THE Newcastle Jets' signing spree has continued with the recruitment of New Zealand international defender James McGarry - the third former Wellington Phoenix player they have enticed to cross the Tasman in the past fortnight.
McGarry is the seventh player Jets coach Arthur Papas has signed over the off-season, joining his former Wellington clubmates Jaushua Sotirio and Reno Piscopo, former Perth Glory midfielder Brandon O'Neill, Trent Buhagiar (Sydney FC), Rory Jordan (Macarthur Bulls) and Mark Natta (Western Sydney Wanderers).
And given that the Jets still have three visa positions to fill, including a replacement for Brazilian playmaker Daniel Penha, it would seem safe to assume there will be more announcements in coming weeks.
McGarry has signed a two-season deal with Newcastle and will be hoping to establish himself as their first-choice left-back.
The 24-year-old, who played his sole senior international for New Zealand in a friendly against Lithuania in 2019, played 40 A-League games for Wellington, 38 of them over the past two seasons.
He also had a two-year stint with Dutch club Willem II between 2018 and 2020, making six appearances in the Eredivisie.
Papas said he was "excited" to have secured McGarry, who he predicted would adapt quickly to Newcastle's up-tempo playing style.
"James is someone who has amassed experience playing in Europe, for the New Zealand national team and has been part of every junior New Zealand national team as well," Papas said.
"We identified quite early on that he possesses the positional characteristics to play our type of football.
"Physically, he is in the higher echelon of players in the A-League for his position, and we now look forward to helping James develop his game further and contribute to the team's success."
McGarry, who hails from Otago in New Zealand's South Island, appeared in the finals with Wellington last season and will no doubt be hoping to help Newcastle break a play-off drought dating back to their heartbreaking 2017-18 grand final loss to Melbourne Victory.
Newcastle finished ninth last season, 10 points adrift of the top six, despite scoring the third-most goals (45) in the A-League.
"I'm excited to be joining the Jets this season," McGarry said.
"The ambitions of Arthur and the club really aligned with mine and I can't wait to get to Newcastle to meet the staff and fans.
"After speaking with Arthur and hearing his philosophy and plans for the club, I had to be a part of it. I'm excited to learn and grow as a player and give everything I have for this club."
Meanwhile, the round-17 National Premier League NNSW fixture between Newcastle Olympic FC and Valentine FC has been rescheduled for Tuesday night at Speers Point, kicking off at 6.15pm.
