Talented Jets youngster always attends to goals

Angus Thurgate might be a talented, young player but there’s no mistaking where he is in the pecking order at the Newcastle Jets.

Angus Thurgate is pushing for a spot in the Jets starting line-up. Picture: Getty Images

Angus Thurgate might be one of a growing band of talented, young Australian players, but there’s no mistaking where he is in the pecking order at the Newcastle Jets.

While there is no more getting the water bottles or balls ready for training for the rest of the squad, the 18-year-old can’t get out of helping to carry the portable goals with the other young players and putting them in place ­before training.

It’s all part of the learning process for Thurgate. The Port Macquarie junior burst on the scene in January when he made his A-League debut for the Jets as a substitute against Brisbane Roar in a round-16 match last season. He went on to make another six ­appearances off the bench.

A tall central midfielder, he has come along in leaps and bounds and there is no doubt the club has him earmarked for bigger and better things.

Thurgate showed the benefits of those seven games, starring for the Young Socceroos during the Asian under-19s championships last month. He played all four games and managed a goal but it was all in vain as the Australians lost to Saudi Arabia in the quarter-finals and subsequently missed out on a spot at the World Youth Cup in Poland. Now back with the Jets and having missed the opening three rounds of the season, Thurgate is ready to make a mark in the A-League this season.

“The Asian championships were a good experience for me and I loved every minute,” he said yesterday. “To play for your country is a huge honour. I got some good feedback from the coaches, so that was a real ­positive.”

Thurgate said the biggest thing he took away from the championships was the emphasis on ball control.

“For me, tidiness on the ball was a big thing,” he said. “It was quite humid over there so you had to respect possession. It was hard to play our possession-based game but we adapted and I feel more comfortable on the ball now. It is something I want to put to good use in the A-League.”

Still, Thurgate is not getting ahead of himself. He knows there is still a long way to go before he can consistently break into the classy Jets starting line-up.

“My goal is to try and get as many appearances off the bench as possible,” he said. “It will be hard because we have so much quality. I just hope to keep improving and take the opportunities when they come my way.

“I am getting good support from the coach (Ernie Merrick) and the rest of the staff, so it is a matter of being patient. I certainly don’t feel intimidated any more though I still have to help with the other young guys to take the goals out on the field for training.”

Merrick has a proven track ­record of producing and nurturing talent.