Caretaker coach Ash Wilson expects the replacements for regular starters Libby Copus-Brown and Nicki Flannery to make the most of their opportunity when the Newcastle Jets host Perth Glory at McDonald Jones Stadium on Thursday night.
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Midfielder Copus-Brown has started in all eight of the Jets' games this season but misses the Glory clash through suspension.
Strike weapon Nicki Flannery, who scored in Newcastle's 2-1 win over Perth in round four, is sidelined with an ankle injury.
Teigan Collister is the likely starting replacement for Flannery while midfielder Paige Kingston-Hogg is in contention for her starting debut. The 19-year-old made her W-League debut in the opening round of the season and has come off the bench each game since, including a 30-minute stint against Glory that earned praise from coach Craig Deans.
Sophie Nenadovic is another option. She plays defence and midfield and has 36 W-League appearances under her belt but has not played this season due to injury. Nenadovic and utility Renee Pountney, who was also sidelined through injury for the start of the season, have been named in the match-day squad. Attacking player Lauren Allan has come off the bench every game this season and has shown some promising signs.
"[Paige and Lauren] have done well; they've been training well, they've come off the bench and done jobs for us and obviously the opportunity is there for them now," Wilson said.
"Obviously Renee and Sophie have come in as well and Teigan came on when Nicki got injured after 10 minutes on the weekend and she did a pleasing job for us as well. Through this back end of the season, with a few people out at the moment, is a great opportunity for players and it's up to them to take that opportunity."
While the seventh-placed Jets can mathematically still make the finals, a loss to eighth-placed Glory tonight would put them closer to the bottom of the table.
"We're not hiding from the fact that we need to win and the girls are motivated to keep winning," Wilson said.
"They understand that making the finals is probably not quite within their own hands and their own control now but they want to make sure that they finish as high as they possibly can.
"We have to win, and that's something that spurs them on too. I think that they're a team that performs a bit better when potentially their back's up against a wall because they know they have to fight."
Kick-off is at 7.30pm.