Macintyre, one of Newcastle’s brightest attacking prospects in 2014-15, missed last season while recovering from a knee reconstruction.

She returned to the W-League in round one last week, taking on the unfamiliar role of right-back and marking Matildas star Steph Catley in the 1-0 away loss to Melbourne City.

Deans said Macintyre and fellow local product Cassidy Davis did excellent jobs marking Catley and Welsh international Jess Fishlock respectively.

“For two players from Newcastle to go up against them, hold their own and in some cases get the better of them, it’s a good thing and good to watch,” Deans said.

Deans was especially pleased to see Macintyre make a strong return. 

“Last year she came in a little bit but she was still coming back from her surgery,” he said. 

“She did some light stuff and then trained with the Emerging Jets and got some match fitness.

“She hasn’t missed a session this year and she looks fit. She performed really well on the weekend and I think she’ll get better and better the more she gets comfortable with the position.

“Right back is a little bit new to her. She’s played as a winger but she’s got the ability to get forward from there and defensively she’s quite good. It’s good to have players like that who are flexible and can push forward when we need them to. She’s done really well and she deserves the opportunity, so I’m happy for her.”

Macintyre and Davis will need to be strong again on Sunday when Newcastle travel to Lakeside Stadium to play Victory, who drew 3-3 with Adelaide in round one.

English international Natasha Dowie, who scored twice for Victory against Adelaide, leads their attack, while captain Christine Nairn is a key player Davis and others will need to restrict in midfield.

Deans was pleased with the round-one performance from his team against last season’s unbeaten premiers but was wary of Victory, despite them finishing last in 2015-16.

He said the evenness of this year’s competition meant no side could be taken lightly.

“They will be another good test but if we play like we did last week, we’ll go OK,” he said.

“They have some dangerous attacking players and we need to make sure we’re on our game, but they obviously conceded three goals, so hopefully that gives us some opportunities to score and hopefully we’re good enough to take them when they come.”

The Jets welcome back Young Matildas Clare Wheeler and Sophie Nenadovic into their injury-free squad. 

Deans said the pair were likely to come off the bench given their workload in China last week when Australia qualified for the 2017 Under-19 Asian Cup.

“There may be one or two changes but nothing much,” Deans said.

“We did well, we don’t need to panic or change anything we do. We just need to keep improving.

“I think last week was great, to go down there and know exactly where we are at straight away, rather than think you are doing well when you’re not.

“We know where we are against the best team, so know where we are going and what we need to do.”

The match starts 4pm.

Melbourne Victory squad: 1.Bianca HENNINGER (gk), 2.Alexandra NATOLI, 3.Alex CHEAL, 6.Annabel MARTIN, 7.Lia PRIVITELLI, 8.Ayesha NORRIE, 9.Natasha DOWIE, 10.Christine NAIRN (c), 11.MelindaJ BARBIERI, 13.Laura SPIRANOVIC, 15.Adriana TARANTO, 16.Samantha JOHNSON, 17.Gulcan KOCA, 19.Rachel ALONSO, 20.Bethany MASON-JONES (gk), 22.Caitlin FRIEND, 25.Kariah WHITE

**two to be omitted**

Ins: 6.Annabel MARTIN (returns from international duty), 11.MelindaJ BARBIERI (returns from international duty), 13.Laura SPIRANOVIC (promoted), 22.Caitlin FRIEND (promoted)

Outs: 4.Melissa TARANTO (knee – season), 14.Selin KURALAY (hamstring – 2-3 weeks)

Unavailable: Nil

Newcastle Jets squad: 1.Kelsey WYS (gk), 2.Sophie NENADOVIC, 3.Elizabeth O'REILLY, 4.Megan OYSTER, 5.Arin GILLILAND, 6.Cassidy DAVIS, 7.Gema SIMON (c), 8.Emma STANBURY, 9.Jennifer HOY, 10.Rhali DOBSON, 13.Grace MACINTYRE, 15.Elizabeth COPUS-BROWN, 16.Liana DANASKOS, 17.Jenna KINGSLEY, 18.Clare WHEELER, 19.Ashlee BRODIGAN, 20.Claire COELHO (gk)

**two to be omitted**

Ins: 2.Sophie NENADOVIC (returns from International Duty), 18.Clare WHEELER (returns from International Duty)

Outs: Nil

Unavailable: 12.Chloe LOGARZO (overseas – 2 weeks)