It's once more unto the breach, dear friends for the former Socceroo as he embarks along the war path, calling Melbourne City’s marquees “supposed stars” before their match against Newcastle Jets.

A point against Brisbane Roar keeps Newcastle narrowly in touch with Wellington Phoenix and the top six, but with every side above them in more convincing form, Zane is hoping a little extra bark to their bite will spur the Novocastrians back into winning ways.

He’s certainly hoping for a better performance than Newcastle’s 2-0 loss to City last time out, which had the exact same momentum-building effect for Joyce’s side.

“Melbourne City are one of the better football sides in the competition,” Zane said. "Last time against them was definitely the most disappointing performance we’ve had this season.

“They’ve got a lot of A-League stars. So we’ve got to go see if we can match their supposed stars.”

The seventh-placed Jets face Warren Joyce’s top-four side after a series of near misses, the latest the 2-2 draw against Darren Davies’ new Brisbane side.

Newcastle dominated large periods of the match in front of a vocal yet depleting home crowd – the Jets’ home form has been less than ordinary this season - only to get sucker-punched by an Eric Bautheac equaliser on a last-ditch counter attack.

“It was a bit of a slug fest; fatigue definitely played its part,” Zane said.

“We do a lot of work on our finishing and that performance outcome is the biggest thing we’ve fallen short of this year.

“We’re not one to make excuses, we believe we can win every game. There may be a few changes, but the playing team won’t be told until the last minute.

“We look at the opposition’s bench and what they’re going to throw at us towards the end of the game, but our bench is the strongest we’ve seen it.”