Jets recruit welcomes change to schedule and chance to take on former club

Stamatelopoulos, 21, gained a release from Western United last month to join the Jets after not taking the field this A-League season for the Melbourne club.

The striker, though, was set to miss the clash with his former club at McDonald Jones Stadium because he cannot play until the A-League transfer window opens on February 16.

Now that match will be played later in the season, giving Stamatelopoulos the chance to take on United.

"It's really good news for me, I was happy to hear it," Stamatelopoulos said with a smile.

"And it gives the boys a bit of a rest as well, because they've got a jam-packed schedule, so I think that it's good it's been moved back."

The fixture change was one of several announced on Thursday. Perth's home game against Melbourne Victory on February 13 was postponed amid recent changes to COVID border restrictions. The match would have been Glory's first game back in Perth after a stint interstate.

The Newcastle v Western United match was delayed because of other changes to the draw. Victory now play Western Sydney Wanderers away on Wednesday.

The Jets host Melbourne City on Sunday but now have a full week to prepare for their following match, against Brisbane away.

Stamatelopoulos will also miss that match but he was keen to train hard in the meantime and hit the ground running in the battle for a position.

He said the decision to leave his Western United contract five months early was not difficult.

"I wasn't playing that much, not getting much game time and moving here hopefully, fingers crossed, I'll get a lot more game time, a lot more chances to score goals," he said.

The former Young Socceroo started his A-League career with hometown club Adelaide in 2017-18 and played 27 games across his first three seasons.

He made 12 appearances for Western United last season but started just twice.

Stamatelopoulos was keen to revive his career in a season where A-League clubs have been forced by COVID restrictions to look more at young local talent.

And he was encouraged by the immediate chance given to another new Jets addition, Luka Prso, in the 1-1 draw with Wanderers last round.

"He works really hard, so I feel like whichever player is going to do a job, the coach is going to put in, so hopefully I can do that job and get in the team," he said.

"I feel that if you can do a job at training, coaches will trust you, and it's going to be an even bigger year for young players.

"You can see a lot of younger players are scoring goals, especially over in Perth, so I think we can show we can do a job."

Stamatelopoulos admitted he was "a little bit unfit" because of his lack of matches but said "100 per cent I'll be ready to go" when he was eligible to play.

"It's always difficult for any player to sit on the sidelines and watch their team play, so I'll just working hard and hopefully I can get into the team on the 16^th," he said.