History shows Melbourne has not proven a happy hunting ground for Newcastle.
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The Jets have beaten round-four opponents Melbourne Victory just three times in 13 exchanges south of the border, and not won there since 2017. They have also never taken points off Melbourne City in Victoria.
It is a statistic captain Cassidy Davis said the Jets are determined to change when they play Victory at the Home of the Matildas on Sunday afternoon.
"They've got lots of high-quality players and sometimes that can go against you when you come in and are playing against underdogs like us," Davis said.
"We really just need to give it a real go and go out there and not sit back and try to change those statistics."
The early-season signs have been promising for the Jets, who are fifth with four points after three outings.
Newcastle's defence appears much steelier than last campaign, when they leaked 53 goals in 18 matches, but the next two fixtures, against Victory then unbeaten City at No.2 Sportsground, will give a better indication of where the season could be headed.
Ten of those 53 goals in 2022-23 came in back-to-back losses to the two Melbourne sides.
"It's going to be good to test ourselves against these quality teams," Davis said.
"It will be nice to play teams like that and really see where we're at."
The spectacular volley from the top of the 18-yard box was just the 29-year-old's second goal in 132 A-League appearances.
The Jets otherwise lacked a killer punch against Wanderers and the final third has been a focus leading into the Melbourne trip.
Hired gun, and former Victory strike weapon, Melina Ayres was sidelined with a hip issue for the Wanderers game but returned to training this week.
Ayres bagged a double in a lethal performance against the Jets last season.
"She's a player than can do that; she can pull something out of nothing, and that's why we've signed her," Davis said.
"She's a goalscorer and I do remember marking her a few times in the past and she definitely scored a few goals against me.
"So, I hope that she can do that against her old team. That will just build her confidence and hopefully we can see her on the park this weekend."
Ayres has been named in the Jets squad for the Victory clash but a final decision on whether she will play was not expected until Saturday.
Congolese international Kizinga Ndjoli Exaucee, who joined the Jets this week, was also named but is still settling in and is unlikely to be used against Victory, who posted their first points of the season in beating Adelaide 2-0 last outing.
Meanwhile, the Newcastle Herald understands Matildas midfielder and Dudley Redhead junior Emily van Egmond is back in town.
The San Diego Wave player's National Women's Soccer League season ended in a semi-final loss to OL Reign on Monday. The 30-year-old is still contracted in the United States but the Jets have expressed a desire to sign her to a guest stint if possible.
