OH my goodness. Oh my goodness. Have you ever seen a more freakish goal in A-League history?
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That was commentator Brenton Speed's take on a freakish goal by Riley McGree.
McGree's scorpion kick went around the globe, was a finalist for the Puskas award and helped propel the Jets to a 2-1 win over Melbourne City and seal a home grand final.
It was out of this world. Crazy.
In the space of a season, Ernie Merrick, who was supposedly past it, transformed the Jets from also-rans - the last-chance saloon for many players - into the entertainers of the league.
Gone was the methodical, almost to a formula, patient build-up employed by previous coaches.
From day one, Merrick stipulated that the Jets play forward and gave them a licence to take risks.
"I always anticipated that it was a team that was going to go places," Merrick said. "Knowing who was in charge; that Martin Lee was on board, Lawrie McKinna was the CEO. I always felt it was a sleeping giant waiting to come out of its reverie. Everything has fallen into place beautifully."
McKinna and operations manager Joel Griffiths started the Jets' rebuilding process months before Merrick was appointed and had already signed blue-chip winners Daniel Georgievski, Roy O'Donovan, Dimi Petratos and Nikolai Topor-Stanley.
Griffiths, in his fourth stint at the Jets including three as a player, more than anyone knew the club's potential. He was front and centre when the Jets claimed their first championship a decade ago.
"It was important to connect the present players to the past," he said. "I wanted the boys who did create history here acknowledged and remembered."
In the pre-season, the former golden boot and Johnny Warren medallist had giant posters made up of past players and scenes from the 2008 grand-final victory and hung them in the players' lounge and medical room which overlook the training ground.
"It was important, especially for the younger boys to see them ... I said 'if you win a championship you will be up on the wall too'."
When Mark Jones was sacked as coach, McKinna was sure Merrick was the right fit. A proverbial basket case, the Jets hadn't made the finals in seven years, were coming off a wooden-spoon season and had just spat out their third coach in three years.
"Ernie walked into the dressing room on day one, and everyone went that is Ernie Merrick, he has won two championships and is the most experienced coach in the league. That is what we needed," McKinna said.
In an incredible campaign, the Jets finished second on 50 points, the club's best return. Their 57 goals set a new mark, as did the 14 different goal-scorers and 24 consecutive games in which they scored a goal.
From day one, Merrick was on a mission.
"I am not one who has a four-or-five-year plan," he spruiked. "It is about doing it and doing it now."
A former PE teacher, who grew up in a family of circus performers, Merrick had always put an emphasis on entertainment. The two championships he won at Melbourne Victory were based on attack.
"Defenders do a job: save the team," he said. "They are the backbone of the team, they are crucial. But games are won and excitement's created by the strikers."
Ten players were shed, including imports Mateo Poljak, Me Leilei, Morten Nordstrand and Aleksandr Kokko.
Petratos returned from Korea, Topor-Stanley signed after a year in Dubai and keeper Glen Moss moved across the ditch. Significantly, they had all won championships and knew what it took to build a winning culture.
The icing on the cake was marquee Ronny Vargas. With owner Martin Lee providing extra funds, Merrick waited until he found the missing piece, a genuine No.10 who could create as well as score goals.
The Jets didn't score a goal in five straight defeats to close the previous season. They netted just 28 for the campaign - 9th in the league - which followed 28 the season before and 23 in 2014-15.
They opened the 2017-18 campaign with five goals against the Mariners and didn't stop.
Mariners fans unveiled a banner depicting O'Donovan as a snake and booed his every touch. But the Irishman had the last laugh, scoring a hat-trick to propel the Jets to a pulsating 5-1 victory and set the tone for the season.
A horror ankle injury to Vargas in a 2-1 win over Brisbane in round three stalled momentum momentarily.
All of a sudden, it was Petratos' team and he rose to the task.
At the midway point, the Jets were the only team to have scored in every game and one of only five ever to have netted 30 goals.
The goals - and the wins - kept flowing. Andrew Nabbout, after a breakout 2016-17 campaign, was flying and had netted six goals by Christmas.
The arrival of McGree and Argentinean Pato Rodriguez during the January transfer window provided a timely spark
Any questions over the Jets' championships credentials were expelled with a 2-1 victory against runaway leaders Sydney FC a month out from the finals.
It was a win for the ages.
A 10-man Jets outfit, spurred on by a raucous home crowd of 18,156, outgunned Sydney in one the club's most famous wins - a win that guaranteed a home semi-final and delivered a psychological hammer to the seemingly imperious armor of the Sky Blues.
"It was pretty special wasn't it," Merrick said, smiling. "I would say the boys are pretty confident that they can match it with anyone now."
Nabbout scored the match-winner, a rasping strike, before confirming he was headed to J-League giants Urawa Red Diamonds, netting the Jets $500,000.
"It's a bittersweet moment to be leaving ... but this is an opportunity I can't pass up - it's something I've worked for for such a long time."
In a double blow, inspirational skipper Boogaard fractured his fibia and tore his calf and was not expected to play again for the season.
After three losses on the bounce, a record-breaking 8-2 obliteration of the Mariners in the final round provided a timely lift and much-needed momentum heading into the finals.
In a further boost, Boogaard was cleared to lead the Jets into the preliminary final against City.
Enter McGree.
With the Jets trailing 1-0, the teenager played the ball into Vargas on the edge of the box. The Venezuelan lifted a pass over the top to the midfielder. The delivery was slightly behind McGree and, incredibly, he hooked the ball with the back of his heel over his head and into the top-right corner. From there, the home side bombarded the City goal before Jason Hoffman finally produced the killer blow.
"You have to be willing to try anything really and if it pays off, it pays off," McGree explained.
"I did mean it to go in that direction, but it did get a bit lucky to hit is as perfect as I did and in the back of the net."
Oh my goodness!
