That opportunity came last Friday night when the attacking midfielder earned her first W-League start in over 12 months and did herself no harm of retaining her place with an industrious 90-minute performance in a 2-1 loss to Adelaide United at No.2 Sportsground.

Petratos, the sister of former Jets A-League player of the year Dimi and current Newcastle players Makis and Kosta, is playing her fourth season with the Jets.

The 21-year-old had made 28 appearances, mostly from the bench, leading into this W-League campaign but had not started since January 23 last year.

This season she had been used off the bench in five of seven outings and played a total of 36 minutes before the round-10 clash with the Reds. She was promoted to the starting side in place of suspended Rhianna Pollicina.

"I was nervous because I haven't had a full game, especially with the Jets, in a long time," Petratos told the Newcastle Herald.

"But when I got the ball I felt comfortable and was in the game and then just played."

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The 90-minute effort will give coach Ash Wilson plenty to ponder ahead of Newcastle's round-11 clash with Perth in Perth on Monday night. The Jets can no longer make the top four but are chasing as many points as possible from their remaining four matches.

Petratos linked up well with the attacking third, finding space in tight areas and played well off striker Tara Andrews.

She got on goal a few times, the best effort coming in the 74^th minute when wide player Sunny Franco crossed a neat square ball inside to find an unmarked Petratos in the middle of the park. She took a touch then beautifully struck a long-range effort that was on target and had the Jets fans holding their breath before the ball narrowly missed the goals and instead landed on top of the net.

"It's slack that Mini [Pollicina] got a red card and I came on but when the opportunity is there you've got to take it, and I think I did OK," Petratos said.

"It's going to be a hard decision for Ash. Mini is coming back and she made different changes with other players as well.

"At training everyone is pushing everyone because everyone wants a spot or to be on the bench because there's some girls that do not play every week. So it's always a fight with us trying to get an opportunity."

Petratos covered a lot of ground, getting back to help out the defence as the game reached its final stages.

"Honestly, I thought that I wasn't going to last that long but we've been doing a lot of running at training and Ash had us prepared, so I felt alright still at the end," she said.

"I do feel fitter this season. After last season Ash told me I need to get fitter, so I worked on my fitness and when I came back she noticed the difference straight away and said, 'Just keep working and you'll get your chance'. And I did get my chance and we'll see from there. I want to just keep working hard and hope I get more chances."

Wilson was happy with Petratos' performance.

"I thought she did really well," Wilson said. "She gave us a little bit more control in there at times, to link up with Tars and the other midfielders and provide that good combination in there.

"Her composure was quite impressive for that game and I thought she did well. She's been biding her time and that's the story from her.

"She's worked hard to get into this position and that's what you want to see when people do get their opportunities. That they put in good performances and they take those chances."

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