North Queensland captain Ufuk Talay says the Fury has the capacity to dominate polling in this season’s A-League Young Player of the Year award.
Chris Payne, who picked up the nomination for the month of August, is just the first according to the skipper.
"For as long as we do well as a team, I imagine a lot of the boys will be up there for nomination," Talay said."
The 34-year-old is acutely aware of the strength of the Townsville-based club’s youth with 19-year-old Osama Malik keeping the elder statesman locked out of the starting XI with his own stunning run of form to start the campaign.
In the Fury’s loss to Adelaide in Townsville last week, five players - Malik, Payne, Isaka Cernak, Jack Hingert and Brad McDonald - were under the age of 22.
Payne, no stranger to stealing the limelight after playing an inspirational role in helping Sydney FC secure the 2009/10 A-League double, has exploded onto the scene as one of the competitions most dynamic attacking players.
The teenager has been an integral part of the Fury's rise to fourth place on the ladder, scoring two goals from four games, while his sublime vision and touch has also been a feature in the opening four games of the season.
And yet, Payne himself was taken aback by his nomination, citing other team-mates such as Isaka Cernak more worthy.
"I can’t believe I was nominated ahead of him," Payne said.
"I expect both Isaka and Osama to be massively up there in the award this year."
While coach Franz Straka took the job in the north to mount a championship challenge, nurturing some of the nation’s finest talent was also a major draw card.
"As a club we are ambitious about what we would like to achieve this season, but as coach, I also want to transform young players into future Australian representatives and I would hope that Chris is not the only Fury player to receive accolades this season," Straka said.