The diminutive utility was 20 years of age and, although on a scholarship at the Jets, opportunities were limited.

Seattle and the USL Championship sounded the ideal fit. Burke signed with the Seattle Sounders 2, the feeder club to Major League Soccer powerhouse.

One season turned into three.

As well as receive regular game time, Burke packed a lifetime of experiences into his kit bag.

Burke zigzagged up the west coast, playing games in California, Texas, Nevada, Arizona, Washington and beyond. He lined up against former Premier League legend Didier Drogba and also had to deal with COVID-19 and a three-month lockdown.

Back in Newcastle, Burke hasn't ruled out returning to the US, but for now his focus is on the A-League and securing a contract at the Jets.

The 23-year-old is among a host of trialists and has spent the past fortnight training with his home town club.

"I'm keen to play senior football back here," Burke said. "The Jets are my main focus. If nothing comes of it, I will look elsewhere."

Jets operations manager Joel Griffiths said Burke and home-grown defender Pat Langlois had done well but the club was also looking at other trialists.

'We know what Burkey and Patty bring to the table," Griffiths said. "They did well, but we need to continue to look at other trialists as well. It is not a no, but we need to look at and assess other players."

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Burke has no doubts that his game is more advanced than when he left.

"I started most games, which is what I went over to do," he said. "I have developed my football and matured. The playing style was a bit more technical, which was good. It was also quick. Some stadiums have synthetic surfaces and the ball moves fast.

"The standard is decent. Phoenix Rising and a couple of the other bigger clubs would do well in the A-League. Most teams would sit between the A-League and a national youth league level.

"There were some big players, MLS legends, who comes down to the second division. We played against Didier Drogba. He owns Phoenix Rising. Landon Donovan owns and coaches the new San Diego team."

Sounders 2, which changed their name to Tacomo Defiance two years ago, train at the same facility as the MLS team.

"We tried to play the same structure in case players from our team got called up," Burke said. "In the season just gone, it was hard with COVID. We couldn't interact with each other."

Burke lived with fellow Australian Jesse Daley, who recently signed with the Brisbane Roar, in a club-owned apartment three minutes from the training facility and 15 minutes from down town Seattle.

"Having two Aussies together felt like we were at home," Burke said. "I enjoyed every moment of it. I got to travel a lot and see new things. In cities like Sacramento, the USL team is the main team in the area and attract crowds of 15,000 and 16,000.

"Even coping through COVID, although hard, was a learning experience.

"We played two games and then went into total lockdown for about three months. We were doing zoom yoga and zoom gym sessions in our apartment. Once we slowly got back into it, we had COVID testing every other day. When the league resumed, we played 14 games in six weeks. Sometimes we were due to play a game and it would be postponed because the opposition had COVID cases. Two of our players tested positive.

"I still talk regularly with my old coach Chris Little. I'll see how things pan out here, but I'd definitely go back."

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