Head coach Steve Corica has tried to freshen up his players ahead of Sunday’s men’s A-League game against the Newcastle Jets at Go Media Stadium.
Believing his players were “flat” in their 1-1 draw against Brisbane Roar in the previous round, Corica cut sessions on the training pitch from five sessions to three in the lead-up to the Jets match.
“Definitely should be going into the game fresher, but I think the boys have taken responsibility as well,” he said.
“We all have. I didn’t enjoy the performance — I think we’ve got to do a lot better.”
Corica said the players may have been “overcooked” in training before the Brisbane match, and the international window had not helped.
READ MORE: Auckland FC head coach Steve Corica: ‘We were very poor against Brisbane’ >>>>
“The real positive coming out of it, though, is we’re still unbeaten,” he said.
“We’re the only team unbeaten in the competition at the moment, and we’ve got a real chance to pick up three points against Newcastle.”
Corica was pleased with his players’ response since the Roar draw.
“I can see from what we’ve done at training, they’re switched on; they’re ready. Maybe we lost a little bit of focus in the international window, so there is no excuse this week.
“It’s a massive game for us. It doesn’t matter that they’re down the bottom, they’re still a very good attacking team.
“They’ve scored nine goals, they’ve conceded 14, so there are areas that we think we can score goals and we want to be at our best to do that.”
Main photo: Steve Corica … ‘It’s a massive game for us.’
Watch pre-match interviews
At their media briefing, Auckland FC’s Francis de Vries, Lachie Brooks and coach Steve Corica faced the camera.
How to watch the match
The game will be broadcast live and free on Sky Open and live on pay channel Sky Sport 1 in New Zealand, and on Paramount in Australia.
Fixture
Game to be played on Sunday November 30, 2025
Auckland FC v Newcastle Jets
Go Media Stadium Mt Smart, Auckland, 3pm (NZT)
Pos
Club
MP
W
D
L
GF
GA
GD
Pts
1
Sydney FC
6
4
0
2
12
4
+8
12
2
Brisbane Roar
6
3
2
1
7
3
+4
11
3
Auckland FC
5
3
2
0
6
3
+3
11
4
Adelaide United
6
3
0
3
11
8
+3
9
5
Melbourne City
6
2
3
1
8
5
+3
9
6
Wellington Phoenix
6
2
2
2
8
8
0
8
7
Central Coast Mariners
6
2
2
2
7
8
-1
8
8
Western Sydney
6
2
2
2
6
7
-1
8
9
Macarthur
5
2
1
2
4
5
-1
7
10
Perth Glory
5
1
1
3
4
10
-6
4
11
Melbourne Victory
6
1
1
4
11
14
-3
4
12
Newcastle Jets
5
1
0
4
9
14
-5
3
Table at 8am (NZT) on Sunday November 30, 2025.
Squads
Auckland FC
1. Michael Woud, 3. Jake Girdwood-Reich, 4. Nando Pijnaker, 6. Louis Verstraete, 7. Cameron Howieson, 8. Felipe Gallegos, 9. Sam Cosgrove, 10. Guillermo May, 11. Marlee François, 14. Liam Gillion, 15. Francis de Vries, 17. Callan Elliot, 19. Oliver Middleton, 20. Oli Sail, 21. Jesse Randall, 22. Jake Brimmer, 23. Dan Hall, 35. Jonty Bidois, 52. Luka Vicelich, 77. Lachlan Brook.
In: 11. Marlee François (back from injury), 22. Jake Brimmer (back from injury), 23. Dan Hall (back from suspension).
Out: 2. Hiroki Sakai (injured),16. Adama Coulibaly, 18. Finn McKenlay.
Unavailable: 27. Logan Rogerson (suspension).
Newcastle Jets (two to be omitted)
1. James Delianov, 5. Joe Shaughnessy, 7. Eli Adams, 8. Lachlan Bayliss, 9. Lachlan Rose, 11. Ben Gibson, 13. Clayton Taylor, 14. Max Burgess, 15. Aleksandar Šušnjar, 17. Kosta Grozos, 19. Alex Badolato, 22. Joel Bertolissio, 23. Daniel Wilmering, 24. Alex Nunes, 28. Will Dobson, 33. Mark Natta, 39. Thomas Aquilina, 40. Jordan Baylis, 42. Max Cooper, 43. Xavier Bertoncello.
In: 7. Eli Adams, 40. Jordan Baylis.
Out: Nil.
Unavailable: 18. Kota Mizunuma, 20. Alex Nassiep, 25. Oscar Fryer, 21. Noah James, 34. Richard N’komo, 41. Lucas Scicluna, 44. Ben Van Dorssen, 45. Christian Bracco.
Officials
Referee: Alireza Faghani.
Assistant referees: Andrew Lindsay, Matthew McOrist.
Fourth official: Calvin Berg.
VAR: Alex King.
Assistant VAR: George Lakrindis.
This story was first published on November 30, 2025.
More football stories
