Carl Robinson has named his first squad as Newcastle Jets Head Coach, ahead of this weekend’s trip to Western Sydney.
The boss will have his side bolstered by the return of Glen Moss, who is in good shape having battled to overcome a calf injury he sustained in the loss to Sydney FC in early January.
Moss battle it out for Lewis Italiano for a spot between the sticks, with the Kiwi training strongly throughout the week but he’s no guarantee to start on Saturday.
Another question is just who will take up the spot in the midfield left vacant by the injury to Ben Kantarovski?
Angus Thurgate came on in the early stages of last weekend’s win over the Central Coast Mariners and played well, passing with a success rate of more than 90% and touching the ball more than 75 times.
He’ll battle for a spot in that midfield with the likes of Matt Ridenton and Pat Langlois, who have both trained strongly this week and will be keen to put their mark on proceedings in front of the new boss.
Not named in the squad this weekend is Wes Hoolahan, who is still pushing hard to get himself back to 100% fitness before he returns to the competitive arena.
Newcastle Jets FC Squad: 1.Glen MOSS (gk), 2.Bobby BURNS, 3.Jason HOFFMAN, 4.Nigel BOOGAARD (c), 6.Steven UGARKOVIC, 7.Roy O’DONOVAN, 9.Abdiel ARROYO, 10.Dimi PETRATOS, 11.Nick FITZGERALD, 14.Kaine SHEPPARD, 16.Matt MILLAR, 18.Johnny KOUTROUMBIS, 19.Kosta PETRATOS, 20.Lewis ITALIANO (gk), 23.Matt RIDENTON, 25.Jack SIMMONS, 28.Pat LANGLOIS, 29.Connor O’TOOLE, 32.Angus THURGATE, 44.Nikolai TOPOR-STANLEY (2-4 to be omitted)
Ins: 1.Glen MOSS (return from injury), 25.Jack SIMMONS (promoted), 28.Pat LANGLOIS (promoted), 29.Connor O’TOOLE (promoted)
Outs: 5.Ben KANTAROVSKI (injured), 30.Keegan HUGHES (omitted)
Unavailable: 5.Ben KANTAROVSKI (quad – 4-6 weeks), 22.Lachlan JACKSON (knee – indefinite), 40.Noah JAMES (hand – 3 months)
