After playing Central Coast Mariners approximately a fortnight ago in Gosford, the U18s Newcastle Jets take on Weston Bears at Rockwell Automation Park on Sunday, in their second trial game of the 2023 pre-season.
As was the case with CCM there are numerous players from the u18s squad “playing up” as well as younger players from U16s joining the team. The results and scores from these games are not as important as players getting game time and improving their fitness.
Weston Bears vs Newcastle Jets at Rockwell Automation Park, Weston on Sunday 4th December 2022.
Youth kick off at 3:00pm
U20s kick off at 1:00pm
U18s kick off at 11:00am
Sydney FC vs U16s Newcastle Jets Pre-season Trial Game twelve months ago. The match was played at Valentine Sports Park Sydney on Sunday 5/12/2021.
U16s Newcastle Jets:Alex Nunes 34, Janni Rafty 35, Kai Herd 38, Cooper Vimpani 39, Pharell Trainor 44, Zac Major 45, Caleb Reed 47, Sam Esquilant 48, George Tsamouras 49, Angus Muddle 50, Luca West 52 subs: Seth Anderson 37, Angus Martin 40, Kynan Watkins 41, Max Cooper 51
All Newcastle Jets training was cancelled on Thursday morning to give all Academy players the opportunity to watch Australia’s night of glory in the FIFA World Cup.
In the third and final match of Group D against Denmark, Australia recorded a 1-0 victory which secured second spot in the group and a place in the final 16!
This is the second time in Australia’s history we have reached the Final 16, 2006 being the first! Our opponent in this knockout phase of the World Cup is twice world Champion Argentina!
The difference in pedigree is enormous and the Argentinian captain Lionel Mesi, will be playing in his last world cup. The match will be played on Sunday 4th December at 6:00am.
Australia’s road to glory finds them against an opponent who is a favourite for the title.
Whatever happens on Sunday morning, these performances by the Socceroos are the bread and butter for the young Newcastle Jets players who wake up at 5.30 every morning to go to training. They serve as a role model for every young Australian footballer, that if you work hard enough, anything is possible in the World Game.
In hot and windy conditions at Central Coast Sports College, Kariong on Sunday afternoon, Central Coast Mariners proved too hard a nut to crack for the U18s Newcastle Jets, running out victors by 4-0!
Playing without half a dozen players from the team that won the 2022 Youth League Two Premiership and Grand Final, only seven weeks earlier, the Jets looked slow and disjointed. CCM looked quicker to the ball, played a better passing game and pressed up when not in possession. They scored three goals in the first half and one in the second and didn’t appear to be threatened by the Jets.
Although this is certainly not a result most would have hoped for, it is early in the pre-season and a useful exercise from which the technical staff can draw conclusions.
Next week there will be another intra-club match followed by games against Edgeworth Eagles and Weston FC, the week after.
Central Coast Mariners vs Newcastle Jets at Central Coast Sports College, Kariong on Sunday 20th November 2022.
2022 U16s Newcastle Jets – Premiers & Grand-Final winners
U18s Newcastle Jets take on Central Coast Mariners in the first trial match for the 2023 season! The Jets commenced training on the 31 October and after intra-club matches over the past two weekends will face their first opponent at the Central Coast Sports College at Kariong.
On paper the team features few changes to the squad which won the Premiership and Grand Final in the 2022 season in the u16s age group. Against Central Coast Mariners however, as many as 6 of those players will be unavailable as they will be either away or “playing up” in the U20s!
It’s a time in the year where coaching staff experiment with players in different positions and even different age groups. It’s an opportunity for players to take on new challenges and younger additions, to step up and be counted.
Following the Central Coast Mariners, matches against Edgeworth Eagles, Weston FC, Sydney Olympic and Rydalmere FC are also planned before a short break over Christmas.
Central Coast Mariners vs Newcastle Jets at Central Coast Sports College, Kariong on Sunday 20th November 2022.
