Newcastle players argued Jelic's 45th minute goal was handball when the Serbian converted a loose ball from close-range.

The Jets boss, though, refused to blame the decision for his side's loss.

"It had nothing to do with luck," Culina told Fox Sports.

"At the end of the day you've got to play well enough and then the luck will go your way."

Culina would not be drawn into the debate on whether the goal was legitimate either.

"I was too far away," he said. "I didn't see it so I can't make a comment."

Veteran Jets midfielder Kasey Wehrman was brutally honest in his assessment of his side's performance in Perth.

"We didn't create anything tonight, that's to Perth's credit really," he said.

"They stuck in and worked hard in defence and caught us on the counter-attack. They were very dangerous and deserved the three points."

Glory coach David Mitchell was delighted to see his team return to the summit of the A-League table despite a wasteful performance.

"We've not played the best today but we created a lot of chances," Mitchell said. "It's a credit to the boys. They dug deep.

"I'm happy we kept a clean sheet and got the three points."

Mitchell also praised goalscorer Jelic, who made a major impact after coming on as a first-half substitute.

"He's a goal scorer," he added. "He's usually in the right place at the right time and he certainly was today."