Nik Mrdja
history
| cityofbirth = Perth
| countryofbirth = Australia
| height =
| currentclub = Central Coast Mariners
| clubnumber = 9
| position = Striker
| youthyears =
| youthclubs =
| years = 1997
1998
1998–1999
2000
2000–2003
2004–2005
2005
2005–present
| clubs = Bayswater City Panthers
Kingsway Olympic
Canberra Cosmos
Perth SC
Perth Glory
Olympiacos
AIK
Central Coast Mariners
| caps(goals) =
3 (0)
73 (25)
3 (1)
12 (2)
9 (3)
| nationalyears = 2007
| nationalteam = Australia
| nationalcaps(goals) = 1 (0)
| pcupdate = 26 November 2007
| ntupdate = 11 September 2007
}}
Nik Mrdja (born 30 November 1978 in Perth, Western Australia, Australia) is an Australian football (soccer) player of a Serbian Background. He currently plays as a striker for the Australian A-League club the Central Coast Mariners.
Club career
He has the satisfaction of having scored the last goal of the now defunct NSL when he scored a golden goal winner in the Grand Final for Perth Glory against Parramatta Power.
He earned the ire of Newcastle United Jets fans in 2005, when he broke Andrew Durante's leg in a tackle during the Australian qualifiers for the Oceania Club Championship. He also scored a hat-trick in the same tournament, as Central Coast defeated Adelaide United 4-0. He later scored a hat-trick in the Mariners' 3-0 defeat of Queensland Roar in the Pre-Season Challenge Cup.
This was to remain the high-point of Mrdja's season as he was injured from the final of the Pre-Season Challenge Cup. Mrdja scored his first goal for the Mariners on the 19th of November 2006 against the New Zealand Knights, after almost two years on the sidelines. It was his first in Australia since scoring the winner in the 2004 NSL Grand Final, a gap of 959 days.
International career
Mrdja made his debut for the Australian team in a friendly against Argentina, on 11 September 2007, at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne.
Honours
With Central Coast Mariners:
- A-League Premiership: 2007-2008
- NSL Championship: 2002-2003, 2003-2004