Rale Rasic & U18s Newcastle Jets player George Tsamouras
The legendary Rale Rasic, Australia’s first Socceroos World Cup Coach was in Newcastle over the weekend, invited to a coaching clinic by Northern NSW NPL side Valentine Eleebana FC.
Rale Rasic led the Socceroos to the 1974 World Cup in West Germany at a time when the World Cup finals were contested by 16 finalists, compared to 32 of today, and when Australian soccer players all played locally and were part-timers!
Rasic immigrated to Australia in 1962, played football in the Victorian league and was appointed national coach in 1970 at just 26 years of age. He coached Australia in 58 international matches from 1970 to 1974 and masterminded Australia’s qualification and participation at the 1974 FIFA World Cup.
In 1974 Rasic was listed among the top 34 coaches in the world by German Soccer expert Fritz Hack and in 1977 and 1987 he was voted the national league coach of the year. In 1989 he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame and in 2004 was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia for his service to soccer as a player, a coach and administrator.
This was the background of the now 87-year-old Rale who took time out to speak to U18s Newcastle Jets player George Tsamouras and myself about his illustrious football journey. In the half hour spent, we covered the two Newcastle players, Ray Baartz and Col Curran who were part of the 1974 squad, his memory of meeting with the legendary captain of Brazil, Socrates, as well as memories of the highs and lows of 51 years of service to Australia!
We wish Rale a happy stay in Newcastle and hope he returns to us again in the future. It was an absolute honour to have met this icon of Australian football.
After a four week break the Newcastle Jets Academy begin their pre-season programme for the 2023 season on Monday! The champion U16s squad have all been retained and moved up to the U18s age division. Only two players from this group have not been included in this squad. One remains in the u16s age group and the other joins the u20s age group.
Training begins on Monday morning 31st October and finishes on Sunday 18th December before a short break over the Christmas period. Training during this period will be held at LMRFF, Ray Watt oval and University No2.
The first two weekends include intra club games while in the remaining weeks trial matches against Central Coast Mariners, Edgeworth Eagles, Weston, Sydney Olympic and Rydalmere FC.
New challenges lay ahead particularly in the Youth League One division that the Academy has gained promotion!
Let the 2023 journey begin and good luck to all the players, coaching staff and their families.
At its meeting on 21 September 2022, the Board of Football NSW considered all applications submitted by Clubs seeking to participate in the 2023 season.
These include the Men’s, Women’s, Boys’ and Girls’ leagues that will be conducted by Football NSW in the 2023 season.
The Board of Football NSW has declared the successful applicants for its 2023 Outdoor Competitions.
Newcastle Jets were crowned Champions of the FNSW Boy’s Youth League Two after defeating Hills United FC 3-2 at Valentine Sports Park in Sydney! After collecting the Premiership two weeks earlier, the season ended by adding the second biggest prize, the 2022 Grand Final!
Celebrations began early for the Newcastle Jets with the U13s team who also claimed the Premiership, adding the Grand Final in a dramatic 4-2 win over NWS Spirit FC in extra time! The U15s followed this up with a brilliant performance against St. George City but were denied their triumph by a soft penalty decision, minutes from full time. The final score was a 2-1 loss! This was a cruel result given their domination of play but sometimes the better doesn’t always win.
With games going into overtime and others being delayed due to lightening, the stage was set for the third and final show down of the day between u16s Newcastle Jets and Hills United FC! Without doubt, the two best teams of the season, and with only 2 points separating them on the points table, the gloves were off for who was going to win this duel.
The match began at a frantic pace and a routine clearance by the Hills United goalkeeper resulted in the ball ending up at the feet of a Newcastle player who had no problem burying it into the net! No sooner had celebrations settled down, a teasing corner from Hills resulted in the Newcastle goalkeeper tipping the ball over the cross bar, only for the ball to hit the cross bar and come straight down instead of going over for a corner! A Hills forward tapped-it-in to level the score at 1-1!
Minutes later an attack by the Jets from the right resulted in a perfect low lying cross into the Hills United box and a Newcastle forward outpacing the Sydney defenders, buried the ball into an empty net! The huge Newcastle crowd at Valentine Sports Park was elated while the Hills United supported silenced.
