Jets defender Hannah Brewer excited for her 11th A-League Women's season with Newcastle

The pair played several seasons side-by-side in the Jets backline with communication the key to staying in sync before Davis was shifted into a midfield role last campaign.

And, the Central Coast-based Brewer credits regularly hearing her friend's voice as the driving force to maintaining a lonely training regime through a difficult and lengthy lockdown period.

The 28-year-old spent four months without a team environment before the Jets came together on October 25 to start pre-season training for Newcastle's upcoming A-League Women's campaign, which begins against Sydney on December 4.

"It has been very difficult, especially training in isolation and by yourself," Brewer said. "I know some of the girls up here had running partners that they could meet down at the oval to smash out their training, which was really nice for them.

"But I was definitely isolated down on the Coast, which made it hard. But I'd just give Cass a call and she'd push me along while I was running. It's a different way of training, I guess, but we got through.

"Cass would be on the phone every other day telling me to get out of bed and go train. Sometimes, I'd call her on my way to the field and then I'd wear my air pods and have her yelling at me through them. It was actually quite nice."

Brewer, who also works full-time as a special education teacher on the Central Coast, is one of two foundation players in the Jets squad, along with Gema Simon. They are both gearing up for their 14^th seasons in the national women's league.

It will be Brewer's 11^th in Jets colours. She had stints with Melbourne Victory, Melbourne City and Canberra United between 2014 and 2017 before returning to Newcastle, where she has continued to be a key player in their push for another finals appearance.

As a long-serving player, she has experienced the club's highs and lows - finals football in 2008-09 and 2017-18, collecting the wooden spoon in 2019-20 and finishing eighth last campaign.

But Brewer believes those recent results have only galvanised a squad she believes can be top-four contenders this year.

"Last year, we worked really hard and were really disappointed with our results, and where we finished on the table was quite disappointing," she said.

"But, we know that we have it in us to succeed, and we can see that at training. We know how hard we work on and off the ball.

"I think with the new additions this season and everyone having that extra time to jell over last year, we can only progress further and further develop our game and become the team that we know we can be."

Eleven players are returning from last year's squad. The Jets have brought in their first international player since the 2018-19 season by signing exciting Norwegian forward Marie Markussen.

They are expected to announce another overseas recruit in coming weeks as coach Ash Wilson finalises her 18-player squad.

"The announcement of internationals is huge," Brewer said. "We've been waiting years and knowing that could be a huge addition to our squad for years, and it's finally happening which is super exciting for us. As a club they can only help and we'll hopefully have a successful season.

"A lot of the younger players who have come in are fighting fit and willing to push for a spot, which is exciting."

The Jets' new recruits also include local product Kirsty Fenton, a defender, plus goalkeeper Georgia Boric and midfielder Lucy Johnson.

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