THE Newcastle Jets open their 2023-24 campaign with one of the toughest assignments in the A-League - a road trip to Perth - but coach Rob Stanton is confident his new-look squad is ready.
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The Jets take on the Glory at HBF Park on Sunday night.
In 26 previous visits to the West, Newcastle have returned with just three wins. The last time the Jets grabbed three points in Perth was a 2-1 triumph in 2017. They went on to contest the grand final that season.
Although finishing ninth last season, Perth only lost two games at home. The Glory have a new coach, former Matidas boss Alen Stajcic, and possibly new owners.
"Perth will be a good team and we are away, which is always difficult," Stanton said. "They have some changes happening, maybe new owners. They have a new coach and will have something to prove.
"There is a bit of excitement there. We are going to have work really hard.
"I feel really good and positive about the players. They have shown me enough in pre-season to suggest we are going to be a competitive team."
The Jets finalised preparations for the new season with a 2-all draw against Western Sydney Wanderers at Maitland on Friday.
It was the Jets' ninth game against A-League opposition in the pre-season. They finished with three wins, three draw and three losses.
"We have had a really good pre-season," said Stanton, who will take charge for his first A-League game. "The players are starting to connect with each other and understand the system."
Captain Brandon O''Neill will miss the game on suspension after receiving a red card for two bookable offences in the 3-2 loss to Brisbane in the Australia Cup.
The XI which started against Wanderers is likely get the nod for the season open.
The players are starting to connect with each other and understand the system.
- ROB STANTON
The Jets had the better of play for the majority of the final hit out. They were dangerous in attack, especially in transition.
The combination of Lucas Mauragis, Clayton Taylor and Apostolos Stamatelopoulos cut the Wanderers to shreds down left.
Stamatelopoulos scored the opener from a Trent Buhagiar cross. Mauragis set up Buhagiar for the second. Both goals came from winning possession and breaking quickly.
"A lot of our goals have been coming from quick build-ups," Stanton said. "I think the fans will like that. They will appreciate our ability to go forward and entertain. That is what we want to do.
"We have areas to work on. I saw glimpse of sloppy defending. We are a young team. If someone is going to score against us we want to make them really earn it."
Stamatelopoulos and Buhagiar enter the season in goal-scoring form.
"The partnership is the key," Stamatelopoulos said. "They are working so well together. I couldn't be happier with them. They have both scored seven goals each this pre-season. That is from their hard work and the team's hard work."
Stamatelopoulos has returned to the Jets after two seasons in Greece.
"I feel like this is pretty much going to be my first year in the A-league where, hopefully, I am going to play consistently," Stamatelopoulos said. "I want to make the most of it. I have a point to prove and I want to score goals. With Trent's speed, Dane Ingham's speed, Clayton Taylor, Lucas Mauragis ... we have a lot of speed and we want to run over the top of teams.
"Now we are starting to learn to control the ball a bit more because it's not sustainable to play at that pace for 90 minutes. Once we get that, we will be unstoppable."
Jets likely (4-4-2): Ryan Scott; Lucas Mauragis, Mark Natta, Jason Hoffman, Carl Jenkinson; Dane Ingham, Kosta Grozos, Jason Barthomier, Clayton Taylor; Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, Trent Buhagiar.
