Jets coach Ash Wilson expects to have a clearer idea of Newcastle's strongest starting side after two trials against A-League Women's opposition.
They play Western Sydney Wanderers, who they meet in the ALW second round on November 26 at Tamworth, away on Saturday (4pm) then Sydney FC on November 12.
The games round out a short pre-season of only five weeks with Newcastle set to launch their 2022-23 campaign on the road against Brisbane on November 19.
Wilson will have all 17 contracted players as well as four Jets scholarship-holders available this weekend.
The key focus will be cohesion and combinations.
Just seven players from last year's contracted squad of 18 have been re-signed by the Jets with 10 new faces.
They include four Americans in defenders Emily Garnier and Cannon Clough plus attacking players Murphy Agnew and Sarah Griffith.
The Jets have also recruited experienced national league player and Australian representative Teigen Allen, who can be used almost anywhere on the pitch.
"We want to see key people in key positions for as long as we can," Wilson said.
"We have what we're thinking could possibly be that starting line-up. It's important that when we hit the first round we're ready in terms of having had time to play together and develop those combinations even more.
"We'll look to get people on the park as much as we can, but the main focus is to make sure we get those combinations and we start to ensure that from a tactical point of view people are getting opportunities to initiate their roles and responsibilities."
Consistency proved a hurdle for the Jets last year due to COVID and injuries.
They made a strong start to the season but a jam-packed schedule and mounting injury toll towards the end of their campaign proved detrimental as they finished eighth with 10 points, just three ahead of the two bottom sides.
A five-week pre-season does not afford much time to get things right but Wilson wants to be as close to it as possible come round one.
"I don't think we had a consistent starting line-up probably until the end of the season when we had specific people unavailable," Wilson said.
"We have to prepare to be ready for the first game but we also have to make sure that people are getting an opportunity to train and play and test themselves at that level."
