You always want a strong start to the season, and since the beginning of the Isuzu UTE A-League back in 2004, that’s what we’ve aimed to do.
Some seasons have seen our Jets men start slow, while in others, we’ve collected points right from the word go.
We’ve dug back through the archives and picked out, in chronological order, five of our best performances and matches from the history of Round One.
LATE DRAMA IN F3 DERBY
In the first game of our Championship season, we were matched up once again with our arch rivals from the Central Coast.
In front of a strong home crowd of over 16,000, played out a back-and-forth tussle in a sign of what was to come later in the season.
Neither side could find a goal for the first 87 minutes, but when Mariners substitute Matt Simon managed a goal, it seemed disappointment would kick in for the first week.
But right on the stroke of full time, the Jets were awarded a penalty and up stepped a cool and calm Joel Griffiths to tuck it home, and send the fans home with a point.
It wasn’t a victory, but it certainly was a riveting way to start the year.
HOFFMAN DOUBLE SEALS HOME WIN
The following season in 2009, we faced a travelling Wellington Phoenix in our first match and we got off to a terrific start.
It took just 12 minutes for youngster Jason Hoffman to find the back of the net with a chipped finish, and almost 12 minutes later, he did it again from close range for a brace.
The momentum swiftly spun back around though as the Phoenix managed two goals through Ben Sigmund and Chris Greenacre to level it up before half-time.
An arm-wrestle ensued over the second half, but in the 84th minute, a debuting Jason Naidovski grabbed the late winner with a rising header.
RYAN GRIFFITHS LEADS A LAST MINUTE VICTORY
To kick off the 2011 Season, Melbourne Heart came to town in front of a 12,000-plus crowd, and the visitors were the ones who struck first.
Dugandzic managed the first goal from close range, but his goal was soon forgotten as Ryan Griffiths pulled out a stunning goal from a free-kick to level the scores.
Griffiths wasn’t done there, and managed a second goal on the stroke of half-time, to give the Jets the lead as we headed into the sheds.
The second half was only five minutes old when Dugandzic managed a second to tie up the scores, and as the game headed towards the final whistle, it seemed certain a draw would be confirmed.
With less than 90 second remaining though, new signing, Byun Sung-Hwan became the hero of the day, scoring the winner from a heavily deflected shot, and erupting the Newcastle crowd in the process.
10-MAN JETS TOUGH IT OUT IN NEW ZEALAND
After finishing last the season before, the Jets were desperate to start their season on the right track but had the hard task of taking on a difficult Wellington team across the ditch.
Things started well for the visitors though, as David Carney nabbed an opening goal thanks to a nipping header.
Phoenix levelled the scores on the stroke of half-time though from an unfortunate own goal and looked like they’d take the lead early in the second half after receiving a penalty. However, that was saved by future Swansea City goalkeeper, Mark Birighitti.
New signing Milos Trifunovic then finally found his debut goal latching onto a cross, and despite losing Nigel Boogard to a second yellow card afterwards, we held on for a great three points.
DERBY DAY DELIGHT
Is there a better way to start the year than a derby victory?
While the beginning of our 2017-18 season started with a Asdrubal goal for Central Coast, we quickly turned things around in a big way away from home.
In his first game against his old club, Roy O’Donovan came alive scoring a first half hat-trick and the side finished off strong too.
Joey Champness and Dimi Petratos both manage goals late in the game to seal a famous 5-1 victory and the perfect way to start a successful season.
