The Newcastle Jets aren’t taking any chances in their quest for supremacy in the A-League Men’s (ALM) competition.
After securing top spot on the ladder, thanks to five consecutive victories, management is keen to extend every courtesy to Mark Milligan’s troops, especially with a demanding schedule ahead of them.
The high-flying outfit will tackle Adelaide United and Perth Glory, both away, over the next six days.
But, instead of returning to Newcastle following the first fixture – at Coopers Stadium on Sunday 8 February, the Jets are set to travel directly to Western Australia for the second showdown on Friday 13 February.
In-form defender Daniel Wilmering believes the timing of the journey could work in the side’s favour.
“It’s really encouraging to know the club’s backing us,” he said.
“Obviously, both Adelaide and Perth are long travel trips, so it can be hard on the body.
“Staying over there, with a day of recovery, will be good physically and mentally.
“Being able to bond with your teammates always helps on the pitch, too.
“So, it should be a good week away.
“But, at the same time, it’s another opportunity to maintain our focus on what our goal is.
“We can’t think about Perth before we get to Adelaide, so the job is the Reds this weekend.
“I guess, after that, we’ll worry about the Glory.
“However, we’re not going [away] to just get a result either.
“We’re targeting two wins and, hopefully, that might draw a crowd of 15,000-plus when we next play at home, against Macarthur.
“It was really encouraging to see more than 12,000 people at McDonald Jones Stadium last week.
“I believe someone said it was the biggest turnout there since 2018.
“But, we’ve got to ensure they return.
“We can’t just pat ourselves on the back; we’ve got to maintain those performances and results.”
Wilmering admitted the big challenge now was keeping their feet on the ground, with so much hype surrounding the young squad.
“It’s really important we don’t think too far ahead,” he told the Newcastle Weekly.
“If we do, we’ll lose sight of what we’re doing, which is wanting to be better every single day and improve every match.
“It sounds cliché, but we’re still taking it game-by-game.
“I know it’s hard not to get caught up with everything, especially after five straight wins and sitting first on the table, however we need to stay the course.
“It’s up to everyone, from the coaches to the boys, to stick together.
“Otherwise, we could take our foot off the gas pedal, which is something we don’t want to do.”
Despite being labelled the “Box Office Jets”, due to Newcastle’s attacking prowess in 2026 alone, Wilmering and his fellow defenders, including keeper James Delianov, equally deserve high praise.
Following the disastrous 5-4 loss to the Bulls on Boxing Day, the team has only conceded four goals in the past five outings.
“We obviously had a bit of work to do from the start of the season,” he said.
“We were letting too many goals in.
“However, we knew once we gelled and got into the swing of things, results would come our way.
“We’ve done plenty of hard work at training, watched lots of video and we’re playing for each other.
“The coaching staff is onto us about every little thing we do, especially defensively.
“So, it’s about executing that attention to detail and, again, improving every game.
“Also, we want to register clean sheets.
“We should have had two in a row but, unfortunately, we’ve let in two softer goals in the past fortnight.
“That’s been the big difference.”
Adelaide won’t be a pushover either, especially at its Coopers Stadium fortress.
The Reds occupy fifth spot, four points behind Newcastle.
“They’re really dangerous at home,” Wilmering said.
“Plus, the atmosphere at the venue is always good.
“It’s like a 12th man for them… that’s what we’re expecting.
“But, it’s important we don’t buy into it and play the way we play.
“It is going to be a very difficult match, no doubt about it.
“However, if we can execute our game plan, then I think we should do well.”
The encounter kicks off at 5pm.
For more sports stories:
- Newcastle Rebels squad locked in for Country Championships title defence
- GALLERY… Historic weekend pushed to background as Jets face tough time on the road
- Knights superstar confident fans will flock to Origin showdown in Newcastle
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