# 2008–09 Newcastle Jets FC season

The 2008–09 season was the fourth season for the Newcastle Jets, and the first as defending champions.

## Players
### First team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | AUS | Ante Covic (Vice-Captain) |
| 2 | DF | AUS | Adam Griffiths (Vice-Captain) |
| 3 | DF | AUS | Jade North (Captain) |
| 5 | MF | AUS | James Holland (Youth) |
| 6 | MF | DEN | Jesper Håkansson |
| 7 | MF | AUS | Kaz Patafta |
| 8 | MF | AUS | Matt Thompson |
| 9 | FW | AUS | Joel Griffiths (Captain) |
| 10 | MF | KOR | Song Jin-Hyung |
| 11 | DF | AUS | Tarek Elrich |
| 12 | MF | AUS | Jobe Wheelhouse |
| 13 | MF | AUS | Adam D'Apuzzo (Junior Marquee) |
| 14 | MF | AUS | Shaun Ontong |
| 15 | FW | AUS | Jason Hoffman (Youth) |
| 16 | MF | AUS | Ben Kantarovski (Youth) |
| 17 | DF | AUS | Antun Kovacic |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | MF | AUS | Noel Spencer |
| 19 | FW | AUS | Jason Naidovski (Youth) |
| 20 | GK | AUS | Ben Kennedy |
| 23 | FW | ECU | Edmundo Zura (Marquee) |
| 24 | FW | AUS | Marko Jesic (Short Term-Youth Team) |
| 25 | DF | AUS | Daniel Piorkowski (Short Term) |
| 26 | MF | AUS | Mark Milligan |
| 27 | MF | TLS | Jesse Pinto (Short Term-Youth Team) |
| 28 | DF | AUS | Jarrad Ross (Short Term-Youth Team) |
| 29 | FW | AUS | Sean Rooney (Short Term) |
| 30 | GK | AUS | Justin Pasfield (Short Term) |
| 31 | FW | AUS | James Virgili (Short Term-Youth Team) |
| 32 | FW | AUS | Brodie Mooy (Short Term-Youth Team) |
| 33 | MF | AUS | Taylor Regan (Short Term-Youth Team) |
| 40 | GK | AUS | Ben McNamara (Short Term-Youth Team) |

### Transfers

In
* Sean Rooney from Sydney FC
* Justin Pasfield from Wollongong Wolves
* Daniel Piorkowski from Walsall FC
* Jason Naidovski from AIS
* Shaun Ontong from Adelaide United
* Kaz Patafta from S.L. Benfica
* Antun Kovacic from Richmond SC
* Jesper Håkansson from Lyngby BK
* Edmundo Zura from Imbabura SC (loan)
Out
* Stephen Laybutt, Contract Not Renewed
* Denni, Contract Not Renewed
* Andrew Durante, to Wellington Phoenix
* Mark Bridge, to Sydney FC
* Paul Kohler, Released
* Stuart Musialik, to Sydney FC
* Troy Hearfield, to Wellington Phoenix
* Scott Tunbridge, Released
Triallists The following players trialled with the Jets but were unsuccessful in gaining a contract.
* Jarrad Ross
* Mark Byrnes
* Yanni Galanos
* Valerio Mastrelli
* Simone Bracalello
* Severin Brice Bikoko (could not obtain Visa)
* Joe Keenan (signed for Hibernian instead)
* Ali Abbas
* Ali Khader
* Andre Gumprecht (returned to the Mariners)

## Matches
### 2008 Pre Season Cup
#### Group A

| Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| Melbourne Victory | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | +1 | 6 | Advances to final |
| Adelaide United | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 | 5 | |
| Newcastle Jets | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 | |
| Perth Glory | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | −1 | 2 | |

### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Melbourne Victory (C) | 21 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 39 | 27 | +12 | 38 | Qualification for 2010 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 2 | Adelaide United | 21 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 31 | 19 | +12 | 38 | Qualification for 2010 AFC Champions League group stage and Finals series |
| 3 | Queensland Roar | 21 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 36 | 25 | +11 | 36 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 4 | Central Coast Mariners | 21 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 | 32 | +3 | 28 | Qualification for Finals series |
| 5 | Sydney FC | 21 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 33 | 32 | +1 | 26 | |
| 6 | Wellington Phoenix | 21 | 7 | 5 | 9 | 23 | 31 | −8 | 26 | |
| 7 | Perth Glory | 21 | 6 | 4 | 11 | 31 | 44 | −13 | 22 | |
| 8 | Newcastle Jets | 21 | 4 | 6 | 11 | 21 | 39 | −18 | 18 | |

## Statistics
### Goal scorers

Last updated 26 January 2009
| Name | Pre-Season | A-League | Total |
| Joel Griffiths | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Matt Thompson | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| Tarek Elrich | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Marko Jesic | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Antun Kovacic | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Mark Milligan | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jade North | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Kaz Patafta | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Noel Spencer | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Song Jin-Hyung | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jobe Wheelhouse | 0 | 1 | 1 |

### Discipline

Last updated 26 January 2009
| Name | Yellow | Red |
| Jobe Wheelhouse | 7 | 1 |
| Mark Milligan | 3 | 1 |
| Joel Griffiths | 2 | 1 |
| Daniel Piorkowski | 0 | 1 |
| Adam Griffiths | 5 | 0 |
| Tarek Elrich | 4 | 0 |
| Jesper Håkansson | 4 | 0 |
| Jade North | 3 | 0 |
| Ben Kantarovski | 2 | 0 |
| Adam D'Apuzzo | 1 | 0 |
| James Holland | 1 | 0 |
| Marko Jesic | 1 | 0 |
| Jason Naidovski | 1 | 0 |
| Song Jin-Hyung | 1 | 0 |
| Noel Spencer | 1 | 0 |
| Matt Thompson | 1 | 0 |
| Edmundo Zura | 1 | 0 |

## 2009 AFC Champions League

    The Newcastle Jets qualified for the 2009 edition of the Asian Champions League after defeating Central Coast Mariners to be crowned 2007–08 Champions.

