"Mario is feeling confident. The missing puzzle is whether to start for him," said Van Egmond at the lunchtime press conference.

"It may only be half a game or 60 minutes but in the long run he'll be better for it rather than coming on later in the game."

He added: "Mario is not going to be a player who runs channels and has a high workrate. It's in the penalty box where he'll do the damage.

"We'll look to hit Mario's feet and hold it up and the midfield can linkup. So we're likely to see a more counter attack football style."

Jardel said he hopes to score on the weekend. "At this stage I could go a full game," he said but admitted he'll need a few games to find his feet after not having played in a competitive match in three months.

Quizzed on what he's seen in the A-League so far, Jardel added: "It's physically tougher than Brazil.

"Football is coming up here and level is very similar. I'm not a contact player but I expect to score some goals."

Van Egmond noted that Jardel is "as fit as he can be. He just needs games. We've played in mock games and Mario's been involved so he's starting to understand the structures."

In other news, former Socceroo and ex-Belgian league defender Steve Laybutt has signed for the Jets but won't take his place in the side on the weekend.

Van Egmond added that Olyroos Stuart Musialik and Mark Bridge - who played on Wednesday night for the Qantas U/23s in a qualifer in Gosford - have pulled up well and he expects them to play against the Reds.

The Jets are expecting a crowd of around 12-15,000 to witness Jardel's A-League debut on Saturday night against Adelaide United.