James Gardiner

Newcastle Jets coach Rob Stanton believes there is ‘no limit’ to how far creative midfielder Lachy Bayliss can go. Bayliss will be at the Jets for at least the next two seasons after confirmation on Monday of a two-year contract extension. Signed last season on a scholarship deal, Bayliss made his A-League debut in round one and was establishing himself in the starting side when stuck down by osteo pubis. He spent three months on the sideline, but finished the season strongly. “This season Lachy…

Tute Grant admits a free trip to Queensland was what sparked the Hamilton centre’s interest in playing for NSW County. Now Grant has a taste of representative rugby he is keener than ever to play at the next level. Grant was one of 10 Hunter players selected in the Cockatoos training squad after a strong performance at the Country Championship. The 27-year-old has previously played for the Bay Of Plenty at the New Zealand National Championships at under-21 level. “It was a step up from the local…

Newcastle duo Clare Wheeler and Emily Egmond are headed to the Olympic games.

JETS striker Apostolos Stamatelopoulos is confident of carrying his outstanding club form onto the national stage - it’s just football after all. Stamatelopoulos is in camp with the Socceroos in Bangkok ahead of a potential international debut against Bangladesh in Daka on Thursday night. The 25-year-old’s selection for his first senior national squad follows a breakthrough A-League campaign for the Jets which netted 17 goals. He is one of four strikers in the squad alongside Mitch Duke, Adam Ta…

JETS striker Apostolos Stamatelopoulos never stopped believing. Never deviated from the track. Now he is a Socceroo. Stamatelopoulos will on Wednesday be named in the Socceroos squad for World Cup qualifiers against Bangladesh in Dhaka on June 6 and Palestine (Perth) on June 11. He will be the first Jets player to wear the green and gold since Dimi Petratos in 2018. National-team selection caps an incredible 12 months for the 25-year-old, who made his A-League debut for Adelaide in 2017. Coach R…

THE Newcastle Jets have added depth to their defensive stocks but appear set to lose creative spark Reno Piscopo to the Melbourne Victory. The Newcastle Herald understands that Phil Cancar has agreed to an extension with the Jets. The 23-year-old centreback started 20 games last season and formed a strong combination with Mark Natta. Natta, 21, and Nathan Grimaldi, 22, are signed until the end of the 2025-26 A-League campaign. Coach Rob Stanton has recruited Aleksandar Susnjar to add experience…

MEREWETHER fly-half Sam Bright has been a regular at Gibbs Brothers Oval over the years helping with junior coaching sessions. The kids would repay the favour by acting as ballboys on a Saturday. Rory Ryan ran out Bright’s goalkicking tee for a couple of seasons. Now many of those same starry-eyed youngsters are Bright’s teammates. “I used to go to junior sessions and coach these little kids,” Bright, 34, said. “It’s pretty exciting for the cub to have them playing first grade. It’s nice for me…

APOSTOLOS Stamatelopoulos’ career was at a crossroad when he joined the Jets at the start of the A-League season. Now he is an All Star. The reborn striker has been rewarded for a breakthrough season with selection in the A-League All Stars against one of the biggest clubs in the World. Stamatelopoulos was the only Jets player named in a preliminary 13-man squad squad to take on Newcastle United at Marvel Stadium on Friday May 24. The remainder of the squad will be finalised after the return leg…

FOR 80 minutes the Newcastle Jets went toe-to-toe with Central Coast Mariners. Apostolos Stamatelopoulos scored in the 47th minute - the striker’s 17th goal of the campaign - to cancel out Alou Kuol’s opener. The Jets pushed and probed, scrambled and scrapped, stretching their arch rivals to the limit. Then, the dam wall broke. The Mariners netted two goals in the final 10 minutes to win the final round and seal the Premier’s Plate. “In reflection, that 10 minutes summed us up,” Jets coach Rob…

The sale of the Newcastle Jets is a step closer to completion, with only a few minor details to be finalised before the deal is handed to Football Australia for final approval. As revealed by the Newcastle Herald on May 2, a consortium comprising businessmen based in Melbourne and Sydney have agreed to a price to buy the club from the current owners - the chairmen of rival A-League clubs. Lawyers from both parties have completed the sales-and-purchase agreement. A source close to negotiations t…