Newcastle have two draws and two defeats in the A-League, but their chances and fixture load suggest there’s room to recover.
Newcastle’s early results are poor, but the clearest explanation may be the demands on a club adjusting to major change while playing across three competitions. Mark Milligan’s Jets have gone four A-League Men matches without a win, yet their chance creation offers a reason to wait before drawing firm conclusions.
Results lag behind the performances
A 2-1 loss to Perth Glory in Matchweek 4 left Newcastle with two draws and two defeats, placing them 10th on the ladder. The Jets have also been eliminated from the Australia Cup in the round of 32 and lost all four of their Asian Champions League Elite fixtures.
On A-Leagues: On the Whistle, former A-League players Kosta Barbarouses and Erik Paartalu pointed to the strain of competing in the continental tournament. Barbarouses said the schedule appears difficult for Newcastle to manage, even with Milligan’s experience from five or six Champions League campaigns as a player and several seasoned professionals in the squad.
“When you, as a club, haven’t experienced that in a long time, it’s very difficult,” Barbarouses said, adding that A-League sides have struggled with the demands. He expects Newcastle to settle once their ACL Elite commitments are over and believes they can still become a good league side.
His case rests partly on the team’s attacking output. Newcastle are creating chances, but their No. 9 has looked short of confidence and missed opportunities. Barbarouses argued that the volume of chances against Perth could have been enough to earn at least a draw on another day. The next step, he said, is turning those openings into points.
Milligan’s approach is giving the Jets ways to trouble opponents, Barbarouses said. When the Asian schedule eases, he expects the reduced workload to feel “like a weight off their shoulders.”
A rebuild after a title winning season
The fixture load comes as Newcastle reshape a squad that won the 2025 Australia Cup and Premiers Plate. Thirteen players departed, including Eli Adams, Mark Natta, Clayton Taylor, Lachie Bayliss and Lachie Rose. Milligan recruited Sydney FC trio Joe Lolley, Alex Grant and Patrick Wood, as well as former Melbourne Victory striker Nikos Vergos.
Paartalu recalled that Newcastle took until around rounds eight or nine last season to find their rhythm. At the time, questions followed the Australia Cup winners; then players such as Adams, Rose and Taylor emerged as key contributors. This season, Paartalu sees new arrivals still trying to click into place.
He singled out Vergos and Lolley as players yet to hit their stride. Lolley’s workload is a particular concern, Paartalu said, as Newcastle rotate and rest him across both competitions. Integrating newcomers while replacing players who knew the club and suited its style will take time, he added.
Paartalu doubts Newcastle can recover far enough to win the league, but can see them finishing in the top six. That forecast captures the gap between the current table and the team’s potential: results need to improve, while a depleted, reconfigured squad and a crowded calendar have made a quick start harder.
Two Asian fixtures before the league resumes
After the FIFA international break, Newcastle host Japan’s Kashiwa Reysol in the ACL Elite on Tuesday, November 24. They then meet J1 League side Vissel Kobe on December 1, before returning to A-League Men action against Melbourne Victory on December 12.
Those fixtures leave little room for an immediate reset. For the Jets, the clearest measure will be whether their chances begin producing results—and whether the squad can turn its growing familiarity into league momentum once the continental schedule ends.
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