It may only be round five but Ash Wilson knows time is running out for Newcastle to make their move.
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That is why the Jets coach has rated the outcome of their clash with Western Sydney at No.2 Sportsground on Saturday as crucial to her side's top-four hopes.
With the W-League yet to reach a full home-and-away format, each of the nine sides only plays 12 games in the preliminary season.
Newcastle had a bye first up then lost 2-1 to Wanderers and Sydney before drawing 1-1 with Brisbane at McDonald Jones Stadium last Sunday.
"We're a quarter of the way through the season and that's the harsh thing; that we haven't got off to the start that we wanted," Wilson said.
"We've probably had performances that warrant us having a few more points, and that's the unfortunate nature of the season. So we're in a situation where every game counts and if we are looking to push for finals we need to make sure that we are winning every game from here on in.
"For us the performance is massively important. The win is massively important and we need to do whatever we have to do to get that."
Midfielder Chloe O'Brien has been nursing a hamstring strain and was the only player in doubt with Wilson expected to name a similar starting side to last round.
Western Sydney's only win of their three outings has been against the Jets but eighth-placed Newcastle could propel themselves above their seventh-placed opponents by reversing the result on Saturday.
"They were fairly aggressive, particularly for the first 20 minutes, and put us under a lot of pressure," Wilson said. "They've got a good outlet in [forward] Leena Khamis, who likes to come and get the ball and bring people in, and they've got a very solid defensive centre-back in Caitlin Cooper.
"We took a bit to settle into that game. For us it's about being a bit more calm and composed right from the start and continuing to move the ball, get into good areas and look for where we can find those free players.
"The quality of our delivery and execution in the final third is something that we're really looking to improve on from previous weeks and just being a little bit more ruthless when we are creating those chances."
The match kicks off at 4.05pm.
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