Why Newcastle Jets striker Ash Brodigan is feeling full of confidence this A-League Women's campaign

But the 23-year-old striker hopes the goals keep coming as she continues building her game after returning to A-League Women last season following a three-year absence.

Brodigan was one of the Jets' most consistent players throughout their 2021-22 campaign, featuring in all 14 matches.

"Coming back in last year meant I was new to it again," Brodigan said.

"I felt I had an alright season and I'm just looking to build on top of that with the girls and hopefully make it further than we did last year."

It has been a disrupted start to the season for the Central Coast product.

The versatile attacking player started in Newcastle's opening round clash with Brisbane in Brisbane on November 20 but was forced from the field in the 71^st minute after bursting a vein in her foot during contact with an opposition player.

She watched from the sidelines as Newcastle thrashed Western Sydney 4-2 in round two before returning via the bench in round three.

When Brodigan took the field around the 70-minute mark, Newcastle trailed Perth 2-1.

But the former Australian junior representative showed desire, desperation and composure to score an equaliser seven minutes later in the 2-2 stalemate.

Sophie Stapleford played a searching ball deep into Glory territory. It was headed to the ground by Elizabeth Anton but Brodigan beat the Glory defender to the loose ball then finished into the bottom right corner at a tight angle with goalkeeper Sarah Langman advancing.

"I don't actually remember much of the goal," Brodigan confessed.

"It was very quick. I knew I just had to come in and change the game somehow, and as soon as I saw Soph get the ball I decided to make a run and she just played a perfect ball."

The goal was Brodigan's second in 32 national league appearances.

She debuted for the Jets in the 2015-16 season as a fresh-faced 16-year-old and played 16 times in three seasons.

Brodigan returned to the elite level in 2021-22 after a stand-out campaign with Broadmeadow Magic in Northern NSW Football's women's premier league.

This year she was integral to Northern Tigers' success in NSW NPL Women with 12 goals to be the competition's second-highest scorer.

Tigers made the grand final from fourth position but lost the championship in a penalty shoot-out.

"There was a lot of confidence back in my game after scoring heaps of goals and making the grand final," Brodigan said.

"But I'm not putting too much pressure on myself. I just want to go into each game and play the best I can.

"Throughout the team we've got a lot of people who can score. We've seen a variety of girls score this season so far so I don't feel too much pressure.

"It's a new group of girls. We've been working well together, so hopefully we can build on that and keep going forward."

The Jets have opened their season with a loss, going down 2-1 to Brisbane in round one, a convincing win then the draw with Perth to be fifth on four points.

They face a test of their top-four credentials against competition heavyweights Melbourne City in Melbourne on Saturday afternoon.

City are second on six points after back-to-back wins to start their season.

Defence is likely to be key. Newcastle have shown they can score with an equal-league high of seven goals in three outings but they have the second-worst defensive record after leaking two goals in each appearance.

MORE IN SPORT:

WHAT DO YOU THINK? We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on the Newcastle Herald website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. Sign up for a subscription here.