Marie Dolvik Markussen admits "it has not been the best" start to her A-League venture.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
But the exciting Norwegian forward is keen to make up for lost time and believes the Newcastle Jets will get "better and better" once their season is back on track.
This Sunday's match against Canberra, the first in a Jets double-header at McDonald Jones Stadium, will be Dolvik Markussen's first in almost five weeks.
The 24-year-old's first start of A-League Women (ALW) came at the same venue, when Newcastle routed Wellington Phoenix 5-1 in round two on December 10 and Dolvik Markussen showed the Jets faithful what kind of damage she was capable of up front.
The Norwegian's first appearance, in Newcastle's 3-1 opening-round loss to now runaway leaders Sydney FC, had been limited to 25 minutes off the bench as she managed heel issues that plagued her during pre-season due to the change in surface from synthetic to turf.
Dolvik Markussen missed the Jets' third-round game while isolating as a COVID contact. She featured in their fourth outing - a 1-0 win over Phoenix on December 27 - but did not play their last match, a 1-1 draw with Perth at No.2 Sportsground on January 16, after coming out of isolation for COVID that day.
"It's not been the best [start], but I get past this and just have to look forward," Dolvik Markussen said.
"I'm just trying to build up my load and see how I feel, so I hope I can start."
Despite the disruptions, Dolvik Markussen has only missed two games with three of Newcastle's past four outings postponed as COVID has ripped through their squad and that of rivals.
The Jets have played the least amount of matches of any ALW side and now face the prospect of nine games within the last five weeks of the competition.
They are sixth with eight points, three behind fifth-placed Perth (11) and four adrift of Melbourne Victory and Adelaide, who are third and fourth respectively.
But Dolvik Markussen is confident the signs are there for the Jets to be a top-four team this campaign.
"The combinations are getting better and better," she said. "We're finding each other more and it is getting more natural to play together."
It is the first time the Jets have had international players on their roster since the 2018-19 season. Versatile American Elizabeth Eddy has also proven a key signing in her five appearances, playing in midfield and at fullback.
Both imports came to Australia to test themselves in ALW.
"It's challenging in another way to Norway and there's a lot of good players and I'm just trying to find a rhythm now," Dolvik Markussen said.
Jets coach Ash Wilson has had a full squad back in training this week. They played an intra-club match last Saturday after finding out on Friday that their round-eight clash with Brisbane, scheduled for last Sunday, had been postponed due to COVID cases in the Roar squad.
"We've only had two sessions this week but training has been good," Wilson said on Thursday.
"We're still managing the loads of a couple of players who have little niggles. But, at the moment, they're all available for selection and we're just making sure that we can get them through for tomorrow's tactical session and then we'll have a better idea of who's going to make the 16 for the game.
"The intra-club match was what it needed to be. We got 50 minutes into Marie ... but most, even girls who have predominantly been coming off the bench, were able to get about 85 minutes into their legs.
"That gave me a bit of a chance to play around and look at different people in and out of the starting line-up, which was good."
IN THE NEWS:
Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content:
- Bookmark: newcastleherald.com.
au - Download our app
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter
- Follow us on Instagram
- Follow us on Google News