Mark Bridge stars as Jets struggle against Western Sydney Wanderers'

MT ANNAN striker Mark Bridge stole the show in the Western Sydney Wanderers' 3-0 win over Newcastle Jets.

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MT ANNAN striker Mark Bridge stole the show in the Western Sydney Wanderers' 3-0 win over Newcastle Jets when his two first-half goals wrapped up the A-League minor premiership on Saturday night.

In front of 22,518 fans at Hunter Stadium, Bridge opened the scoring in the sixth minute of the Wanderers' final game of the season with a tap-in strike from a Labinot Haliti cross. Just 27 minutes later, striker Dino Kresinger used his head to find a running Bridge, who chipped the ball over keeper Mark Birighitti to find the back of the net.

Bridge received a Covic long-ball on the edge of the box with 15 minutes to go and almost bagged a hat-trick, but his shot was wide.

His two goals moved his season tally to 11, as well as assisting four others.

Wanderers keeper Ante Covic praised the Mt Annan resident's stellar season on Fox Sports News.

" He (Bridge) has been fantastic this year and worked his backside off. He's got himself unbelievably fit and he's playing with confidence in a team that he loves being around," he said.

"He's got a coach (Tony Popovic) that's extremely supportive of every player and he's in an environment where he's really flourishing, so he's banging in the goals and setting them up.

"The guy can really hold his head up and definitely say he's had a major role to play in this premiership."

The Premier's Plate win created history for the Wanderers, who became the first team in Australian football history to win a trophy in their debut season.

The Wanderers earned an automatic semi-finals berth at Parramatta Stadium on Friday, April 12 where they will be presented with the Premier's Plate.