DYLAN Murnane wanted to get outside the "bubble in Australia" when the fullback travelled to Norway for a three-week trial at second tier club Kongsvinger.
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Murnane, 26, had spent almost five years in Scandanavia - climbing from the Norwegian second division to Finnish champions HJK Helsinki - when he received a call in July from Jets coach Arthur Papas.
Papas had coached Murnane at Maribyrnong Sports High School in Melbourne and wanted the left back to be part of his revolution.
"We had a relationship when I was younger," Murnane said.
"I was off contract at the end of July and thinking I was going to stay in Europe because of everything that was happening with COVID. I hadn't thought about coming home, but when the call came, things changed pretty quickly."
Murnane returns to the A-League a far different player than the 21-year-old who departed Melbourne Victory.
"I was looking for an opportunity. I just wanted to get outside the bubble in Australia." he said. "An opportunity came up in Norway. I went there with a short-to-medium term vision. I ended up staying five years.
"It was a different experience. All the teams in the second division are professional. The first year, we reached the cup final which is the biggest football event in Norway. We played at the National Stadium in Oslo in front of In front of 20,000. Rosenborg beat us.
"In winter, you train indoors because there is so much snow. As soon as the weather gets close to zero, you try to get outside. They normally have heaters under the turf but it is still pretty frozen."
After a breakout 18 months in Norway, Murnane moved to Finland on a two-year deal at IFK Mariehamn.
"The club was in the top division and in 2016 they won the league," he said. "It was still a small club but they were looking to grow."
Mariehamn is in the Asland Islands between Finland and Sweden and has a population of about 15,000. "
"Most people speak Swedish," Murnane said. "In summer hundreds of thousands of tourists go there.
"We used to travel five hours by ferry to the mainland to play games."
The lifestyle wasn't the only adjustment.
"The style of play is totally different," Murnane said. "With relegation and promotion it is a bit more defensive. There is no salary cap and the budgets are very different. In games you can't always have an open book. You have to be a bit more closed."
Murnane is among 13 fresh faces - soon to be 14 with Savvas Siatravanis expected to ink a deal this week.
"I hope to bring what I have learnt overseas," he said. "I am more developed as a player, more comfortable with who I am .
"The boss wants the fullbacks to come inside a bit more and link up in a different way with the midfield, fill holes in different spaces. We have a bit more freedom and can move around a bit. He wants to bring something new to the A-League and from what I have seen, it is very exciting."
Murnane's last game in Helsinki was on July 31.
"The first couple of days I took it pretty easy," he said. "I have since ramped it up and have been in full training for the past week and haven't had any issues.
"The intensity at training has been really good. The coaches have been pushing us. We have had a few hit outs against each other, 11 v 11.
"But it is hard to get a gauge on where we are at right now. When you are trying to implement a new system of football, the best way to see it is in games against different opponents. You need those games, especially in the new few weeks."
James Gardiner
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
James Gardiner, chief football and rugby writer at the Newcastle Herald.
