The Newcastle Jets A-League squad has hosted 400 aspiring young footballers from across Dubbo and Orange in two exclusive Jets:PLAY skills clinics plus treated thousands of fans to a gruelling match against rivals Sydney FC as part of the Jets:TOUR, fuelled by Greater Bank.
It is the fifth year the Jets full Hyundai A-League squad and coaching staff have travelled to key areas within the Club’s regional footprint, and the first year they’ve made it to the Central West.
Newcastle Jets Chief Executive Officer, Mr Lawrie McKinna, said that the Club was excited to engage with the Central West communities for the first time in the history of the Jets:TOUR.
“With Greater Bank’s backing and the additional support of Dubbo Council, we are delighted to take our Club to the community on the Jets:TOUR,” McKinna said.
“These trips provide a great chance for us to meet many of our Members and fans in their backyard, and generally spread the gospel of the game and our Club to these regional communities.”
The Tour kicked off in Dubbo on Friday 20th with a sold-out Jets:PLAY skills clinic for kids aged five to 12 years. The next generation of football stars were treated to skills, drills and fun sessions with players including Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Jason Hoffman and Lewis Italiano, plus, they had the chance to get autographs from their favourite players.
Saturday saw the Jets take on long-time rivals Sydney FC in a pre-season trial supported by Dubbo Council. The teams fought hard on the high-quality pitch at Apex Oval, cheered on by a crowd of over 2,000 fans.
The game also gave local teams the chance to play some curtain-raisers in front of a larger audience. In the Women’s we saw Macquarie United take on RSL and the Men’s saw Dubbo Bulls take on Orana Spurs. The Under 6’s teams even got a run on the pitch at half time.
Greater Bank was there to support the match, providing one lucky winner a $500 Greater Bank account for winning the half-time competition, a ‘Best Goal Celebration Challenge’. Greater Charitable Foundation partners, Clontarf, were also provided tickets to come and watch the match hosted by local Greater Bank staff from the Dubbo branch.
As a recovery session on Sunday, the Jets again hosted 200 aspiring footballers for a Jets:PLAY clinic, this time in Orange, before heading back on the Jets bus for the trip back to Newcastle.
With a bye in the first round of the 2019-20 A-League season, the Jets will be in action for the first time in Round 2 when they are away to Central Coast Mariners before returning to McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday 26 October to take on Adelaide United.