JETS veteran Jason Hoffman says collective effort, rather than individual brilliance, will be the key to Newcastle scoring enough goals this season to re-establish themselves as A-League contenders.
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Newcastle are confident of bouncing back from a frustrating 2018-19 campaign, in which they finished seventh, five points out of the play-offs, having been runners-up in the grand final 12 months earlier.
At the end of last season the Jets parted company with foreign attackers Roy O'Donovan, Ronny Vargas and Jair.
Hopes were high that a new-look strike force, featuring Panamanian international Abdiel Arroyo, Irish veteran Wes Hoolahan and fringe Socceroo Dimi Petratos, would form a potent combination up front.
But Hoolahan (ankle) and one of his potential replacements, Kaine Sheppard (foot), have suffered pre-season injuries that required surgery and will sideline them until January.
In addition, Olyroos candidate Joey Champness has been granted extended leave to pursue a potential music career in America.
The Jets are yet to sign replacements but Hoffman had no doubt there was enough depth to cope.
"We do have a few injuries, but that's why we have up to 22 or 23 players on the roster," Hoffman said. "There's got to be boys that fill those roles."
Arroyo has shown signs since arriving in Newcastle that he can provide a cutting edge but Hoffman said he would need support.
"For me, Arroyo is a great signing ... [but] I think it's a little bit unfair to rely on one player to deliver, week in, week out," he said.
"Of course, it's always great for any team to have a striker who's scoring double-digit goals. It's obviously going to put the team in a really good position.
"But in saying that, it's more important how people like Arroyo, Nick [Fitzgerald], Matty [Millar] and all the other new boys fit into the way that we want to play.
"I feel like they're doing that really well and we've still got a little bit of time before the [season-opening] Mariners game."
It remains to be seen if Hoffman features in Newcastle's forward line or at right back.
The 30-year-old, who has appeared in 200 A-League games, started his career as a striker but is also a proven performer in defence.
He has played and trained in both roles during the pre-season and said he would be "ready to do a job" wherever coach Ernie Merrick picks him.
"If that's up front, that's great .. the enjoyment of playing up front is something that I've really liked in the last couple of years, but if I have to play at the back, the way we play is still quite attacking so I'm happy to do a job," he said.
