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Jets ready to take off again: Petratos

3 minute read

There will be plenty of eyes on Newcastle this A-League campaign after making a fairytale run to last season's grand final.

DIMITRI PETRATOS of Australia runs with the ball during the Australian Socceroos Training Session at the Gloria Football Club in Antalya, Turkey. Picture: Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Newcastle star Dimi Petratos is confident the A-League club will prove they are no one-hit wonders and replicate last year's success that resulted in a grand final appearance.

All eyes will be on whether the Jets are the real deal again this summer when they open their campaign against Wellington on Sunday.

And Petratos admits that, unlikely last year, the squad won't have the luxury of surprising their opponents this year.

"Of course, we've come off a good season," Petratos told AAP.

"But last year and two years before that, we had come last so there wasn't really much to expect from the club.

"We had our goals and we achieved them. But we've just got to replicate that as best as possible, go out there and play our game."

Jets coach Ernie Merrick has managed to keep most of his starting unit that went down 1-0 against eventual champions Melbourne Victory earlier this year.

Only midfielder Riley McGree has left for Melbourne City, while striker Roy O'Donovan is still serving his 10-match ban for his sickening kick in the final.

How the club fills the gaping hole left by the mid-season departure of Andrew Nabbout will also be a source of contention.

Petratos looms as a key figure as the Jets look to start the campaign strongly, however the former Socceroos forward insists it will be a collaborative effort.

"We've got a lot of good players at the club," Petratos said.

"You can't do anything individually. It's a team sport and there's enough leaders on the field to be able to win a game."

The 25-year-old missed last week's Socceroos win over Kuwait as he recovered from a minor ankle injury suffered during an FFA Cup loss to Melbourne City.

But after talking to new coach Graham Arnold, and armed with a new three-year deal with the Jets, Petratos has set his sights on the next World Cup in Qatar.

Petratos went to Russia this year but failed to get on the pitch.

"I took a lot out of it, being on the biggest stage in football," Petratos said.

"I gained a lot of hunger to continue to perform and try and stay as long as I can in the Australian team, to get there in four years time for the next World Cup.

"It was good to talk to Arnie about it. I don't want to get into detail about what we spoke about, but it was good to hear from the coach. Just work hard, he said."