10,538 miles. That is the distance that separates Central Coast Mariners ground to the Stadium of Light. A mammoth journey but one that Nectarios Triantis has chosen to cover to continue his footballing journey when the Lads came calling in the summer.
A huge commitment for anyone to make when it comes to moving away from home but for the Sydney native, it’s all part of the love for the game which stemmed from being in a house as one of ten siblings.
“It was all through my family, growing up with six older brothers that all played football” the 20-year-old told safc.com. “I didn’t get forced into it but you are just brought up around it. That’s how I got into it. Two of my brothers played professionally before me.”
Brothers Peter and Chris played the majority of their professional careers in Sydney but having flown the nest to come to Wearside, is Nectar now considered the family poster boy?
“I think the favourite is my brother that is a priest, I think he takes the cake!” he joked.
There would be some stories to tell around the dinner table in the Triantis household! But the majority of conversations amongst the brothers might have been about a Merseyside side that caught his eye from an early age.
“Liverpool was my team growing up. My older brother was a big fan” the defender explained.
“My footballing hero is Steven Gerrard. He was always the one that I was trying to image myself on. Even players like Paulo Dybala and Lionel Messi with their dribbling but Gerrard was just the one player I idolised.”
His journey before arriving in Sunderland in the summer saw Triantis become a title winner in the Australian A-League with Central Coast Mariners in the summer of 2023. Before that, he developed through Sydney FC’s academy which has gone on to produce a fine line of Australian talent.
It was during his teenage years where one major change in his career has gone on to forge his current pathway.
“Until about the age of 15, I was a number ten or a right winger” Nectar explained. “I think that is how I’ve gone on to become comfortable on the ball because I wasn’t always tall and big!
“I was quite the dribbler to be honest but from the age of 15, they sat me down and said we would like you to be a bit more defensive which out to become a positive thing for me.
“It’s all carried through in the way I train, that I try to express myself and people can see that.”
His comfortability on the ball and his eye for a pass has been personified through his early performances in a Sunderland shirt. Nectar provided the defence splitting pass to provide the assist for Jewison Bennette’s goal in the friendly against Hartlepool United whilst spending 30 minutes in midfield as the Lads U21s got off to a winning start in Premier League 2.
Well established in the first-team picture, Nectar continues to learn about the Club’s values away from the training ground. Settling into the area with his family has eased the transition but a fiercely passionate fanbase of over 5,000 fans headed to Deepdale and seeing their recent trip to Preston North End proved to be a stark eye opener.
Triantis continued: “I was talking with Riggy on the bench at Preston. I have never seen away fans like that, ever. Seeing a packed out stand that were louder than the home fans was quite amazing to see.
He continued: “Everything has been really good so far. Everyone has been welcoming in and around Sunderland, the people have been really welcoming too.
“Walking down the street with my mum, people are coming up and saying hello so that has been really nice.”
10,000 miles down but a long way to go for Nectar to make his mark in England but the 20-year-old defender has shown an air of determination to forge his way into the first-team picture and become a mainstay in the side in the years to come.
“As a new signing, you have to show what you are about and what you can offer to the team. Likewise with him (Chris Rigg), being 16, shining and scoring goals in important moments.
“This whole Club has good youth production. With young signings like myself, I think in the coming years that we are going to have a good crop coming through.
“I wouldn’t say there have been a lot of changes but these are changes that you have to get used to. Gelling together and getting used to the way we play.
“With big players last season leaving, other players have to come and fill the void and that is what we have been looking to do. We have real belief in the team that we can get promoted this year.”