The Code: Life with the Mariners

Getting access to film the inner sanctum of any professional sporting team is a rare thing. The producers managed to do that, and at the same time were lucky enough to get the OK for this documentary from a football club (Central Coast Mariners) renowned for amazing highs and equally stunning lows on and off the playing field. Masterful work. The local tourism organisation, who I think were a co-sponsor, would be thrilled at the outcome. The result is a gripping blow-by-blow account of a watershed 2012/13 season of the Australian A-League football competition. Inspirational, insightful, serious, sad, comical - it's all there laid bare. The production quality considering the small resources of the makers (Onion TV) is astonishing. Filmed with an 'art house' feel (lots of close ups and use of slow motion camera work, set against the bigger picture of colourful, noisy stadiums) really gives the audience the sense of being part of the action and part of the team. As with any sporting season, the starting episodes are somewhat leisurely. But the buildup of tension in each episode as the season progresses is palpable. The last episode called 'Road To The Final' is an absolute blockbuster. The finale is a producer's dream scenario. The tiniest but highly successful franchise in the competition, the Central Coast Mariners, pitted against the competition's brand new franchise, Western Sydney Wanderers. The Wanderers, backed by the Football Federation and big city money, were having their own fairytale debut season. This is not a 'based on a true story' production. It IS the true story. If it had been a fictional script many would regarded it as extremely far-fetched. The dramatic elements came together just perfectly for the makers, making this a sporting documentary series hard to beat for sheer excitement, emotion, and depth.