A-league soccer, 2023: Young gun Lucas Mauragis locked in for Jets return in 2023-24

Mauragis is on loan at Wellington Phoenix - a deal that was initially done as a swap for James McGarry - and has become a key component of Ufuk Talay's side.

The 21-year-old left-footer has flourished, starting 14 games - 10 more than he did under Arthur Papas in Newcastle last season.

"He is on loan to Wellington but is contracted to the Jets for next season," Mattiske said. "He will be part of the squad for 2023-24. It is as simple as that. Wellington may try and convince us to release him, but that is entirely in our hands.

"The reason we sent him to Wellington on loan was to give him that experience and opportunity to develop. You can clearly see that is happening."

The Jets lack depth at left fullback. McGarry joined the Mariners in a trade deal for Thomas Aquilina during the transfer window. Veteran Jason Hoffman and Aquilina are both right-sided but have been playing on the left.

In a surprise, Mauragis, who came through the Jets youth system, helped steer Wellington to a controversial 2-1 win over the Jets at Skybet Stadium last Saturday.

Normally players on loan are not permitted to play against their parent club.

However, in the arrangement struck between the Jets and Phoenix, Mauragis was cleared to play against his former club in New Zealand. That concession will continue in the finals.

"Ultimately, each deal is different," Mattiske said. "That was the nature of the deal which was done. We hope that we are in a position to be playing finals. Right now we are focused on our game this week. If we are in finals and if we play Wellington and if Lucas is fit - there are a few ifs there - then potentially we could play against him."

READ MORE:

The Jets are in seventh spot, three points behind the fifth-placed Phoenix, with seven rounds remaining.

Home games against Adelaide (31 points) on Saturday and Perth (20 points) seven days later will be crucial to their play-off chances.

In a boost, Beka Mikeltadze trained on Monday after missing the trip to Wellington with a minor groin issue.

Mattiske is hoping for a swell in home support.

"We believe we are a finals team and need our fans to come out and support us as we climb into the six," he said.

"The team is proving that they are highly competitive. The effort in Wellington was very strong. We felt we deserved to be coming home with points from that game."

MORE IN SPORT:

To see more stories and read today's paper download the Newcastle Herald news app here.

Or if your story has open comments:

WHAT DO YOU THINK? Join the discussion in the comment section below.

Find out how to register or become a subscriber here.