After 16 rounds of the season, the Jets are equal last on the ladder with Central Coast on 13 points and have the worst for-and-against record in the competition.

They are nine points adrift of the top six, with 10 rounds to play, and all but their staunchest supporters have begrudgingly accepted that they will be spectators once the finals kick off.

But the return last week of Irish striker Roy O'Donovan, after a half-season stint with Brisbane Roar, has reunited arguably the most deadly pairing in the Jets' history.

O'Donovan did not score in last week's 4-3 win against the Mariners, but it was no coincidence that his partner in the sublime, Dimi Petratos, picked up a double.

In tandem, O'Donovan and Petratos have forged a remarkable record since arriving at Newcastle for the start of the 2017-18 season.

Their first game together, also an F3 derby, set the tone.

O'Donovan scored a hat-trick and Petratos found the net in a memorable 5-1 drubbing at Central Coast Stadium on October 7, 2017.

Since that game, the Jets have appeared in a further 71 A-League fixtures, for an overall record of 29 wins, 14 draws and 29 losses.

That equates to a 40.8 winning percentage, or a grand tally of 101 competition points.

Petratos has played in 69 of those games, missing only three, but O'Donovan, because of injury, suspension and his move to Brisbane, has managed just 36 outings in Newcastle colours.

O'Donovan and Petratos have played alongside each other only 35 times. Of those 35 games, they have helped the Jets to 18 wins, six draws and 11 losses.

That's a win ratio of 51.4 per cent, or 60 competition points.

Compare that to the 37 games in which one, or both, have been absent.

Those have delivered 11 wins, eight draws and 18 defeats. That's a 29.7 per cent winning strike rate, or 41 premiership points.

Newcastle's goal tally, too, highlights how much more dangerous they are when the names O'Donovan and Petratos are both on the team sheet.

In their 35 games together, the Jets have scored 68 goals, at an average of close to two per game.

In the remaining 37 games, they have managed just 41 goals, at slightly better than one each game.

Petratos's brace on the weekend took him to 22 goals for the Jets. Sixteen of them have come in the 35 games playing alongside O'Donovan, and just six in 34 games without him.

Playing with the Irishman, Petratos has a 45.7 per cent scoring strike rate. Over the rest of his A-League career (20 goals in 124 games), he drops to 16.1 per cent.

Likewise, statistics suggest O'Donovan benefits from his combination with Petratos.

In their 35 games together, he has scored 19 goals at 54.2 per cent. His remaining 26 A-League goals have come in 58 A-League games, at 44.8 per cent.

In 19 of their 35 games together, at least one of the pair has scored. In those 35 games, they have contributed 35 goals.

Their overall combined tally for Newcastle of 42 goals represents 38.5 per cent of the team's 109 goals.

In the two games they both missed, in 2017-18, the Jets drew 2-all with Melbourne City and were thrashed 5-2 in Adelaide.

In the only game that O'Donovan has played for Newcastle without Petratos riding shotgun, in February last year, he scored a goal in a 3-1 win against Melbourne City.

Newcastle coach Carl Robinson said this week he believes Socceroo Petratos can find "another level".

Perhaps O'Donovan's return will provide the perfect launchpad.

Petratos said it was "like he [O'Donovan] has never left", adding that the pair had a "great relationship", on and off the pitch.

"Roy makes very good runs and the defenders have to focus a lot on him," he said. "If he comes to the ball, I go behind. We've got a good understanding and, of course, teams are scared of him."

It remains to be see if their reunion can prove the catalyst that inspires a late charge towards the finals.

Stranger things have happened. Suffice to say that with O'Donovan and Petratos up front, the Jets won't be last on the A-League ladder for long. The only question is how many rungs they will climb, and how quickly.