Hutchinson told TWG:
:: It's been an amazing ride - 19 years as a professional
:: How it feels to be the A-League record holder for yellow cards
:: Why Daniel McBreen was easily his most irritating team-mate
:: He would've been a fireman had he not been a footballer
:: Why he believes he'll make a good coach
:: What his best advice is for kids dreaming of making it big
TWG: In the shadows of retirement you've gone to the top of the all-time list for yellow cards in the A-League, with 55. Did you know you were getting near the top? How do you feel about it?
JH: (Laughs). Oh, look, I know it's a lot of cards but I've played a lot of games. The only person who would be proud of that would be my dad. He used to think he was a bit of a hard man in his time. When I hit 50 he sent me a text message saying 'congratulations' (laughs). I know he'll be proud of it.
Look, it's not a record I want to hang on to, so hopefully Adrian Leijer comes back to the league and goes to the top again. I think Nigel Boogaard holds the record now for red cards, doesn't he? (Yes, with six). So, well done Nige, an ex-Mariner - we're holding the fort well here at the Mariners.
TWG: Did your dad play for a long time?
JH: Oh, he'd say he did (laughs). He used to turn up and run around. I used to watch him as a kid, you know, he pretends he was a hard man. Dad was a decent footballer. I think he played stopper for most of his career and he went all right.
TWG: You represented Malta 11 times. Where does your Maltese ancestry come from?
JH: It's on my mum's side. My nan came in on the boat from Malta many years ago and I remember when I was trying to qualify to play for Malta my wife had to find out the boat's name. We had to find out all of that kind of stuff and put it down on the application form. I'm lucky my wife did it all, because I would've given up trying to find it all.
TWG: You made your National Soccer League debut in 1997. This has been one hell of a ride for you, hasn't it?
JH: Yeah, it has been. If I tell people the story they start laughing, about how I didn't get paid at Morwell and I went to Northern Spirit and didn't get paid. I was on the verge of quitting football back then. I went home and my dad kicked me out of the house after a few weeks. I went back to Manly to play State League but by that stage I didn't really care about football.
Then the A-League started and Lawrie (McKinna, the inaugural Central Coast Mariners coach) gave me a call and I started enjoying football again, so, it's been a good ride. I look back on the amount of years I've been in it and I've been pretty lucky. Nineteen years in a professional sport, I feel very lucky and I'm just thankful to everyone involved that I've been a part of the NSL and the A-League.
TWG: You must have played with some irritating team-mates during that time. Who have been the worst?
JH: Mate, Daniel McBreen ... Oh, mate, he tops it by an absolute mile. He still annoys me now and he's in Hong Kong. What a great guy, you know, and I was so happy for him when he had such a great season for us in the A-League in 2012-2013 (scoring 19 goals), but he's still annoying.
Even when he was scoring all of those goals it was annoying that it was him who was scoring them, because he kept reminding you (laughs). It would pee you off at times, you wanted to rip his head off, but it was a great season for him. I was happy for him, but - by a mile - the most annoying team-mate. Ever.
TWG: Was any other Mariners player ever able to get a word in when he was scoring all of those goals?
JH: Never. Even in the change rooms he kept going on and on. You've got to give it to him, some of them were good finishes, but 80 per cent of them were tap-ins. They were on a platter for him and all he had to do was tap them in. He was a very lucky man but I'll admit that season for him was fantastic. The boys did so well as a team and he, especially, excelled that season. Pretty good for an old man.
TWG: Has your phone been running hot with text messages from friends and fellow players congratulating you and wishing you the best in your final game?
JH: Yeah, there's been a bit of banter with the boys saying 'it's about time' and all that stuff, 'we won't see your fat arse on the field anymore', but as long as they send a text message I know they're thinking of me and caring about me, so I can handle all of the sledging. It's been pretty good, I've had some pretty nice messages from people I've played with over 19 years. It's great.
TWG: You're going into coaching at the Mariners. Has your role been clearly defined yet?
JH: It's still to be decided at the moment. I'm going to do my 'A' licence in June, so once I start that I think the club will decide where I stand in the coaching area but I'll be there somewhere in the mix, definitely.
TWG: Why do you believe you'll make a good coach?
JH: That's a good question. I think my man-management skills are very good. Being at the Mariners for 10 years and captain for the last three years, you learn to talk to people as people. Players at the end of the day are still human beings and they want to be spoken to properly and have it explained to them why they're not playing and all that kind of stuff. The last few years, being captain, holds me in good stead for that.
My man management, I believe, will be really good and I love the tactical side of the game as well. If I work as hard on coaching as I did on being a footballer, I should be OK.
TWG: If football had never been a part of your life, what do you think you would have ended up doing for a living?
JH: I probably would've been a firefighter. I used to have this fascination with fires. I remember, as a kid, the first time we had a bonfire in the backyard at home, when my dad lit it I still remember seeing it and going 'whoaaah'. It was the greatest thing I'd seen, this fire going up.
From then I had this thing about fires. I was always intrigued by them and I remember telling mum and dad I wanted to be a fire-fighter. Mum was like, 'oh, you can do anything you want, sweetheart', and dad was like 'you're going to be a footballer' (laughs).
TWG: Better putting them out than starting them, hey?
JH: I would never start one but I would've loved to put them out. Yeah, it was something I probably would've done if I hadn't been a footballer but I was blessed and lucky enough to become a footballer.
TWG: You're 35. We're you keen to play again next season or were you sure this was the right time?
JH: At the start of the season I told 'Mossy' (then Mariners coach Phil Moss) I wanted to retire. Half way through we had a chat about maybe continuing on but I just think the way I feel - and it's getting harder after every game and training session - the heart and mind still loves playing but the body is starting to say no. I don't want to be that player that tries to hold on to it for one season too long.
In my position we've got Liam Rose coming through now and I want to be here and watch him develop as a footballer. To be honest, mate, I think he was the only one who clapped when I told them I was retiring. The boys were upset but I think Liam was in the background applauding (laughs). He's a great rookie and you don't want to be that old man clinging on to the spotlight for too long.
TWG: Finally, what advice have you got for kids playing football who dream of making it in the big-time?
JH: I speak to kids often here and I tell them to dream big and keep believing. Don't listen to people who say you can't make it or you're too small, or whatever. As long as you try hard there are decent levels you can reach and you may be able to go on from there. I always hope for kids that they just dream big and keep working hard.
I think it's 90 per cent hard work and 10 per cent luck, how far you go in the game. Everyone needs that ounce of luck and have the right person watching them at the right time but if you ask any footballer how they got to where they are the answer would be hard work.
