Sydney FC captain Rhyan Grant on pre-season preparations and the Sydney Derby - 30/09/26

Yeah.

Sydney as a whole, the players coming in, finding that balance at the moment because in the A-League men's, you know, there's a younger profile of player coming through.

Some clubs are doing it to the extreme, like Central Coast Mariners.

Just before we came on, you said that you're playing against them on the weekend.

Over the journey, how have you found that balance between blooding young players and giving them an opportunity as opposed to how teams are doing it now?

Yeah, it's almost this day and age, especially in the A-League, it's almost teams are forced to do it, maybe financially more than anything, but also that's just the profile.

And I suppose the way the modern game is, it's sort of a young man's game.

And like I said, financially in the A-League, maybe some clubs need to look down that route.

But yeah, over the years, I remember when I was coming through 18, 19 years ago, it was feeling far between young players coming through and getting a chance and then really taking that, whereas now you see a lot of young players be given an extended period to get used to it and see themselves become a regular in the first team.

I suppose the proof is in the pudding.

You look at the players that have burst onto the scene over the last five or six years and gone on to big teams and big leagues in Europe.

It's one of those ones where You might see a lot of younger players fall about the wayside, but then maybe there's one or two that come through and do really well.

But I'm still sticking in there for the old boys.

I think it's still quite important.

Whether they play or not, it's different, but having them around the group and showing, I suppose, the younger players how to go about it day to day and what it might take to get to a high level is super important.

But, yeah, it's just the way the modern game's going at the moment, I think.