With 2-1 on the score board a harmless pass across the field outside the Newcastle box resulted in an interception by a Hills player and the ensuing cross was quickly converted to 2-2! The Sydney supporters were over the moon while the Novocastrians were convinced this game was not over!
With three minutes from half time a cross from the left by the Jets resulted in a glancing header and the ball tucked perfectly into the far post of an outstretched Hills United goalkeeper! The half time whistle found the Jets leading by 3-2 and the spectators of both teams anticipating what was yet to come in the second half!
The second half began with a careless tackle by a Hills United FC defender outside the box. The referee issued a yellow card, but because the same player had received another yellow in the first half, this was accompanied by a red and Hills United were reduced to 10 players for the remainder of the match! The effect of this send-off on the game was that Hills United could not pose the same threat in attack as they did in the first half.
The Jets leading 3-2, continued to dominate possession and threaten the Hills United goal at every opportunity. They played out the half controlling the game and not allowing their opponent to threaten their goal until the final whistle!
Wild celebrations erupted after the match by Jets supporters and players. Celebrations by u16s Newcastle Jets coaching staff, players and their families continued at a team dinner upon their return to Newcastle!
Premiership, Grand-Final and promotion to FNSW Boy’s Youth League One all in one season! It doesn’t get any better than that!
Congratulations to all. Worthy Champions!
FNSW Boy’s Youth League Two Grand-Finals at Valentine Sports Park Sydney on Saturday 24/9/2022:
U16s Newcastle Jets vs Hills United 3-2
U15s St George City FA vs Newcastle Jets 2-1
U13s Newcastle Jets vs NWS Spirit FC 4-2
Newcastle Jets: Angus Martin 35, Giles Harrison 36, Caleb Reed 38, Pharrell Trainor 39, Reinhard Lloyd 40, Max Cooper 41, George Tsamouras 43, Cooper Vimpani 45, Luca West 46, Jordan Gu 48, Ethan Lewis 50, Subs: Kynan Watkins 37, Zac Major 42, Kruze Davidson 44, Patrick Innes 66, Seth Anderson 90
Ηills United:Jacob Seaman 1(GK), Lucas Simmons 2, Adhithya Krishna 4, Alexander Douglas Hamilton 5, Mitchell Seaman 8, Harvey James 9, Charles Saul 10, Thomas Dobaj 11, Lachlan Powell 12, Marco Blazevic 13, Zachary Sparkes 16 Subs: Eren Kadayifci 3, Jordi MFulete 15, Sepand Shafazand 17, Lewyn Mortensen 18, Xavier Dalpra 28, Ishan Mani Dixit 30, Trypp Andrew Mclachlan 31
Cards:44’ Kynan Watkins (yellow) 69’ George Tsamouras (yellow) 26’ & 45’ Marco Blazevic (2 yellow and 1 red)
Newcastle Jets converge on Valentine Sports Park in Sydney today to contest three Grand-Finals in the 2022 FNSW Boy’s Youth League Two competition. Newcastle Jets is the only club NSW to be represented by three teams in the year’s Grand-Finals. St. George City, Hills United and NWS Spirit are all represented by two teams while Rydalmere Lions are represented by one.
U16s FNSW Boy’s Youth League Two Premiers, Newcastle Jets, have trained well all week and go into this match having collected the Premiership as well as promotion to League One in 2023. A win today will be icing on the cake and a conclusion to a season in which they will have achieved 100% of their targets.
Hills United will have different ideas as they finished the season a mere 2 points behind the Jets and despite also winning promotion to League One next season too, they will be very hungry to win an honor.
Whatever happens, this will be a game by two evenly matched opponents and should prove the experience of a lifetime to the players of both teams.
U15s Newcastle Jets also concluded their preparation well ahead of this game. The Jets were narrowly defeated 1-0 in Sydney at the hands of St. George City and narrowly beat them 3-2 in the return game in Newcastle.
