Former Wests Tigers bosses Lee Hagipantelis and Justin Pascoe crack a new code

Not only have the Jets won the Australian Cup for the first time in pre-season, they have won their last four games to sit second in the A-League Men’s standings.

They have scored more goals than any other team (30) and look on track to reach the final for the first time since 2017-18, when they suffered a controversial 1-0 defeat to Melbourne Victory in the grand final.

Meanwhile, Newcastle’s women’s team sit eighth in their competition, two points behind runners-up.

It all came as a pleasant surprise to long-suffering Jets fans who have had little to celebrate since the halcyon days of their 2007-08 championship victory.

Since the formative years of the National Football League, Newcastle’s team has always struggled to stay afloat, given the wide shadow cast by the city’s rugby league flagship Knights since 1988.

But Pascoe said the Jets are the kind of opportunity he and Hagipantelis were looking for when they formed the Global Sports Fund Management Group, which also acquired the Canadian basketball franchise Ottawa Blackjacks and the Sunshine Coast Lightning Super Netball team.

“It’s about investing in teams that have a low buy, high sell scenario, like any business,” Pascoe said.

“We’re really keen to continue to invest not just in Newcastle but in the sport globally and we think that no matter what has happened before, Newcastle has not been tapped yet and there is an opportunity waiting for us if we move towards the halfway point.

“The other owners are all in line with the strategy and the management team has done a really good job so far, but we are also learning every day. There are things we can improve on and we need to stick to that path and hopefully success will come.”

Hagipantelis said the ultimate goal is not just success on the field, but also ensuring the club is financially self-sustainable. That’s no small task, considering the Jets have never failed a season since the A-League began in 2005-06.

“There is no reason why a sports organization like the Jets cannot survive economically,” Hagipantelis said.

“So it’s a huge market, as long as you provide the product, people will come out and support it.

“For example, if we increase the average attendance from 5,000 to 15,000, you can imagine what the consequences will be for the financial situation of the club.

“So there is huge opportunity for us to improve, but it will all come back to performance on the pitch… We are seeing very positive signs, so there is no reason why we cannot turn this club around within a season or two, even though we are being so careful and strategic.”

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The Jets had long been considered a basketball case before this season’s resurgence. Likewise, the Tigers, who collected two of three consecutive wooden spoons under Hagipantelis and Pascoe, were dysfunctional on and off the pitch, as evidenced by the recent boardroom turmoil that resulted in the resignation of general manager Shane Richardson.

“Lee and I love what we do, not only with the Jets, but also with our professional basketball team in Canada and of course the Lightning on the Sunshine Coast,” Pascoe said.

“I think the difference is that we can take responsibility for the decisions, set the strategy and be aligned to actually execute that strategy, whereas that wasn’t always the case at West Tigers, sometimes with a board that wasn’t aligned.”

Hagipantelis said no one would cheer as loudly as coach Benji Marshall if he leads the Tigers to the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

“I am and always will be a huge supporter of the West Tigers and I wish Benji and the team incredible success,” he said. “The problems I had with the West Tigers were with some people, some of whom have already left the team, but not with the club.”