They're all off and running now, with the Jets taking the Chautauqua role of starting after everyone else, before compounding that by conceding a goal after four minutes against the Mariners at Central Coast Stadium.
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To shake off that start on Saturday night, and the understandable rustiness in the opening stanza, and leave with a point was a satisfactory result in a round that pointed towards a very tight and competitive season.
Three draws and a couple of 2-1 results say quite a lot about what we might expect in 2019-20. And the only sides with maximum points meet in the Sydney Derby on Saturday night, so one or both will no longer have a perfect record come Sunday.
To be candid, the Mariners' opening goal came not as a result of a team slumber or stirring from hibernation, but from a very basic error from Johnny Koutroumbis, who didn't take a look over his shoulder once in a recovery run from halfway. As a result, Koutroumbis tucked in more than required to a defensive situation that was well in hand.
He might have got away with the slightly poor positioning but for a superb volley from the Mariners' Serbian import, Milan Duric, who provided the main threat to the Jets goal all evening.
Sport: The Newcastle Jets
It was a sharp lesson for the Jets fullback, who had a fairly torrid opening half before being replaced by young Irish defender Bobby Burns, and a stinging blow to the team so early in the match.
Statistics will show the Jets controlled most of the contest, and certainly that was very evident visually between say the 35th and 75th minutes, but Duric struck the post late on to provide ample warning that the hosts remained a threat to the end.
You could make a case that either side could have prevailed, but a draw on the night was probably just about the right result.
Neither coach would have been overjoyed, but neither would have felt too hard done by. Take the point and move on was perhaps the theme for the night.
The VAR of course attracted comment, but for mine the handball decision was a no brainer, as was the order to retake the spot kick.
Mariners goalkeeper Mark Birighitti saved Dimi Petratos's initial penalty very athletically, but he had clearly moved forward before the ball was struck, so a second attempt was correctly awarded.
Had Birighitti saved the second attempt, it would have been mighty interesting to see if he had moved slightly early again on review and whether he would have received a second yellow card for the same offence. Surely it will happen sooner rather than later in the A-League this season.
A penalty should be a goal 95 per cent of the time, so let's not reward the best cheats and rather punish a poor strike.
Do we want that? My bloody oath we do.
If we are going to judge offsides with all sorts of lines drawn up with angles of shoulders leaning and noses pointing, making it harder to score goals, we must redress the balance somewhere.
Those sorts of offside decisions are pedantic. What happened to benefit of the doubt to the attacking side and the 'clear and obvious' error interpretations?
The rules regarding spot kicks have been bastardised over a number of decades, largely to acquiesce keepers cheating their way to glory, through the need to find a result in matches via the penalty shootout system.
As a card-carrying former president of the strikers' and penalty-taking union I'm calling for an immediate return to the days when custodians were not permitted to move at all before the ball was struck.
Feet should be evenly placed on the line facing perpendicularly forward. Any movement at all, even a slight shoulder twitch, should lead to a yellow card. A second offence should be a dismissal from the field known as the Raelene Boyle disqualification.
Furthermore, a goalkeeper going the wrong way, whether the ball goes in or not, is yellow carded. A second indiscretion should result in a fruit pelting in the stocks in town square.
OK, I've had a bit of fun with that, but seriously this one foot on the line caper will have all the sneaky goalkeeping coaches working on techniques to use in training to gain advantage.
A penalty should be a goal 95 per cent of the time, so let's not reward the best cheats and rather punish a poor strike.
If you hear any dissent, remember that keepers should be grateful they are allowed to share the same pitch with proper footballers. Just kidding. My dear old dad was a keeper, and but for my bum being so close to the ground...
The Jets were solid in their first outing, and if the competition proves to be as close as I think it may be, home fixtures like the one against a very solid and competent Adelaide on Saturday will be vital. Let's hope the Jets, and the pitch, are in good nick for the first home game.