Both teams are equally balanced but given that St. George has claimed the Premiership, this is an opportunity for the u15s Newcastle Jets to win a trophy in an otherwise, successful season. It would also be a great confidence boost for the team who depart for Coffs Harbor the following day after the Grand-Final to participate in the Australian Nationals.
U13s FNSW Boy’s Youth League Two Premiers, Newcastle Jets, have also concluded their preparation well and will be going into this match hoping to defeat NWS Spirit FC for the first time this season! Having won the premiership and promotion to League One for 2023, a win today will be icing on the cake! It will also be a great confident boost to the team who are also departing for Coffs Harbor on Sunday for participation in the Australian Nationals.
Newcastle Jets:Angus Martin 35, Giles Harrison 36, Caleb Reed 38, Pharrell Trainor 39, Reinhard Lloyd 40, Max Cooper 41, George Tsamouras 43, Cooper Vimpani 45, Luca West 46, Jordan Gu 48, Ethan Lewis 50, Subs: Kynan Watkins 37, Zac Major 42, Kruze Davidson 44, Patrick Innes 66, Seth Anderson 90
Rydalmere Lions:Adrian-Jamie Bazina 1, Cooper Van Den Burg 4, Tristan Boutros 5, Marc Bounassif 6, Gian La Grazia 9, Prayaag Darshan Thapa 10, Kale James de la Cruz 11, Callum McNamara 12, Zac Zarrino 14, Bassam Jallal Sabbagh 16, Zac Chong 28, subs: Christian Podetti 3, Zachary Pace 7, Rhys Van Den Burg 13, Zac Saitis 19, Ray Wilson 30, Remy Freiha 31
Cards: 65’ Giles Harrison (yellow) 34’ Zac Saitis (yellow)
U16s Newcastle Jets, Premiers of the FNSW Youth League Two, will face Hills United in the Grand Final on Saturday at Valentine Sports Park in Sydney. These two teams finished 1st and 2nd after 30 rounds of football throughout the 2022 season.
In Round 15 of the season in Sydney the result between the two teams was 3-3! The Jets were leading 3-0 until the last 20 minutes when they had a player sent off and Hills were able to capitalize on this and salvage a draw. In Round 30 and after the Newcastle Jets had been crowned Premiers a week earlier, Hills United defeated them 4-0!
The Newcastle Jets team played Rydalmere Lions in the semi-finals and were locked at 0-0 after normal time as well as in extra time. They were able to qualify for the Grand Final by winning 5-3 in a penalty shoot-out! Hills on the other hand defeated Nepean FC 2-1 in normal time after being locked at 1-1 at half time.
Both teams have proven themselves as the best two sides in the division and will be playing in FNSW Youth League One next season. They have equal chances of winning the Grand Final and the team that can adapt to the conditions of the game on the day will probably be the victor.
U15s Newcastle Jets who finished the season in 2nd place will face the Premiers St George City FA for the Grand Final, also at Valentine Sports Park. In Round 7 St George was able to defeat the Jets 1-0 in Sydney with a goal scored on the last minute of play. In Round 22 at Speers Point the Jets defeated St George 3-2.
In the Semi-Final the Jets had little difficulty disposing NWS Spirit FC 4-1 while St. George easily overcame Hills United by 3-1. There is very little between these two teams and the winner in the Grand-Final will be determined by whichever team is able to adapt to the conditions of the game on the day!
Finally, u13s Newcastle Jets, Premiers of the FNSW Youth League Two, will face NWS Spirit FC in their Grand-Final in the same venue. In the two games played during the season NWS Spirit defeated the Jets on both occasions by 4-2 in Sydney and 1-0 in Newcastle. In the semi-final fixtures Newcastle Jets overcame South Coast Flame by 3-1 while NWS Spirit defeated Hakoah Sydney City East FC by the same score.
Both teams are of equal strength, and anything is possible in the Grand-Final. As in the case with the other two matches, the winner will be determined by the side which adapts better to the conditions of the game on the day.
George Tsamouras Football Journey 