It felt like a long time coming but a resounding four-goal victory made Georgia Boric's national league debut worth the wait.
The 23-year-old shot-stopper replaced Claire Coelho in Newcastle's starting line-up against A-League Women's newcomers Wellington Phoenix at McDonald Jones Stadium last Friday night.
The Jets turned an opening round 3-1 loss to Sydney into a clinical and impressive 5-1 rout of Phoenix in round two.
Boric previously spent three seasons with Canberra United waiting for an opportunity to play.
"It was good and I felt pretty confident going in," Boric said. "I felt like we'd done plenty of preparation. Myself, Coelho and [goalkeeping coach] Greg [Lowe] have really worked well together and the Jets have supported me really well to be comfortable in that first game.
"I have thoroughly enjoyed all of my seasons despite sitting on the bench for some of them. But it has been a while and I'm just happy to clock one."
Boric had very little to do as Newcastle dominated possession and controlled large parts of the match.
"We were incredibly clinical and full credit to the girls; they really did protect me in the goal, which was sensational," Boric said.
"In terms of my own involvement, there was enough to do to keep me busy but nothing other than the goal that particularly challenged me if I'm honest."
Eighteen-year-old defender Kirsty Fenton and 22-year-old midfielder Lucy Johnson were given their ALW debuts in round one by Jets coach Ash Wilson and the chance for game time played a decisive factor for Boric in signing with Newcastle.
"Ash and I spoke quite earnestly about the opportunity to play and really taking that if it ever arose, and I feel like I have done that," Boric said.
Newcastle next face Western Sydney in Blacktown on Friday night and long-serving Jets centre-back Hannah Brewer expected Wanderers to be desperate for points after opening their season with a scoreless draw against Phoenix followed by a 2-0 loss to Sydney.
"It's been a long time since we've scored five goals and won a game by such a huge amount, so it was exciting," Brewer said. "We definitely want to back it up and come out this week with another strong performance."
Defender Tiana Jaber comes back into calculations after serving a one-match suspension for two yellow card offences against the Sky Blues.
She could take Fenton's place in the starting side after the teenage talent was forced from the field with an ankle injury on Friday night after opening the scoring. The extent of the injury is still being assessed.