### Champions League squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | AUS | Ante Covic* |
| 2 | MF | AUS | Tarek Elrich |
| 3 | DF | AUS | Adam D'Apuzzo |
| 4 | DF | AUS | Nikolai Topor-Stanley |
| 5 | DF | AUS | Ljubo Miličević |
| 6 | MF | AUS | Ben Kantarovski |
| 7 | MF | KOR | Song Jin-Hyung |
| 8 | MF | AUS | Matt Thompson (Captain) |
| 9 | FW | AUS | Sasho Petrovski |
| 10 | FW | NED | Donny de Groot |
| 11 | FW | AUS | Marko Jesic |
| 12 | MF | AUS | Jobe Wheelhouse |
| 13 | DF | AUS | Jarrad Ross |
| 14 | DF | AUS | Angelo Costanzo |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | MF | AUS | Shaun Ontong |
| 16 | FW | AUS | Jason Hoffman |
| 17 | FW | ITA | Fabio Vignaroli |
| 18 | FW | AUS | Peter Haynes |
| 20 | GK | AUS | Ben Kennedy |
| 21 | FW | AUS | Joel Wood |
| 22 | MF | AUS | Mitchell Johnson |
| 23 | FW | AUS | Sean Rooney |
| 24 | MF | AUS | Kaz Patafta |
| 25 | DF | AUS | Adam Griffiths |
| 26 | DF | AUS | Nikolas Tsattalios |
| 27 | MF | TLS | Jesse Pinto |
| 28 | FW | AUS | Brodie Mooy |
| 30 | GK | AUS | Ben McNamara |
* *Departed part way through the group stage.

#### On Loan

* Joel Griffiths – From Beijing Guoan until December 2009

#### Transfers

* In:
* 4. Nikolai Topor-Stanley – From Perth Glory
* 5. Ljubo Miličević – From Free Agent
* 9. Sasho Petrovski – From Central Coast Mariners
* 10. Donny de Groot – From De Graafschap
* 14. Angelo Costanzo – From Adelaide United
* 18. Peter Haynes From Broadmeadow Magic FC
* 17. Fabio Vignaroli – From Panthrakikos
* 21. Joel Wood – From Free Agent
* 22. Mitchell Johnson – From APIA Leichhardt
* 26. Nikolas Tsattalios – From Sydney FC
* Out:
* 3. Jade North – To Incheon United
* 5. James Holland – To AZ Alkmaar
* 6. Jesper Håkansson – Released
* 17. Antun Kovacic – To Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i
* 18. Noel Spencer – Retired
* 23. Edmundo Zura – Released
* 25. Daniel Piorkowski – Released
* 26. Mark Milligan – To Shanghai Shenhua
* 30. Justin Pasfield – To North Queensland Fury

### Group E table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Nagoya Grampus | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 4 | +6 | 12 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 2 | Newcastle Jets | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 | +1 | 10 | Advance to knockout stage |
| 3 | Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 10 | −6 | 6 | |
| 4 | Beijing Guoan | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | −1 | 5 | |

### Fixtures
## Other squads
### Youth squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | AUS | Ben McNamara |
| — | GK | AUS | Jordan Griffiths |
| — | DF | AUS | Jon Griffiths |
| — | DF | AUS | Patrick Wheeler |
| — | DF | AUS | Jarrad Ross |
| — | DF | AUS | Simon Mooney |
| — | DF | AUS | George Strogylos |
| — | DF | AUS | Joel Witherdin |
| — | DF | AUS | Jacob Pepper |
| — | MF | AUS | Taylor Regan |
| — | MF | AUS | Adrian Karakolevski |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | AUS | Fabian Iacovelli |
| — | MF | AUS | Matthew Comerford |
| — | MF | AUS | Matthew Harper |
| — | MF | TLS | Jesse Pinto |
| — | FW | AUS | Harry Maguire |
| — | FW | AUS | Dylan Murphy |
| — | FW | AUS | James Virgili |
| — | FW | AUS | Brodie Mooy |
| — | FW | AUS | Ben Martin |
| — | FW | AUS | Marko Jesic |

### Women's squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 1 | GK | AUS | Alison Logue |
| 2 | DF | AUS | Hannah Brewer |
| 3 | MF | AUS | Samantha Wood |
| 4 | DF | AUS | Libby Sharpe |
| 5 | MF | AUS | Cheryl Salisbury (C) |
| 6 | FW | AUS | Amber Neilson |
| 7 | MF | AUS | Gemma Simon |
| 8 | FW | AUS | Leia Smith |
| 9 | FW | AUS | Rhali Dobson |
| 10 | MF | AUS | Joanne Peters |
| 11 | DF | AUS | Stacy Day |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 12 | FW | AUS | Kate Gill |
| 13 | DF | AUS | Gemma O'Toole |
| 14 | MF | AUS | Nicole Jones |
| 15 | MF | AUS | Emily van Egmond |
| 16 | DF | AUS | Kirstyn Pearce |
| 17 | MF | AUS | Harmony Attwill |
| 18 | DF | NZL | Rebecca Smith |
| 19 | MF | SWE | Sanna Frostevall |
| 20 | GK | AUS | Brianna Davey |
| 21 | MF | AUS | Taleah Doyle |
| 22 | DF | AUS | Courtney Miller |