is fourth for assists.
He is only behind Nestory Irankunda, Luka Jovanovic, Max Caputo, Daniel Bennie and Thomas Waddingham for chances created with 10, and in the top 10 for successful passes ending in the final third (76).
“I can’t wait to see more of this kid,” former A-Leagues star Erik Paartalu said earlier this season.
