Strike weapon Beka Mikeltdaze is set to return for the Jets against Western Sydney Wanderers on Friday night at Comm Bank Stadium when both sides look to maintain unbeaten starts to the A-League season.
But the inclusion of the Georgian is shaping up as less significant for Jets coach Arthur Papas than last season, when he bagged 13 goals to finish second only to Melbourne City's Jamie Mclaren in the competition scoring list.
The Jets have had five different scorers across 2-1 and 3-1 home wins over Perth and Wellington to start the campaign.
Mikeldatze scored the winner against Glory but missed the victory over Phoenix with a quadriceps problem. In his absence, recruits James McGarry, Beka Dartsmelia and Trent Buhagiar hit the back of the net, showcasing the squad's improved depth in attack.
Papas was pleased to see the additions score but believed they had more to give.
"There was a large period where they did show that, and there was a period where I think there was room for improvement," Papas said of the recruits settling into the side. "As it stands, we've scored five goals with five different goalscorers, and I think that's positive.
"It shows you we're not relying on one way to score a goal and most have come from open play, so in the end that's positive for us and makes us optimistic about the whole group."
Mikeltadze's return, though, will boost the third-placed Jets for what shapes as their toughest test yet.
Second-placed Wanderers have conceded just one goal across wins over Perth and Melbourne Victory, and last week's 1-1 draw with Brisbane.
Papas said the addition of Mikeltadze will allow the Jets to most likely make "one or two" unforced changes to their squad.
"He's trained the full week," Papas said of Mikeltadze.
"He completed the full session straight after the game as well, so like I said last week, he was touch and go and we probably could have put him in a position and he would have played and possibly been OK, but he definitely trained strong enough this week.
"There's a possibility to make some changes this week with Beka available.
"We'll make that call after we assess the week's training and what we feel is the best team, not only to start the game, but finish the game as well. That's important.
"We think we've got some strength and depth as well, so not necessarily the team you start with has to go on and win the game for you. You've also got guys who have come on consistently and done quite well for us."
Central defender Jordan Elsey is serving the second and final match of his suspension for a high-footed challenge which resulted in his send-off against Perth.
He is likely the only missing senior player for the Jets for the clash with Wanderers.
Papas was pleased with the performance against Wellington last week without regular starters Elsey and Mikeltadze.
"It was positive for us with Beka and Elsey out that we were able to put that performance in and it just shows you there's a bit of quality in the group outside a couple of players who obviously keep getting mentioned," he said.
Under Marko Rudan, Wanderers have proven an impressive defensive outfit so far and Papas said the away trip would be a "big challenge".
"We know what to expect, it's going to be a difficult place to go to and get a result and for us what's important is we get a result based on a top performance, and that's what we're striving for," he said.
"I think they've got a lot of quality and like you can see, they are not conceding goals easily and we've got to be at our best to make sure we can go and impose our game there.
"They've been strong. Obviously they haven't lost a game yet and they've had some good performances.
"They've recruited heavily and I'm sure [Rudan] is putting his game in place there, but we just focus on ourselves, like we do every week, just making sure we come out playing the way we need to play, irrespective of where we are and who we're playing against."
As for the hostile and lively reception Wanderers' parochial supporters are certain to give the Jets, Papas said: "I think it's just a good challenge for the group.
"You want to play in games where there's pressure on, you want to play in games that mean something.
"You have two teams so far early on that are undefeated and they are the kind of games you want to play in.
"You want to test yourself and you want to measure yourself and see where we've progressed as a group and what areas we are going to need to keep working on."
Papas, who took Newcastle to ninth in his first season in charge last campaign, has been impressed with his side's starts to games this year but he wanted his players to maintain the intensity and kill off matches.
"Our starts have been excellent so far this season and then it's about maintaining it under any situation, under any scoreline and being able to impose our game regardless of what's happening in terms of result," he said.
"I felt that at 2-0 [last week], they shouldn't get back in the game, and they did.
"I saw a fantastic response immediately and I felt that even at 3-1, we should have put the game at 4-1 and possibly manage that part of the game a bit stronger and not let them in the box as much."
WHAT DO YOU THINK? We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Newcastle Herald website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.
