Newcastle Jets midfielder Alex Badolato is not short of confidence.
He showed that succinctly with a sublime hat-trick against the Melbourne Victory in his first A-League Men’s (ALM) “club” appearance on home soil at McDonald Jones Stadium in October.
So, it’s also probably why the 20-year-old is certain Mark Milligan’s troops can upset the second-placed Auckland FC at Go Media Stadium on Sunday 30 November.
That’s despite Newcastle currently enduring a three-game losing streak, headed by a heartbreaking 2-1 loss to the Perth Glory in its previous outing.
“It’s an exciting challenge for our group,” he said.
“Even though Auckland’s [fairly] new to the league, they’ve been successful.
“I think they’ll be very, very strong defensively and they boast some pretty good attacking players up top with their wingers and striker.
“So, we need to move the ball side-to-side… and try and break down their block; hurt them through the middle.
“Or, we’ll have to get our fullbacks higher and attempt to penetrate them from there.
“For us, there’s nothing to lose.
“MIllsy (Milligan) drills that home all the time there’s no pressure on us.
“We know the game plan, he’s given us the tools and the hard work’s been done during the week.
“Come game day, that’s what you live for.
“It’s the fun part.
“That’s what you play for as a kid… to go out there and express yourself on game day.”
Young gun Alex Badolato fired to score a hat-trick in the Newcastle Jets’ 5-2 win at McDonald Jones Stadium. Photo: Rod Thompson
A Western Sydney Wanderers junior, Badolato debuted for the Jets in their Australia Cup showdown with the Broadmeadow Magic after a brief stint with the Victory.
He’s been a regular for the Australian under-20 side, including winning MVP at the AFC U20 Asian Cup, which Australia won.
He was named the AFC Youth Player of the Year for 2025, too.
So far in 2025/26, the young gun’s found the back of the net on four occasions, with a few goal assists as well.
“I realise I’m being a bit more heavily marked,” Badolato said.
“But, I think that’s a real good thing.
“It’s the next step in my journey… to be able to manoeuvre and find space, still create and score, while getting assists when there’s players all around me.
“Opposition teams probably know that Newcastle wants to overload centrally and play a lot through the middle.
“So, they’re staying a bit narrow, especially on me and Burgo (Max Burgess).
“We’ve looked at that, at some patterns and watched video from the past couple of weeks.
“So, we’re aware of how we can counteract that and still play our style.
“At the end of the day, we’re a very confident group of boys.
“We’ve got a good set of leaders in Burgo, Kosta (Grozos) and Joe Shaughnessy.
“They sort of drive home the football we’re playing.
“It’s some of the best in the league.
“It is not a style that this country sees a lot of.
“So, there’s going to be mistakes.
“However, we’re confident in what we’re doing… and we back ourselves.”
In a boost to the Jets’ chances, Eli Adams will travel to New Zealand while Clayton Taylor seems to be finding form again following a disrupted pre-season.
“I’m delighted,” Badolato said.
“Clayton’s been good the past fortnight and Eli’s return to the squad is massive.
“It’s such a buzz when a player like that comes back.
“He’s so silky on the ball, so elegant and, of course, he’s going to attract attention.
“If that is going to happen with Eli, then maybe players like myself and Burgo will find some more space, which will be exciting.”
The match kicks off at 1pm.
- SQUAD: 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 (c), 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
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