JETS goalkeeper Lewis Italiano will take comfort from the reassuring presence of skipper Nigel Boogaard in Saturday's daunting clash with A-League champions Sydney FC at McDonald Jones Stadium.
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Boogaard is set to return after missing eight games with a fractured leg, and the central defender will bring much-needed leadership and experience to a Newcastle team who are winless in their past 11 games.
The 34-year-old trained strongly on Thursday and, along with his long-term sidekick Nikolai Topor-Stanley, will be entrusted with the challenge of shutting down Sydney's star-studded strike force.
"Of course, it's always good to have our skipper back in the team, in front of me," Italiano said.
"He's a good leader, on and off the field, so it's good having him playing his part. He has a huge role for us."
At the other end of the pitch, veteran Irish striker Roy O'Donovan is also available again, after missing Newcastle's 3-1 loss to Melbourne City last week through suspension.
"Another experienced head up top, which helps the young boys around him," Italiano said.
"He can direct them into the right runs, which they need to do, so with the skipper coming back in the backline and Roy up top, you've got experience throughout the field."
Italiano, who has played the past eight games in Newcastle's starting line-up after displacing Jack Duncan, said spirits were still high among his teammates, despite their lean trot since their last win, against Melbourne Victory on February 21.
"It's obviously very difficult when you don't get a win," he said.
"We play to win every game. Obviously it hasn't gone that way.
"Morale in the team, you can see it here today, it's still quite strong. It's very positive. We're just focusing on game in, game out."
Newcastle are last on the ladder, two points behind Melbourne Victory, who have a game in hand.
With six games remaining, the finals are out of reach but Italiano was confident Newcastle could make some progress up the ladder, starting against the two-time defending champions.
"It's still close," he said.
"I had a look [at the points table] this morning after last night's games. There still is hope, and there still is potential that we can climb up the ladder.
"If we can do things our way and get that run going, then we can jump up a couple of places."
AAP reports: Melbourne City striker Jamie Maclaren scored a double in City's 3-1 win over Perth Glory at HBF Park on Wednesday, taking his career tally to 101 A-League goals. It also extended his lead in this season's Golden Boot race.
Maclaren now has 22 goals - a whopping 11 goals clear of Macarthur FC's Matt Derbyshire in second place.