Timing is vitally important in football and Marino may have timed his run perfectly to be a key contributor for City in the Hyundai A-League Finals Series.
The 19-year-old striker has had to bide his time this campaign after a knee injury in pre-season scuppered his chance at becoming a regular.
With Bruno Fornaroli and Harry Novillo tearing up the competition, opportunity has been hard to come by in the first team as well.
But Marino got his first taste of A-League action on the weekend against Perth Glory – and he made it count.
Coming off the bench in the second half, he had eight touches, two shots and scored a late goal in just 13 minutes on the pitch as City stormed home.
Talk about making an immediate impact for his coach John van ‘t Schip.
Marino is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Sport in 2013, before signing with City a year later and making his A-League debut against Sydney FC in the opening round of the 2014/15 season.
He has also represented Australia at youth level, making three appearances for the Young Socceroos and scoring two goals.
Now, with just one game left before the Finals Series gets underway, the Adelaide-born attacker could become an impact weapon off the bench for City over the next month.
The talented teenager is also one to watch in the NAB Young Footballer of the Year race.
