History of Newcastle Jets FC facts for kids

The Newcastle Jets FC football club started in 2000. A businessman named Con Constantine created the team. This happened after the city's old football club, the Newcastle Breakers, closed down. The Breakers lost their licence from Soccer Australia at the end of the 1999/2000 season. When the new Newcastle United team was formed, they moved their home games back to the stadium where Newcastle KB United used to play. This stadium is now known as EnergyAustralia Stadium.

Early Days: The NSL Years (2000–2004)

Newcastle United Strip 2000–04

The club first played in the NSL. They were quite good during this time. They played in two of the four finals series. In the 2001–02 season, they finished second, just behind Perth Glory. During their time in the NSL, the club wore blue and red. These were traditional sports colours, also worn by the Newcastle Knights Rugby league team.

NSL Performance History

The numbers in brackets include games played in the NSL finals.

* Shows the best league finish achieved
** Shows the best finals finish achieved
† In the 2002–03 season, the top six teams played a round robin competition. Newcastle finished sixth in this. A game against Northern Spirit was not played because it would not change the top two teams.

Joining the A-League (2005–2009)

The club changed its name and look when the new national league, the A-League, began. They became the Newcastle United Jets Football Club. This was to create a fresh image and avoid confusion with the Premier League club Newcastle United. The name "Jets" comes from RAAF Base Williamtown. This air force base is just 20 kilometres north of Newcastle. The club's logo shows three F/A-18 Hornets. These are the planes the Royal Australian Air Force has at Williamtown.

New Coaches and Key Players

At first, Richard Money was signed as coach for the 2005–06 season. In 2006, Nick Theodorakopoulos replaced him. However, Theodorakopoulos was later replaced by his assistant, Gary Van Egmond. Van Egmond then signed a contract to coach the Jets for three more years.

The club surprised many by signing Ned Zelic. He was a player who many thought would not play for Australia again. There were also talks about bringing former England striker Stan Collymore out of retirement for a few games. However, this did not happen.

Under Gary Van Egmond's leadership, Newcastle started playing very well. They earned the most points of all clubs in their last fourteen games. They also scored the most goals. Because of their good form, crowds in Newcastle grew very large. Over 24,000 fans came to their home final against Sydney FC in February 2007.

Newcastle was eventually knocked out in the preliminary final by Adelaide. The game went to penalties after a 1-1 draw. Newcastle lost the penalty shootout 4-3. This meant they missed out on the grand final and a spot in the Asian Champions League.

The 2007–08 Season: Becoming Champions

For the third A-League season, some of Newcastle's big stars left. Captain Paul Okon retired. Fan favourite Milton Rodriguez went back to Colombia. Johnny Warren Medal winner Nick Carle moved to Turkey. New players included Joel Griffiths' twin brother Adam and European Golden Boot winner Mario Jardel. Jardel was exciting to sign, but he was past his best and did not play much. Star striker Joel Griffiths broke the record for most goals in a regular season. He scored 12 goals in 21 rounds.

The Jets started the season well, not losing in their first five matches. After this good start, they struggled to be consistent. They often won against strong teams but lost some important home games. Wins in the last three rounds helped the Jets move up the ladder. They finished second, with the same points as the Central Coast Mariners, but with fewer goals scored.

The Jets then played the Mariners in the Major Semi Final. Newcastle won the first game at home 2-0. Goals came from Adam Griffiths and a penalty from his brother Joel. The Mariners won the second game 2-0, sending the match into extra time. Sasho Petrovski scored again in extra time, sending the Mariners to the Grand Final.

Newcastle Jets Squadron Banner before the 2007–08 Grand Final

The Jets reached their first A-League Grand Final by beating Queensland Roar 3-2 after extra time. This was in the 2008 Preliminary Final on February 17, 2008. The Jets were leading 1-0 until late in the game. The Roar got a penalty, and Reinaldo scored. This sent the game into extra time. A few minutes into extra time, the Jets also got a penalty. Song Jin-Hyung was fouled in the box. Joel Griffiths scored from the spot. A few moments later, Tarek Elrich scored his first A-League goal, securing the win. The Roar got another late penalty, but it was too late.

The Jets defeated the Central Coast Mariners in the 2007–08 A-League Grand Final. They became A-League Champions for the first time!

The game was decided by a single goal from Joel Griffiths early in the second half. In his last professional game, Tony Vidmar made a mistake. This gave Griffiths a chance, and he scored. Both the Jets and Mariners qualified to play in the 2009 AFC Champions League.

The 2008–09 Season: A Tough Year

After winning the championship, some Jets players left the club. Mark Bridge and Stuart Musialik went to Sydney FC. Joe Marston Medal winner Andrew Durante and Troy Hearfield moved to Wellington Phoenix. There were rumours that captain Jade North and Adam Griffiths might leave. But both decided to stay with the Jets for the 2008–09 season.

