Barber, along with fellow local players Jaydon Hannaford, Kenny James, Eddie Kweka and Justin Pickering, was a member of the under-16s Western Mariners side which won the State League Division One title earlier this month and Barber said it was a special moment when they defeated Hakoah Sydney City East 2-1 in the final.

"It was a great season and all the hard work paid off at the end with the win in the final," he said.

"It's always good to have your mates with you wherever you are and it was just amazing."

Barber was a key part of the team all season, dictating play from midfield and after such a successful year the 16-year-old St John's College student was rewarded with offers from clubs in Sydney and Newcastle.

While Barber will move to Hunter Sports High when he enters year 11 next year, he said he is undecided as to which club he will play with and is just concentrating on his upcoming trials with a number of sides.

“It will let me know where I’m at and how good I’m going so I’m really excited for it all,” he said of the trials. 

“I can’t wait for next year.”

The talented youngster has represented NSW Country twice in the past while has also played in a number of state titles for Western and he said the dream one day is to take his skills to the highest levels of the game.

“I’d love to play professional football one day and maybe for Australia,” he said. 

“It would be great to play in the A-League but I’m just taking each step as it comes and hopefully it can open up some doors and we’ll see what happens.”

Barber was very appreciative of all the help he had during the season, especially his parents who not only drove him to all his matches but also assisted on matchday with his father Wayne the manager of the Mariners side.

“It was a great season, we had good coaching and it was a good win,” he said of his time with the Mariners. 

“It was great to have everyone follow me and there was always a lot of support.”