The Jets wide man is delighted to commit himself to the Jets although not quite so happy that elder sibling Ahmad has decided to sign for Newcastle’s bitter rivals.

He has also revealed that he turned down bigger offers from rival A-League clubs because in his words ‘money doesn’t buy you happiness’.

Speaking to au.fourfourtwo.com after being included in Pim Verbeek’s squad for the Singapore friendly, Elrich junior said: “It’s a dream come true for me. I’ve worked hard, kept believing and played in a side that ended up winning the grand final.

“I’ve also been part of a club with a coach that really supports and helps his young players. If you have a bad game then Dutchy (Gary Van Egmond) will tell you not to stress over it. He’ll spend the time with you, work on things and keep up your confidence. That’s very important to me.”

While Andrew Durante, Mark Bridge and possibly Stuart Musialik have all turned their backs on the Jets Elrich was happy to stay.

He said: “It is a relief to have it sorted. Yes, there were two or three other clubs wanting to sign me and I could have earned another 40,000 dollars or so by joining them. But money doesn’t buy you happiness.

“I think if you’re chasing the big money then that’s when you look to Europe, not here in Australia.”

Loyalty is a factor in a player’s decision to stay put but he also needs to see a future for the club he is committing himself to.

Despite all the doom and gloom surrounding departures and the question of money, Elrich is excited by what he is hearing from the Jets coaching staff.

He said: “I’ve been told the sort of plans and the players that we’re chasing. It all sounds really promising to me. Hopefully we’re able to get the guys being talked about.

“People wrote us off when we lost the likes of Nick Carle and Milton Rodriguez. They said we’d finish seventh or something. I’m sure there’ll be some writing us off again because of the players who have moved on.”

One guy who won’t be joining the ranks is Tarek’s older brother Ahmad.

Tarek joked: “I couldn’t believe it when he said he was signing for the Central Coast Mariners. I said to him ‘What are you doing?’

“Then I didn’t speak to him for a few days afterwards. I really wanted to play with him.

“That’s it now. I’ll be having a word with the Squadron and suggesting a few banners for when he comes here next season. They’ll be right at him.”

Disappointment at not linking up with his brother aside, Tarek hopes it won’t be too long before the Elrich brothers are both pulling on the same coloured jersey – a green and gold one.

He said: “Yeah, I’m really pleased to be in there and I know Ahmad is looking forward to a good year. He should be back to his best and hopefully he’ll be pushing for inclusion.”