The match brought Newcastle to the halfway point in their W-League season. A win in Melbourne would have put them on level terms with Victory and within striking distance of the top four.

Instead they were left languishing on four points with Melbourne City, who they face in round eight, and Western Sydney Wanderers, who drew 2-2 with Adelaide at Marconi Stadium earlier on Sunday.

Only Perth, who have one point from three outings, are below the three sides. The Jets remained in sixth place with a superior goal difference but face what could be a season-defining match against City in Melbourne next Saturday.

Unbeaten Sydney lead with 15 points and play second-placed Canberra (11 points) at Jubilee Stadium on Monday night. Victory, Adelaide and Brisbane all have 10 points.

Victory came out firing on home soil and had taken a decisive 3-0 lead by half-time after what Jets coach Ash Wilson described as "a disappointing first half".

"They were their own worst enemy again," Wilson said. "There was not a lot of quality with the ball and conceding three goals in one half doesn't really help put a case forward for you.

"It was a better second-half performance but the damage had been done. You can't give teams like Melbourne Victory that much of a head start and you have to make sure that you're playing to your potential right from the kick-off, not because a team goes so far ahead they force your hand."

Victory took a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute through Melina Ayres. Jets centre-back Hannah Brewer cleared the ball under pressure but it fell to midfielder Amy Jackson, whose miscued shot found Melina Ayres unmarked just inside the 18-yard box and the Victory striker controlled the ball with her right foot then fired it into the net with her left.

Newcastle were then put under a mountain of pressure by a slick Victory side and proved wasteful with the ball under the pressure.

The visitors began to show some threatening signs through the middle portion of the first half but two goals in the space of as many minutes right before half-time proved critical.

Victory made it 2-0 in the 41^st minute when Claudia Burge headed into goal from close range off a corner. Jets goalkeeper Nicole Simonsen, who replaced Claire Coelho in the only change to the Jets' starting side, got a hand to the ball and slowed its momentum but could not stop it crossing the goal line. Then one minute later, Catherine Zimmerman slipped the ball through the Jets defence for Kyra Cooney-Cross to fire into the bottom right corner.

The Jets gave a much better account of themselves as they staged a second-half fightback and Tara Andrews gave the Jets the break they needed when she fired a left-footed shot into the top right corner after a free kick in the 48^th minute.

It was Andrews who proved the catalyst to the Jets' second goal. She won the ball around halfway, played it to Newcastle right-back Tessa Tamplin, who sent the ball long and found Rhianna Pollicina deep in Melbourne territory to lob Victory goalkeeper Gabriela Garton from outside the 18-yard box in the 76^th minute.

But Ayres sealed the win, and a match brace, when she scored in the 81^st minute with a left-footed strike from the right edge of the 18-yard box. Jets goalkeeper Nicole Simonsen got her hand to the ball but could not stop the goal.

Matildas striker Lisa De Vanna started on the bench for Victory but came on at half-time and proved dangerous throughout the second half.

City lost 2-0 to unbeaten leaders Sydney at AAMI Park on Thursday night.

Points: Sydney 15, Canberra 11, Brisbane 10, Victory 10, Adelaide 10, Jets 4, City 4, Wanderers 4, Perth 1.