New players joined the Jets for the 2008–09 season. These included Jason Naidovski, Shaun Ontong, and Kaz Patafta. Defender Antun Kovacic also joined. International players Jesper Håkansson and Edmundo Zura were signed.

The regular season was difficult for the Jets. They won only four out of twenty-one matches. They finished at the bottom of the ladder. This was the first time they missed the finals and received the "wooden spoon." Edmundo Zura left the club. Joel Griffiths and Mark Milligan faced suspensions. Adam Griffiths agreed to join Gold Coast United Football Club for the next season. Jade North also left to play for a Korean team, Incheon United. Joel Griffiths became the new captain. Young player James Holland also left for a club in the Netherlands. In December 2008, the Jets signed 37-year-old Spencer Prior for the rest of the season.

Playing in the Asian Champions League

To get ready for the Champions League, the Jets needed new players. They signed Perth defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley in early 2008. But for a while, this was the only new player. Fans became even more unhappy as the Jets finished last in the A-League.

More players left the club. Defender Mark Milligan went to Shanghai Shenhua. Jesper Hakansson also left. Star player and captain Joel Griffiths moved to Asia on a one-year loan to Beijing Guoan.

In February, the Jets signed many new players for the Champions League. They signed Dutch player Donny de Groot and former Sydney FC striker Sasho Petrovski. They also strengthened their defence with Ljubo Miličević, Angelo Costanzo, and Nikolas Tsattalios. Then, they surprisingly signed former S.S. Lazio forward Fabio Vignaroli. The club also signed three local players: Mitchell Johnson, Peter Haynes, and Joel Wood.

The Jets started the Champions League with a 2-0 loss to Beijing Guoan in Beijing. However, they bounced back with a 2-0 win against Ulsan Hyundai Horang-i in Newcastle. They had a 1-1 draw in Japan against Nagoya Grampus, but lost the return game 1-0. On May 6, the Jets scored two goals in the last two minutes to beat Beijing 2-1 in Newcastle. The Jets qualified for the last 16 by beating Ulsan Hyundai 1-0 away from home. Jason Hoffman scored his first goal to seal the win. The Jets faced Pohang Steelers in the round of 16 on June 24. They lost 6-0 to the South Korean team and were knocked out.

The 2009–10 Season

Preparations for the new season were difficult. Championship-winning manager Gary van Egmond left the club for a job with the AIS. Branko Čulina became the new coach on June 30, 2009.

The club started the season with a win against Wellington Phoenix. They then had a string of good results. They were the first team to beat new A-League club Gold Coast United. After this, they had a run of poor results. The Jets often played well but could not score enough goals.

In the 2009–10 season, the Newcastle Jets qualified for The Finals Series. They finished 6th in the regular season. In the first week of the finals, the Jets played against Gold Coast United. The Jets surprisingly won in a Penalty Shoot Out, 6-5, after the game was 0-0. In the second week, they played against Wellington Phoenix. The game was 1-1 at full-time, going into extra time. Wellington scored two goals in extra time, knocking the Jets out of the competition.

A-League Performance (2005–2010)

The numbers in brackets include games played in the A-League finals.

* Shows the best finish achieved ** Shows number of qualifications

Recent Years (2010–Present)

The 2010–11 and 2011–12 Seasons

The 2010–11 season was the Newcastle Jets' tenth season in Australia's national football competition. They started with a 0-0 draw against Adelaide United in August. Michael Bridges was announced as the team captain.

The club faced some financial difficulties. However, the Football Federation Australia helped them. Then, in September, it was announced that mining businessman Nathan Tinkler would buy most of the shares in the Jets. This saved the club. Tinkler had a good impact on the Jets. New ticket prices were introduced, including free season passes for children under 15. A family pass for 11 home games cost $100.

The club gained a new sponsor, the Hunter Medical Research Institute. Their logo appeared on the players' shirts. The Institute said it would donate money for every goal scored. The club set up a new office and extended coach Branko Culina's contract. They also planned to invest $2.5 million in the football department. The Jets hosted the Los Angeles Galaxy in a friendly match in November 2010. Famous players like David Beckham and Landon Donovan were on the Galaxy team. The Jets won the match 2-1.

The Jets signed Ryan Griffiths during the January transfer window. Ryan is the brother of former Jets star Joel Griffiths. With the future of North Queensland Fury uncertain, the Jets also signed Chris Payne for the 2011–2012 season. The Jets finished the 2010–11 Season in 7th position. They just missed out on the Finals series on the very last day of the regular season. By October 2011, the Jets had 9000 club members.

In April 2012, Nathan Tinkler said he would give back the Newcastle Jets A-League licence to the FFA. This was because he was having financial problems. The Federation said he could not just give back the licence. After talks between Tinkler and FFA chairman Frank Lowy, it was announced that Tinkler would remain the owner of the club.

Coaches in the Early 2010s

• Clayton Zane (2013–2014 A-League Season)
• Gary Van Egmond (2011–2013 A-League Season)
• Branko Culina