MELBOURNE, Australia -- Across the past decade and a half, perhaps the best way to describe the Newcastle Jets is that they've existed.
It's not the most flattering of descriptions, an air of indifference almost worse than outright insulting them, and it's one that the loyal supporters would also likely disagree with. But, aside from one momentous year in which they finished second and hosted a Grand Final that ended in controversial VAR heartbreak, it really feels the most apt way to describe a side that has missed the playoffs in the other 14 years of that stretch and failed to progress beyond the quarterfinals of the Australia Cup.
During this run, which began in the same year that Con Constantine had his licence stripped from him by Football Australia after the club was unable to meet its final obligations, even the matter of existence appeared no sure thing. Nathan Tinkler and Martin Lee followed as owners, with the former going so far as to place the club into voluntary administration in 2015, while the latter's exit in 2021 triggered multiple years of existential dread.
- Disney+ the new home of Women's Champions League in Australia
- Lynch: More minutes? Why Melbourne Victory took a punt on Juan Mata
- Socceroos Depth Chart: Jockeying for places ahead of USA, Canada tests
In the same period, the Jets watched on as their bitter F3 Derby rivals the Central Coast Mariners pull themselves out of the mire to conquer both Australia and Asia, while they themselves propped up by a consortium of rival clubs -- largely kept alive by a reticence to lose one of the league's 12 franchises, as well as a sense of reverence for the footballing history of the Hunter region and a desire to maintain a presence in the market.
The June 2024 arrival of Maverick Sports Partners as new owners was touted as providing stability, and the appointment of Mark Milligan as coach during the offseason -- following what appeared to be a breakdown in the relationship between the new owners and now-former boss Rob Stanton -- was supposed to bring hope. The future, seemingly, was secure, and here was a former Socceroos skipper, who had done his apprenticeship as an assistant at both club and international level, arriving at his first senior coaching role with a level of hunger and, given his May appointment, plenty of time to implement his vision ahead of a new season.
But Jets' fans know better than most that promises of better things ahead don't always equate with the actual reality. The protracted ownership hunt before the eventual sale to Maverick, for instance, featured more false dawns than one could care to count. Which is why Saturday evening's 3-1 extra-time win over Heidelberg United in the final of the Australia Cup, ending a 17-year trophy drought, felt like such an important moment for the club for multiple reasons.
For a start, there is nothing quite like silverware to reassure oneself that there's actually some level of substance behind the declarations of a new era. And while it's no sure thing for future success -- remember, Dwight Yorke won an Australia Cup in his first season with Macarthur FC only to be out the door in acrimonious circumstances just a few months later -- it's certainly preferable to the alternative of not winning anything at all. Now, as Milligan seeks further buy-in from his players and the club seeks to lure fans back to McDonald Jones Stadium and drum up further sponsorship and investment, they can point to this trophy as tangible evidence that this isn't the Jets of yonder.
The way that Milligan guided his side to this point should also provide some level of encouragement, given it was done in an Australia Cup campaign in which A-League Men sides have largely disappointed. Heidelberg alone knocked off three top-flight outfits while scoring nine goals and keeping clean sheets in every game on their journey to the final. The Jets, for their part, played some of the more fluid football of anyone throughout the national stages. Helping this has been efforts to build on the work of Stanton the previous season, utilising young players either local to the region or, as is the case with Saturday goal-scorers Oscar Fryer and Ben Gibson, lured by the promise of greater opportunity.
Slotting in alongside Kota Mizunuma to provide the Jets with some top-end talent to go with this youth, Max Burgess also looks like a player reborn in Newcastle. The former Sydney FC playmaker scored Newcastle's opener in the 21st minute after a clever delayed run that served as a key example of his footballing intelligence and awareness; Burgess said after the match that he didn't deserve it, but that didn't take away the Mark Viduka medal around his neck as the best afield. Though the midfielder has remained tight-lipped over the circumstances of his exit from the Sky Blues after being frozen out last season -- albeit he did on Saturday credit Milligan and assistant coach Nick Stavroulakis for helping him rediscover his love for the game -- his vital role in finally delivering another trophy to his new employers would seemingly indicate that Ufuk Talay's loss will be Milligan and the Jets' gain.
"Everyone has difficult moments in their career," said Burgess. "Everyone in this team has had difficult moments. It's nothing new. For me personally, it's bringing it back to process. I'm focused every day on how I can be better. Millsy and Stava have certainly brought the love back for me for football, and I'm thankful for that.
"I'm also proud to represent this club, that's why tonight's special. So many of these young boys are local, so they know what it means. To see the growth in them every day is amazing, and it makes me want to be better as well.
"I'm just really grateful to be part of this group and this club."
But perhaps most important about Saturday's win wasn't what it represented for the Jets' future, so much as it did for their past.
As one would expect from a club bogged down in 15 years of mostly mediocrity, the fan base for the club isn't what it once was; for all the proud history of football in the Hunter, Newcastle will always be a NRL town, and you've got to provide the broader public a reason to show up. But those that do remain have been steadfast and loyal.
Probably much to their chagrin, the Jets fans' emotional connection has seen them stick with the club through what was the second-longest trophy drought in the A-League Men. They stared down years of uncertainty about whether their club would simply exist. It would have been much easier to stop caring. But now, finally, they have a trophy as thanks for persevering.
"For me, it's for the fans," said Milligan. "They've waited a long time for silverware, and waited a long time to be in finals.
"We've spoken a lot since I've come in that we want the support of the fans, but we have to show [them] who we are. We have to show every day who we are, show every game who we are and what we're becoming. It's up to us to repay them, and this is just the start of that."
Does the Australia Cup represent the dawn of a new era for the Jets? Maybe. This being the A-League, and the Jets being the Jets, few would be completely surprised if it all collapsed tomorrow. But it was a night for the Jets' soul, and one that most neutrals can't help be pleased for.