Jets' Tommy gun aiming to shoot down Rockdale in Australia Cup

It is tradition for players who bag three goals to be rewarded with the game ball.

Aquilina scored a brace and could easily have netted four in the Jets' 4-1 win over Western United in Darwin.

"To get that first goal, I was really happy," Aqulina said. "To get the second was amazing. Realistically, I should have had the match ball. I have never done that before."

The win secured the Jets a place in the round-of-32 and a showdown with NSW NPL leaders Rockdale in Sydney on Wednesday night.

Aquilina, a fullback for the majority of his career, has been pushed further forward by Jets coach Rob Stanton.

"A couple more goals this Wednesday night would be nice," Aquilina said. "You get judged on goals and assists playing further up the pitch.

"The boss has faith in me to play that position. I need to repay him the favour with goals and ultimately helping the team win."

It has been a big adjustment for the 23-year-old former Olyroo.

"It is new ground for me so it is a learning curve," he said. "Players play better when they are uncomfortable. That has been the case for me in the past six months, finding my feet in a new position.

"I have been looking at video with the assistant coaches. After training you do extras to replicate things that happen in the game. To get two goals was really rewarding.

"I'm trying to improve my game with each training session and each game. You watch the video back and identify little areas to improve."

The early signs have been promising. Both of Aquilina's goals against Western were well taken. He drilled a volley from the edge of the box into the left corner to give the Jets a 2-0 lead, then made a run at the far post to tap in a Clayton Taylor cross to ice the win.

"Tommy has been putting extra effort in on the pitch, doing unit work with finishing. It goes to show, the extra work pays off," Stanton said. "The other thing he brings to the table is that he can defend well from the front. He gets pressure on the ball in key areas."

The sale of Apostolos Stamatelopoulos to Motherwell combined with the departure of Reno Piscopo (Victory), Trent Buhagiar (Brescia) and Archie Goodwin (Adelaide) and a season-ending injury to recruit Oscar Fryer have left the Jets light in the front third.

"We are constantly looking at players to sign," Stanton said. "We still have time. I want to get the right person, who will suit the team and have the right character.

"There are a couple I'm looking at. It is important that we get a striker first. Then there are a couple of other positions we should fill. We will be short if we don't. We need a minimum two-to-three players.

"We want enough depth in positions to be flexible in how we play. I'd like a playing group where if I look to the bench, we can make significant changes. Be as strong if not stronger when we finish games. That will help us manage games."