To see Newcastle Jets training yesterday...

 

The Newcastle Jets striker was one of the key stars in the opening season of the Hyundai A-League when he helped take Sydney FC to their first Championship in 2005/6.

In that debut season, he proved his his NSL goal-every-second-game credentials by becoming the A-League's second highest goalscorer and also notched up the second highest number of  assists.

After two seasons in sky blue, with 43 games and 14 goals under his belt, at the age then of 32, management feared he was past his best  and released him.

But local rival coach Lawrie McKinna saw there was still fuel left in Petrovski's tank and snapped him up for the Central Coast Mariners.

There he bagged another 14 goals in 44 games for the yellow and navy and added to his trophy cabinet with a Premiership medal along the way.

Petrovski finally completed his journey up the F3 last year when he signed for the Jets and while his goalscoring tally may have slipped, his hunger has not.

Now aged 35, Petrovski still has no plans to hang up his boots any time soon.

"I'm going good - enjoying it, doing well, no injuries or anything," he told au.fourfourtwo.com. "It's not amazing, it's just intelligent.

"I'm just taking it year by year - hopefully this will be a good year for me. Last year was a bit quiet, playing wise, but hopefully I will get the chance to prove to the boss that I can still perform at the highest level here.

"I'll be pushing whoever is in front of me for their spot - that's what it's all about, just being competitive."

Now with his third A-League club, Petrovski is one of the growing band of  three clubs or more A-League journeymen.

But although he has outlasted all the coaches who thought he was past it, he takes full responsibility for any lack of faith they might once have had...and has been determined to prove them wrong.

"It's good in a way but also it's not so good - you're probably not working hard enough for the coach." he said.

"You have to prove yourself, you have to step it up, you have to show your doubters that you still have quality, you are still capable of competing. My record speaks for itself.

"There are a lot of journeymen in the A-League - but it's the nature of the A-League and the clubs and the change over in coaches. I would have loved to be a one man loyal to his club.

"But with the A-League and the size of the clubs, as soon as one man becomes available, people have to be shoved around - look at what's happened with the goalkeepers recently.

"You have to get used to adjusting to new areas and new clubs and different playing cultures and environments."

Petrovski's efforts to pin down a starting spot at the Jets took another blow yesterday with Michael Bridges appointed skipper for next season, guaranteeing the Englishman a regular place in the Jets first XI.

"I'm probably the oldest member in the squad and I could easily have been captain if I was playing on a regular basis" he said.

"But the boss probably isn't looking to do that and that's why they've chosen these guys as they're looking to go through them on a regular basis.

"That's understandable - there's no harsh feelings or anything like that. We move on together and these are the guys going to lead us all the way."

To see Newcastle Jets training yesterday...