Chris Macpherson 
Will Dobson and Rob Stanton when Dobson signed his scholarship contract. Photo supplied by Newcastle Jets.
Jets manager Rob Stanton was profuse in his praise for debutant scholarship player Will Dobson despite the sides loss to Melbourne City 1-0 to kick off their A-League Men campaign.
Newcastle’s new campaign, their first under the ownership of Maverick Sports Partners, certainly did not get under way in the manner they intended, as the Jets conceded a goal to Melbourne City’s Marco Tilio inside the first 100 seconds.
Things certainly improved throughout the fixture but at no point were the Jets able to grab the upper hand, despite playing the final 20 minutes with a man advantage after Jimmy Jeggo was sent from the field following an apparent stomp to the back of a prone Eli Adams.
Coach Robbie Stanton addressed the slow start, saying his side did not have the right mindset from the kickoff and that they did not match their intensity, which disappointed him.
Despite the disappointment around the start and the final result, there were certainly positives from the Jets manager as he talked to the adjustments the team made and strides forward in their play.
“We adjusted at half time with our press, players needed to step up at certain times,” Stanton said.
“We forced them to play longer passes, straighter passes that were not as effective and we won the ball.
“Even before the send off, I thought we started to control the game a little bit better in their half.”
Stanton credited his team for pinning Melbourne City in from a defensive stand point after the goal, crediting his teams efforts to start the second half, whilst being firm in his praise of their opponents, saying that “we pinned a very, very good team in for long periods.”
“The best part of the game was the first whistle of the second half until the red card, 11 v 11, I thought we fixed things and had good control there and created more chances.”
Stanton did note the Jets missed new signing Lachie Rose, describing the team as at times stagnant and narrow in their attack.
“What Lachie does well is make forward runs and get pressure on the ball, we didn’t do that well tonight.”
The manager said they are hopeful Rose will return in two more weeks, but is unlikely to be available for the fixture against his old club Macarthur due to a hip injury.
Stanton was most glowing in his praise for young academy product Will Dobson. Dobson signed a scholarship contract with the club in August and celebrated his 17th birthday last month.
Dobson came on late in regulation time for his first senior appearance and looked confident in his early touches, which will add plenty of confidence for the youngster.
Stanton praised Dobson’s contribution despite its brevity.
“He can thread that pass, he’s good on the ball, he’s got a good strike on him,” Stanton said.
“He’s composed as well, that was one of the reasons I put him on the edge.
“He got in the box and set himself to shoot but ended up laying it off.
“I genuinely believe he has talent, it’s a matter of bringing it out of him. The good thing about Will is he is super, super young.”
Despite his praise, Stanton was quick to be cautious and manage fan expectation of Dobson becoming a regular starter this early in his career.
“The exposure for someone like him needs to be measured to make sure we don’t put him in an uncompromising position,” he said.
“[Dobson playing matches] has to be done at the right time”
“He’s got a long time to develop him, we don’t have to rush him. We just have to get it right”
Touching on their next fixture against Macarthur on Friday, Stanton said he expected Callum Timmins to return, and would at least feature on the bench.
“If Cal (Timmins) comes back we will probably go with more experience,” but he conceded he may rely on Dobson again if Timmins is not cleared to play.