This weekend will see the Newcastle Jets welcome Brisbane Roar, and it’s shaping as a huge match for both sides in the context of the Hyundai A-League season.
There’s plenty to dissect when it comes to the numbers – think common threads among the two teams, solid records, and big wins.
THURGATE: A journey to the national team
With a big thanks to resident statistician, Dave Keating, here are this week’s Fixture Facts.
Matches
We’ve taken on Brisbane a total of 40 times over the years, and have a definitive advantage over the men in orange.
Newcastle have won 17 times compared to Brisbane’s 14, with nine draws between the two sides.
Our biggest ever win over the Queensland side came back in the 2016/17 season, when Nigel Boogaard was amongst the goals in a 4-0 win at McDonald Jones Stadium.
The last time we played Brisbane, Joey Champness scored a late goal to secure a 1-0 win in Round 21 last season.
Goals
The ledger is decidedly square when it comes to goals scored in this fixture – both teams have scored 48 goals.
Brisbane have scored the majority of theirs in Newcastle – 34 – compared to the Jets 22 at home.
There have been just two scoreless draws between these two sides, and when goals have been scored it’s usually the Jets who grab the first one. We’ve done it on 23 occasions, compared to Brisbane’s 15.
Joel Griffiths is the Jets highest scorer in this fixture, with eight goals. For Brisbane, it’s Reinaldo with seven.
Talking points
We’ve won five of our last six clashes with Brisbane, and in the past three seasons have lost just twice in nine matches against the Roar.
Last season was a clean sweep over the Roar, with the Jets taking all nine points on offer and running out 4-1 aggregate victors across three encounters.
There are a few common strands among the two teams as is usually the way in the Hyundai A-League, but the most obvious one for Jets fans will be striker Adam Taggart.
With an injury cloud looming over Brisbane’s leading scorer this season though, there’s a chance he could miss out. That leaves Lachlan Jackson, Dimi Petratos, and Jacob Pepper are the three players across the two squads to have played for both the Jets and Brisbane.
Newcastle haven’t won a Round 7 Hyundai A-League clash since the 2013/14 season, when we ran out 3-1 victors over Melbourne Heart. Interestingly, on that day Adam Taggart scored all three Jets goals.
