The life of a second-choice keeper is a long and lonely road, one of the toughest roles in professional football.

You can wait ages for a chance, for a crack at the top level, but that can disappear in a instant.

Just ask Italiano.

The 29-year-old has been in and around the A-League for nearly a decade. He had two spells with Perth Glory, his hometown club, without making a first-team appearance.

Eventually he made his debut for Wellington in April 2015, in the final round of the 2014/15 campaign, in a 2-1 loss to Sydney FC.

But Italiano did not play a game the following season, and then racked up just five matches in 2016/17 and then 13 the season after that.

Most of his time at Phoenix was spent as second-string to veteran Glen Moss, so much so that he had splinters from sitting on the bench so often.

But the keeper did not complain or whinge, he keep returning to the NPL every winter to hone his craft and get games under his belt.

Italiano's career started in the Western Australia NPL with the likes of Stirling Lions, Balcatta and Inglewood Inited, and each A-League off-season he has gone back to the NPL, to Oakleigh, ECU Joondalup, Bulleen and Stirling, as well as spending time in New Zealand's ISPS Handa Championship, to keep improving.

"If I wasn’t getting game-time in the A-League season I was going back in the winter and playing in the NPL," he explained to FTBL.

"I spent a bit of time in Melbourne with Oakleigh Cannons and Bulleen, and going back to some of my local clubs like Stirling and Balcatta. To go and get some game time, and to be home as well, it meant a lot and getting experience as well, it was good.

"[But] It’s very mentally-challenging."

He was first signed to Wellington by Ernie Merrick, and then to Newcastle in 2018 by Merrick again.

"Ernie dragged me a long, when I was a young 22-year-old, over to Phoenix," Italiano said.

"I gained a lot of respect for Ernie, he was a good mentor to have as a coach."

Now that dedication for so many years is paying off.

For so long the understudy to Moss, now Italiano has the chance to stake his claim as an A-League regular at the Jets with the Kiwi's retirement.

"I’ve been under a fantastic goalkeeper, I’ve been second choice behind him for quite some time," he said.

"I did four seasons with him at the Phoenix. From kicking the ball on the field to off the field mannerisms and how to act, I definitely learned a lot off him.

"I’ve learnt a lot off him, and now if I can transition that into playing games and be the shot-stopper that he was, with a fantastic career, would be unbelievable."

Italiano is determined to take his chance. The 1.91 metre shot-stopper has become a regular under Carl Robinson as the Jets aim for an unlucky finals berth.

"We now we have a new coach Carl who’s brought a new style of football, which is really enjoyable," Italiano said.

"It’s a new learning curve. We’re always learning in this game and I’m really enjoying it at the moment."

Newcastle's season resumes on July 21 against defending champions Sydney FC. The Jets will likely need to win all of their remaining games to finish in the top six.

But if they do it would be some reward for this 29-year-old who has refused to throw in the towel.

"Sydney FC are playing Friday night, so they get a bit of a headstart," Italiano said.

"But we’re doing what we’re doing to prepare for that game, it will be good to finally get back on the field after three months. We play to win, we play to enjoy ourselves as well. We want to win these last four games, we want to go off with a bang.

"We want to get into these finals."