Captain's new deal: Jets star turns injury heartbreak into to title triumph

Cassidy Davis' performance in the NPLW Northern NSW grand final would have been a sight for sore eyes for Newcastle Jets fans, not to mention coach Stephen Hoyle.

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The home-grown Jets captain was back to her combative and creative best in her first 90-minute effort in eight months.

Cassidy Davis dominated at Darling Street Oval on September 12, helping lead New Lambton to a 2-1 win over Maitland in the NPLW Northern NSW grand final. Picture by Marina Neil

There were no signs of the debilitating heel issues that plagued Davis during the last A-League Women (ALW) season, cutting her campaign short and putting question marks over whether she would play again at that level.

But, after an arduous rehabilitation program, Davis is finally back.

"It's been a long injury, and it's still ongoing, so it's about trying to manage it," Davis said.

"I kind of said, 'Maybe this is my last season this year', but Dad and Mum said, 'Don't rule it out yet, just see how you go'."

The Jets confirmed this week that Davis would be lining up for a 14th campaign in her home-town colours.

It is a big boost for the team and town.

The hard-working No.6 is the A-League's ironwoman and holds the record for the most consecutive appearances, men or women.

The primary school teacher played an unbroken 132 games between her debut in 2013 and succumbing to a foot infection, of all things, a decade later.

Davis entered last season at 176 outings and eyeing a 200-match milestone before being stopped in her tracks by bursitis and tendonitis in both feet.

In March, after just nine games, her season was over.

It took until August 8 before Davis made it back on the pitch, returning with a 30-minute cameo off the bench for New Lambton against Lake Macquarie.

Two second-half efforts followed before 60 minutes off the bench in both the qualifying final and preliminary final.

The grand final was Davis' first start in eight months.

She set the tone from the outset, outmuscling and outplaying those around her.

"I feel pretty good," Davis said.

"I'm still kind of on the up to getting back to where I need to be for A-League, but I'm sure they'll manage me once I get into preseason.

"I've been building. I played 60 the two previous weeks, so the physio said, 'Do 90, see how you go. If you're struggling, come off'.

"But I felt pretty good, and it's a confidence boost for me too, to be able to play 90 and still be able to move after the game, to know that I can do that going into an A-League season."

It was Davis' eighth grand final in Northern NSW Football's premier women's competition, and her third win after claiming championships with Warners Bay in 2016 and 2022.

This one, against a team who had obliterated New Lambton on three occasions this year, was "pretty big".

"At New Lambton, we've been building on this for a long time," Davis, whose dad Leon is New Lambton's technical director for the women's program, said.

"Once a few of us came over from Warners Bay, we wanted to rebuild the club. They'd obviously been struggling for a while, since they won it in 2019, so the main thing was to rebuild from the bottom up.

"It's not just about first grade. It's about all the younger teams, and you can see that here today. There's so many of those younger girls watching us.

"Even for reserve grade. They came last last year and went on to win a grand final.

"It's a huge win, especially against a team like Maitland. They're quality across the whole park and they've been the benchmark all season."

Finals at A-League level, however, have been few and far between.

Only twice in Davis' 13 seasons - in 2017-18 and 2023-24 - have the Jets progressed to finals.

It is something she hopes to rectify this season, which begins for the Jets by hosting Perth Glory on October 17 at a venue yet to be confirmed.

"I worked really hard in the off-season at the gym to rehab these heels, and that's always been the focus, to get back for the Jets, and I'm keen to see what this season is going to be like," Davis said.

"We've brought in some really key players and Steve's building a nice squad, so I'm keen to have a fresh outlook and push for finals footy."

The Jets have begun pre-season training.

They have sustained some big losses with strike weapon Melina Ayres (Melbourne City), back-to-back player of the year Sophie Hoban (Torreense, Portugal) and defender Claudia Cicco (Adelaide) all moving on. Seasoned campaigner Lauren Allan announced her A-League retirement last week.

New additions to the roster include American trio Claire Henninger, Allie Thornton and Alex Klos, who should bring quality and professionalism to the club.

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