![IMPACT: Tessa Tamplin has played every minute for the Jets this season. Picture: Jonathan Carroll IMPACT: Tessa Tamplin has played every minute for the Jets this season. Picture: Jonathan Carroll](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/ikLFZZUcNnvgygfqz78ZET/b8d8693f-b18b-445c-b9c2-04e84396d187.jpg/r0_228_4459_2745_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Tessa Tamplin has taken her opportunity and run with it, literally.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
In the space of 12 months, the Redhead 18-year-old with speed to burn has gone from Jets scholarship holder to fully fledged W-League player.
Four appearances at the end of last season for a depleted Newcastle side gave Tamplin of taste of top-level football.
The Young Matildas defender has gone on this season to play every minute of every game, asserting herself as a player of the future with her tireless work rate, steely defence and penetrating runs from deep.
Last match she gained plenty of media attention for a spectacular long-range goal that she did not see go in followed by a live post-match interview in which the bubbly Novocastrian inadvertently swore.
"The goal was a flook," Tamplin told the Newcastle Herald this week.
"It surprised everyone, including me. I saw a blue shirt in the box and thought, 'I could cross it in there' ... but it was the worst cross ever and I was so annoyed with myself. I didn't even want to watch it.
"I was walking away and everyone started cheering and I thought maybe Jenna [Kingsley] got on it and I saw the ball in the back of the net and everyone came running to me."
It came in a 4-2 loss to Perth Glory at McDonald Jones Stadium last Thursday night that left Newcastle rooted to the bottom of the table with three rounds to go.
"You've got to take the positives out of everything; we can't dwell on the negatives," Tamplin said with a maturity beyond her years. "In the Perth game, the fact that we got two goals and we kept fighting until the end was a real positive."
Another positive sure to come out in the Jets' post-season reflection will be Tamplin's rise and she is relishing every moment.
"I came into this season hoping to be a fully contracted player but mostly just to train and make my way and hopefully by the end of the season get a couple of games, but nowhere near what I've gotten," she said.
"It's been super exciting. I'm loving it."
The Jets host Adelaide at McDonald Jones Stadium on Saturday night. They share last place with four points and the Jets will be desperate for glory as they attempt to avoid the wooden spoon.
Related content: