Wanderers legend Bridge feels 'like a kid' ahead of first NPL game in 15 years

He may have won everything there is to win in Australian football but Mark Bridge admits he feels ‘like a kid again’ as he prepares to play his first National Premier Leagues game in 15 years.

After a glittering career which included two Hyundai A-League Championships, two Hyundai A-League Premierships and an AFC Asian Champions League winners' medal, the 33-year-old departed the professional arena at the end of the 2018/19 Season as a Western Sydney Wanderers legend.

SIGNING NEWS: All of the ins and outs at every Hyundai A-League side
BEST OF 2018/19: Who were the annual award winners at YOUR club? 
GALLERY: The stars who waved goodbye in 2018/19

The next chapter is set to begin this weekend as Bridge’s new club, Mounties Wanderers – who lie fifth in NPL NSW 2 – travel to Northbridge Oval to face the high-flying North Shore Mariners.

Despite having more than 250 Hyundai A-League games under his belt, there are no guarantees ‘King Bridge’ will be in from the start against the team placed second in the NPL's second tier.

Regardless, the two-cap Caltex Socceroo has been savouring every moment of his new lease of football life.

New telstra banner


“It still feels a little bit weird. Up until this week it felt like a normal off-season, now that I have started training with the team and the boys, it’s starting to be real and I am enjoying it,” he told Football NSW.

“The training standard has been good and it’s exciting. A new challenge, as you want to play – I didn’t want to come in and not play.

“If I need to work my way in because they are doing so well, [then] I need to work my way in. Simple as that.

“In terms of coming back to club football, I felt like a kid again. Last night training in the rain and the mud, it brings back that love of the game.

“[It] hammered home the fact – yep, I still love it and I am glad to be playing with and surrounded by guys that still enjoy the game.”


Bridge has not turned out in an NPL game since 2004 – before the Hyundai A-League existed – but the former Parramatta Eagles junior is impressed at what he has seen so far.

“The standard surprised me, everyone sort of thinks that going down to NPL or NPL 2 the standard is not there, but the standard is definitely there,” Bridge said.

“I think there is going to be a push of older A-League players to come and help the younger players in NPL clubs – show [them] what it takes and see what they have got to do to get to the next level.

“Going from grass to artificial [playing surface], that’s going to be the biggest challenge initially, especially as the body is adjusting to it. As long as I do the right things off the pitch for the body I should be alright.”

Click below to #GetOnside for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023™ in Australia

GetOnside AusBid2023 Limitless Banner
Visit page
This article was originally published on the Hyundai A-League website.
Close