Can the Newcastle Jets make McDonald Jones Stadium a fortress?

History, however, suggests that might be easier said than done.

The Novocastrian faithful rate among the most loyal and passionate supporters in the A-League, but rarely over the competition's 14 previous seasons have they been rewarded with a consistently successful team.

Indeed, the Newcastle Herald can reveal today that in terms of winning percentages on home turf, the Jets have the worst record of the A-League's 10 long-term clubs.

In 183 home games (including one in Port Macquarie, and one in Coffs Harbour), Newcastle have racked up 72 wins, 44 draws and 67 defeats.

That equates to a winning strike rate of 39.3 per cent. The next lowest are back-to-back wooden spooners Central Coast Mariners, with a 40.8 percentage.

Competition heavyweights Melbourne Victory (54.9 per cent) and Sydney FC (53.4) are not surprisingly the benchmark teams.

Away from home, the Jets' statistics stack up more favourably.

Their winning strike rate on the road is 27.0 per cent (50 wins from 185 games), but they sit above four rival clubs: the Mariners (25.6 per cent), Perth (25.4), Melbourne City (24.6) and Wellington (22.8).

Why Newcastle have struggled to convert their home-ground advantage into wins is something of a mystery, but it is a quandary they will need to solve promptly - starting when they host Adelaide on Saturday - if they hope to feature in this season's play-offs.

Veteran defender Nikolai Topor-Stanley has the attitude that "every game is an opportunity for three points", regardless of where it is played.

But he added: "Clearly you want to be really strong at home, and you want to put a show on for the fans. You want them to have something to celebrate."

Every win in the early rounds, especially at home, will help Newcastle inch towards last season's club-record membership tally of 11,634.

As of Monday they were up to 9212, slightly ahead of how many members they had secured at the corresponding point of last season.

"We've surpassed out membership for last season, at this stage of last year," Topor-Stanley said.

"So that's a positive, that we have that support. Newcastle has always been very supportive of a winning team. So we want to vindicate that and get the fans in."

The importance of maximising home-ground advantage is evidenced by Newcastle's past two seasons.

In 2017-18, they won eight regular-season games at Turton Road to finish second, then beat Melbourne City at McDonald Jones Stadium to secure a home grand final.

Last season, they won only five home games and finished seventh, five points adrift of the play-offs.

Newcastle's launched their season with a 1-all draw against Central Coast at Gosford last weekend, and a win against Adelaide would provide a timely confidence boost.

"History has shown that teams who get off to strong starts normally finish up near the top ... in my experience, those teams that get on a roll early are very hard to peg back down," Topor-Stanley said.

"That's no different this season.

"But in saying that, if it [a win] doesn't happen, it's not the be-all and end-all.

"There are plenty more games after that, but it is very important to get points on the board."

Topor-Stanley said Newcastle were not expecting Adelaide to be weary after Wednesday's FFA Cup final against Melbourne City.

"We won't be underestimating them at all," he said. "It will be a tough ask, but we're looking forward to it."

ADELAIDE 46.4

BRISBANE 48.4

MARINERS 40.8

MELB CITY 47.2

VICTORY 54.9

NEWCASTLE 39.3

PERTH 49.2

SYDNEY 53.4

WELLINGTON 43.5

WANDERERS 41.0

* New franchise Western United have drawn their only home game.