The Newcastle Jets spent the final weekend of winter in warmer weather, jetting to the Gold Coast for pre-season hit-outs against Hyundai A-League rivals Brisbane Roar and Perth Glory.
While no competition points were on offer, Jets’ coach Ernie Merrick was still able to take a number of positives out of the 3-1 loss to Brisbane Roar and the penalty shootout win against Perth Glory.
The majority of the squad saw game time across the two matches, a number of players spent a full 90 minutes on the park for the first time this pre-season.
It wasn’t all football though – the boys made sure they did plenty in the community while on the Gold Coast, running skills and drills sessions with the kids at Gold Coast Knights on Monday afternoon.
They backed this up with a pair of Jets:PLAY clinics, fuelled by Greater Bank, in Lismore and Coffs Harbour on the way home.
Almost 400 young boys and girls from across the north coast came out to see their Jets heroes across those two days, with the players on hand to provide tips, tricks, and signatures to all those who attended.
The Hyundai A-League season is fast approaching, with the Jets set to kick off their campaign on Saturday 19 October against arch-rivals, Central Coast Mariners.
Their first home game is on Saturday 26 October at 5.30pm, against Adelaide United at McDonald Jones Stadium.