HE hasn't missed a game this season, but Newcastle Jets veteran Jason Hoffman won't be satisfied unless that run extends into the business end of the A-League campaign.
Hoffman, the 34-year-old who recently broke the Jets' all-time record for most A-League appearances, has been a permanent fixture on their 2022-23 team sheet, featuring in all 17 games thus far.
After starting the season as an impact player off the bench, his return to the starting line-up four games ago has coincided with three wins and a draw, a hot streak that has lifted Newcastle to seventh position on the competition ladder.
Equal on points with fifth-placed Wellington and only three points behind second-placed Central Coast, the Jets can potentially surge into the top six with a win against last-placed Western United at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday.
"The way the second half of our season has shaped up has been extremely positive, but we certainly won't rest on that," Hoffman said.
"There's still a long way to go to guarantee finals football and to be at the top end of the table, where we believe we can go. So for us this game on Saturday against Western United is an extremely important one."
United might be languishing in the competition cellar but, as the defending champions, Hoffman said they deserved respect.
Newcastle have not featured in the play-offs since 2017-18, when they finished runners-up to Melbourne Victory after hosting the grand final, and Hoffman had no doubt this team was capable of breaking the drought.
"We're certainly putting ourselves in the best possible position, and obviously our goal is to be on the big stage again," he said.
"You want to be competing for silverware. Like every other club, we want to be holding up the toilet seat [A-League championship trophy] at the end of the year.
"But we just have to stick to the process."
Hoffman said the Jets had continually improved since a frustrating run of seven losses in nine games earlier in the season.
"We're gaining momentum, and long may that continue," he said. "We want to keep building on that, but we know this is going to be a tough game. The ladder's irrelevant when you're coming up against last year's champions."
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