Maitland coach Keelan Hamilton is likely to unveil new signing Imogene Tomasone when they face Warners Bay in round four of NewcastleHerald Women's Premier League on Sunday.
The match at John Street Oval will be the first of a testing week for the competition newcomers, who back up next Friday night against defending champions and premiers Newcastle Olympic.
Tomasone last played WPL when Hamilton led New Lambton to the 2019 premiership-championship double.
She trained with the Magpies for the first time Wednesday night.
"We sought her out," Hamilton said. "We're struggling with numbers for goalkeepers right across our squads ... so we've been looking for another goalkeeper and, thankfully, Imogene was available and we've been lucky enough to get her on board.
"She's still been playing futsal and has been heavily involved in CrossFit for the past 18 months, so she's in extremely good condition, extremely fit. She brings a nice confidence and a nice presence to our group in terms of someone with her experience."
Maitland are still without forward Sophie Stapleford due to a quadriceps injury. She was also sidelined when they took their first points of the season in a 6-2 win over Adamstown last round.
"We didn't play exceptionally last week, particularly in the first half we were second-best," Hamilton said.
"But one thing I think we showed is that we're capable of scoring goals, so that's a real positive thing. If we can tighten up defensively a little bit and get a little bit more experience in how we manage games, I think we can be a little bit more consistent with results.
"We know these next two are both really tough matches, but we're definitely confident of giving a good account of ourselves and we feel that we're a chance of getting a result in both."
Warners Bay have not played since beating New Lambton 8-1 in round two. Their round-three clash with Mid Coast last weekend was postponed.
Panthers coach Craig Atkins said he had several players with niggling injuries, including captain and midfielder Elodie Dagg (quadriceps) and was expecting "a really tough game".
"They're improving every week and, obviously, that was a good result for them last week," Atkins said.
"I felt that was building after watching a couple of their performances. They've got a number of people scoring goals as well, so we've got to be solid across the park for this one and nice and intense and make sure we're highly competitive."
Charlestown coach Michael Lee is set to field another "bare 11" when they look to rebound from a 4-1 loss at the hands of Broadmeadow in what he said was a "must-win" clash against Rosebud at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility on Saturday night.
But he welcomed the inclusion of wide midfielder Jess Gentle, who has been awaiting an international clearance from playing college football in the United States.
"She's amazingly fit and she'll be very handy," Lee said.
Central midfielder Bella Ramzan-Levy is unavailable due to work commitments but Lee hoped Imogen Tusek would start in her place after making cameos from the bench in Azzurri's first two games as she returned slowly from a knee issue.
She is likely to play more of a defensive midfield role with Tamara Nash in front and Nicki Jones and Jess Gentle out wide.
Centre-back May Bailey was also out due to work and fullback Mischa Ball was in doubt with a thigh complaint.
Newcastle Olympic are at home to Mid Coast at Darling Street Oval on Sunday. Magic were playing New Lambton on Friday night.
