NIGEL Boogaard and Matt Simon are combative by nature, passionate to the extreme about representing their home town and driven to succeed.
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On Saturday, the former roommates will lock horns when the Jets begin their season with a trip down the F3 to take on fierce rivals Central Coast at Gosford.
Simon returns to lead the Mariners' attack after missing the 2-1 defeat to Wanderers in the opening round on suspension.
Boogaard is equally determined to ensure the Jets' campaign begins on a positive note.
Expect fireworks.
"There is a lot on the line," the Jets skipper said. "In any derby you want to assert that physical dominance early. Simmo leads from the front with the way he plays. He will be at us from the first whistle.
"Key for me is winning the first-up battle, then let your football do the talking. Have the composure to settle down and play your brand of football.
"In most derbies, the team who settles in possession is the one who goes on to win the game."
Boogaard and Simon have history. They were teammates at Central Coast Lightning before breaking into the A-League at the Mariners and rooming together on away trips for three seasons before Boogaard departed for Adelaide, en route to a return to Newcastle to lead his home-town club.
Incredibly, Boogaard, a no-nonsense centreback has played 241 A-League games, one more than Mariners skipper and no-nonsense centre forward Simon.
"He is very similar to myself in the way he is passionate about the Central Coast," Boogaard said. "He is a local boy and wants to do well for his town. I enjoy playing against someone like Simmo. He is combative. He plays that way and so do I. Personally, I enjoy those type of battles. Myself and Nikolai look forward to playing those type of players. There will be a handshake at the start and that is the end of it."
After a bye in the first round, Boogaard said it was vital for the Jets to start their season on the "front foot" in Gosford, where they have won the past three encounters by a total margin of 15-4.
"The Central Coast will be looking to bounce back from the result last week," Boogaard said. "For us it is a great opportunity to start on the front foot. We have a great draw this year in terms of being home and away consistently. The key initially is to get off to a good start. We are in a good place. You can see the intensity at training this week has risen and you can feel a buzz about the boys really wanting to do something."
Dimi Petratos returns from Socceroos duty in Chinese Taipei and Olyroos Johnny Koutroumbis and Angus Thurgate will also be back on deck at Jets training Thursday.
Panamanian international Abdiel Arroyo will make his A-League debut at the point of the Jets attack while Nick Fitzgerald and most likely Bobby Burns will also play their maiden derby for Newcastle.
Despite the fresh faces, the Jets haven't made major changes to their style.
"There are a few variations on what we did last year, but it's more about executing better," Boogaard said.
"I think we are dangerous. It will be more of the same with an emphasis on an attacking, entertaining style of football. Throwing numbers are teams and whether it is home or away we will going out there to win each game."
The Mariners, under Alen Stajcic, have overhauled their squad. Simon is one of only three players from the side which lost 5-0 to Melbourne City in the final round last season, expected in the XI against the Jets.
"They have had a full pre-season under the coach and have a lot of new names," Boogaard said. "They played a few different ways in the pre-season. Ultimately for us, we want to set up defensively to nullify them, but our strength is the way we attack and go at teams. If we can get that right, I'm confident we will out-score teams."
