AS Emily van Egmond looked towards the Matildas' final hurdle in Olympic qualification, one of Australia's most experienced footballers was also thinking of home.
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Speaking to media from her United States base of San Diego before joining the Matildas in Dubai this week, the 30-year-old expressed delight at how the Newcastle Jets were tracking this A-League Women's campaign.
The Jets have not played finals since 2017-18, when van Egmond was part of the side, but are sixth and in contention with five rounds remaining.
"Newcastle is always a hard-working team, no matter what, and it's just pleasing to see they're getting some results for that now ... I'm hoping they can go all the way this year," van Egmond said.
The Dudley Redhead United Football Club junior, who has 139 caps for her country, sparked the Jets' season with a vital four-game guest stint in November-December before rejoining San Diego for another National Women's Soccer League campaign.
"It was a young, youthful squad and a lot of girls who probably haven't ever had that opportunity to play at that level coming in, and for them to be there and be part of it was fantastic to see," van Egmond said.
"The young guns like Emma Dundas, who's 16, that just speaks volume of what they're doing at Newcastle with their academies and their programs from junior football all the way to the A-League W side."
A key player driving Newcastle's success has been Philippines international Sarina Bolden, who is second behind recalled Matildas striker Michelle Heyman in the race for the A-League Women's golden boot.
"She's a goalscorer and that's what you need in that league," van Egmond said.
"She's got a great vibe to her. She's positive. She's energetic. She's a winner, which for me was the most important thing, and I think her performances are speaking volumes of that."
Pre-season training with the Wave has been "a grind", but has the versatile World Cup star in "pretty good shape" for the Matildas' home-and-away Olympic qualifier with Uzbekistan.
They trade blows in Tashkent on Saturday before the return leg in Melbourne on Wednesday.
"It will be a tough challenge for us," van Egmond said.
"Japan only beat them 2-0, so we're expecting a compact team, probably sitting in a low block to make it difficult for us to break through.
"In the past, we've focused on what we can do and what we can control, and that's what we'll be doing going into these two games as they're extremely important for us to try to get the results to qualify for Paris."