The Wilderness Boys and The Mariners: An Ever-Growing Alliance Forged Through Trust, Support, And Local Identity

The Wilderness Boys and The Mariners: An Ever-Growing Alliance Forged Through Trust, Support, And Local Identity

As the days tick by until our now annual pre-season meeting with neighbours and EFL side Grimsby Town at the Technica Home of Boro on Tuesday evening, we thought it would be timely to highlight the links between the two clubs through a relationship that has become mutually beneficial, particularly in player development and career progression in recent years.

As Borough have risen from step six to step four of the non-league pyramid, that partnership has become crucial for both clubs and local players, many of whom, past and present, have ties to Blundell Park and the Bradley Football Development Centre in equal measure.

Tom Claisse’s current squad boasts numerous players of all ages that have been on the books of the Mariners at one point or another, with many donning the black and white stripes of the Town first-team before later finding a home with the Wilderness Boys. Here’s a look at those who may face their former side in a few days' time.

Bradley Wood

Tough-tackling, committed defender Wood worked his way through the Mariners’ youth ranks before making his debut, the first of what would ultimately be 120 appearances for the club in League Two and the National League over a four year spell, in a 2009 stalemate against Darlington.

Paul Walker

The reliable full-back turned centre-half signed a professional deal with Town 12 years ago, having progressed as a highly-regarded part of the junior sides. He’d go on to make three appearances for Paul Hurst’s National League side during the 2014/15 campaign, his debut coming as a first-half substitute against Nuneaton Town.

Tom Sawyer

Borough stalwart and central defender Sawyer was another to come through the ranks at Blundell Park, and though he didn’t make the first-team, then manager Russell Slade did sign the then midfielder to a professional deal in 2017. Tom has been a great servant to Borough over two spells since then, and was an important part of our 2021/22 NCEL Premier Division title winning squad before helping us consolidate at step four in recent seasons.

Josh Venney

Midfield playmaker Venney was with Hurst’s 2015/16 National League promotion winners as a first-year professional, where he made two senior appearances in the fifth-tier as well as playing once in the following years’ EFL Trophy. Josh has been a key figure over two spells at the Technica Home of Boro, and played a major role in the engine room for our 2018/19 NCEL Division One champions.

Alex Flett

Fellow midfield leader Flett was on the books of the Mariners at the same time as the aforementioned Walker, before moving on to Bradford City to complete his time in youth football. Alex returned to the local area with Cleethorpes Town in 2012 and went on to make well over 300 appearances with the Owls across the following 13 years. Joining Borough in 2025, he has been an important part of the engine room since.

Jack Barlow

Attacking player Barlow was a highly-rated youngster in the Grimsby Town youth system, before higher division club Hull City paid an undisclosed fee to take him to the East Riding of Yorkshire in 2009 at the age of 15.

Edwin Essel

The young striker impressed Paul Hurst enough to elevate him from the Mariners youth team in 2021/22, with the attacker making his senior debut from the bench in an early season victory over Barnet. The popular frontman then joined Borough on loan in October 2022, though was recalled the following January due to a Town injury crisis, and played a role in the famous FA Cup run to the last eight that season by appearing as a late substitute in the 3-0 success against Championship highflyers Luton Town in a fourth round replay.

Louis Boyd

Wide player Boyd made a name for himself at Blundell Park in the 2020/21 campaign when Ian Holloway brought him on in an EFL Trophy tie against Harrogate Town at just 15 years of age, making him the Mariners’ youngest ever appearance holder. He’d break a second record on the night, too, finding the back of the net to make him the club’s youngest ever goalscorer. The teenager then made an appearance from the bench a week later in the League Two clash at Walsall before eventually returning to the youth team.

Harvey Cribb

The rangy midfielder made one EFL Trophy appearance for the Mariners after joining from neighbours Scunthorpe United in the summer of 2023. The 20-year-old has recently rejoined Borough having spent a month here on loan in January 2025.

Fellow new signings Billy Bradley and Charlie Clements also spent time in the Mariners’ youth system in recent years, as did former loanees Harvey Tomlinson, forward Cameron Gardner, now part of the first-team squad at Blundell Park, and goalkeeper Seb Auton, the latter of which could face his former Borough teammates of last season should he be included in David Artell’s squad in midweek.

Current Borough Assistant Manager Liam Dickens began his playing days in the Blundell Park junior teams, while his predecessor Danny East made 26 appearances as part of Hurst’s 2016 National League play-off winning squad.

Well known faces of the past to be a part to both the Wilderness Boys and Town setups at one time or another include Liam Higton, Caine Winfarrah, Pete Winn, Andy Taylor, Reece York, and Luis Adlard, along with some of last season’s squad such as Dayle Southwell, Tom Jamieson, Tom Rennardson, and Grayson Giles.

The list is ever-growing, and proof of the intrinsically invaluable connection between the two clubs who’ll contest the ‘Dock Tower Derby’ on Tuesday. We’re proud that the Mariners continue to trust us to help develop many of their young players through loan spells, while we’re equally delighted that plenty of those who move on from Blundell Park choose to continue their journey in the game at the Technica Home of Boro.

Links can be found further afield locally, too, as former Borough goalkeeper and Assistant Manager Scott Drury and ex-Coach Mark Westerby have led the Grimsby Town Football Shadow Scholarship in recent times in conjunction with the League Two club’s charitable community arm and Franklin College, with both having a continued impact on the future of talented local players in the area.

The relationship between the Wilderness Boys and the Mariners is a strong one that benefits both clubs and the community as a whole in a wide range of ways. We look forward to seeing that continue to blossom and branch out further in the future, and can’t wait to see supporters of each side on Tuesday evening (7pm kick-off) for what will be a fantastic occasion in partnership with St Andrew’s Hospice.