THOMAS Aquilina had no idea that he was at the centre of a player swap between the Newcastle Jets and Central Coast Mariners on A-League transfer deadline day - until it happened.
In his first season at the Mariners, Aquilina had started in the 3-2 loss to Sydney FC the previous weekend and was starting preparations for the next opponent.
Then, just over eight hours before the transfer window closed, Aquilina received a phone call.
"I wasn't aware of it until about 3.30pm," Aquilina said. "Decisions had to be made on their end. Decisions had to be made on my end. It happened quickly. That is football. In 24 hours your life can change.
"You just have to ride the wave. There were a lot of swaps, a lot of deals done across a lot of clubs."
Aquilina joined the Jets on an 18-month deal, trading places with left back James McGarry, and made his debut off the bench in the 2-1 triumph over Melbourne Victory at McDonald Jones Stadium on Sunday.
"The coaching staff, the players, even the fans on the weekend were great," Aquilina said. "It is a good bunch of lads. There is a lot of talent in the change room.
"I felt comfortable straight away. I was just happy to get on the park and express to the staff, the players and fans what I can do.
"It was probably a good time to come on and defend a lead. I was happy to play a little bit. Hopefully, I can get more minutes in the legs this week, going forward."
Although the trade was rushed, Aquilina had little hesitation and revealed he was close to joining the Jets for the start of the season.
"There were talks even before this season," he said. "I couple of personal issues forced me to go to the Central Coast.
"When Arthur called me up [last week] and told me what he wanted to do with the group moving forward, next year as well, it was everything I wanted to do. The players he is bringing in, the way he wants to play suits me."
Although arriving from the Mariners, Aquilina came through the Western Sydney Wanderers system.
He made his A-League debut under Carl Robinson the 2020-21 season-opener and went on to make 23 appearances, attracting the attention of clubs in Austria and the Netherlands.
However, the opportunities dried up when Mark Rudan took the reins.
Jets assistant Arthur Diles coached Aquilina in the Wanderers youth team and he was greeted by plenty of other familiar faces.
"Phil Cancar and I are close, me and Mark Natta are close, Kosta Grozos, Mo Al-Taay," Aquilina said. "I had a little bit of time with Matty Jurman under Poppa. There are a lot of boys who have played together and that will show on the park. That makes for an easier transition."
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