Newcastle have ended Macarthur FC's A-League Men finals' hopes by dispatching the Bulls 3-0 at Campbelltown Stadium.
Needing at least a point to keep alive their quest for back-to-back finals appearances, the Bulls instead shipped a goal to the Jets' Savvas Siatravanis inside the opening five minutes on Sunday.
Unable to find a response in the following hour, the hosts' aspirations then received a coup de grace from Valentino Yuel and Beka Mikeltadze in the 66th and 73rd minutes.
With the defeat, Macarthur find themselves four points behind sixth-placed Wellington Phoenix with just a single game remaining in their regular season.
Their thoughts can now turn to an off-season that will commence with a search for a new coach, after foundation boss Ante Milicic announced mid-week that he would depart the club and move to Europe.
The Jets will also miss finals but, unlike the Bulls, they know exactly who will be leading them into the future after coach Arthur Papas signed a contract extension during the week.
With this new-found security, the Jets boss made a raft of changes in his starting XI and was rewarded when Sam Silvera swung in a free kick that fell for Sitravanis to slam home in the fourth frame.
Apostolos Giannou attempted to respond for the hosts when he got in behind and lashed a shot goalward in the 16th minute but Jets goalkeeper Michael Weier tipped the ball around the post.
Coming on for Giannou at halftime, Tomi Juric then rattled the side-netting with a powerful left-footed effort in the 54th.
But after near misses from Silvera and Jordan Elsey, off-contract Yuel cut inside and fired home while Mikeltadze's finish of a Dane Ingham cutback sealed the Bulls' fate.
The Bulls would end the game with 24 shots but Weier, in a rare start, proved unbeatable.
