NEWCASTLE Jets are confident they have assembled a competitive squad for the 2022-23 A-League season and are banking on a family friendly draw to help grow membership.
Australia Professional Leagues will on Thursday release the schedule for the up-coming campaign.
Without the impact of COVID-19 at its peak, there will be fewer mid-week games with most teams playing week-to-week.
The Jets, with seven, had the most midweek fixtures of any club last season and, as a result, average crowds at home dropped below 5000.
"Our focus is on family friendly time slots," Jets executive chairman Shane Mattiske said. "In all our draw requests, we have pushed hard to be allocated matches on Saturday and Sunday afternoons to make it accessible to families in the region. That aligns with our continued promotion of free entry for kids under 12 when with a paying adult.
"With the major impacts of COVID behind us, we are excited that we will have a draw that people can lock away in their diaries."
Coach Arthur Papas was highly critical of the inequity of the rescheduled draw last season.
"Ultimately the team that wins are the champions. But when you have one team which has played one midweek game all season and we had seven, it is a bit hard to say you are playing on a level playing field," he told the Newcastle Herald.
Mattiske anticipates that there will be an even spread of games over the season which starts on the weekend of October 7-9.
"We will get a draw that allows our team to plan with confidence and move forward in an environment where they are not playing midweek games and can focus on week-to-week football," he said.
The season will break for three weeks, starting in late November, for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar. McDonald Jones Stadium will host a round of the Australian Supercross Championships on November 24 during the A-League hiatus.
It is anticipated that the Jets will play three F3 derbies against the Mariners.
The Jets hosted the Mariners twice last season and it's likely that the fixtures will alternate, with two games in Gosford this campaign.
The Mariners recorded their first ever clean sweep of victories last season, beating the Jets 2-1 and 4-2 at McDonald Jones Stadium before competing the season with a 2-0 triumph in Gosford.
The Jets and Mariners have opened the past two seasons with an F3 derby.
If the trend continues, the Jets will most likely travel to Gosford for round one.
Jets fans will get their first look at the new-look squad at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday night when they take on Adelaide in the Australia Cup round of 32.
Brandon O'Neill, Reno Piscopo, Jaushua Sotirio and Trent Buhagiar head the list of new arrivals.
Beka Mikeltadze, who netted 13 goals last season, will lead the Jets attack.
Papas plans to add three more players to the roster including a replacement for Brazilian Daniel Penha, who moved to Korea.
