An 18-year-old Newcastle Jets defender has made the ultimate festive sacrifice, trading sun, surf, and family time in Byron Bay for the chance to marshal his team's defence in a crucial Boxing Day A-League Men showdown.
From the stands to the starting lineup
Max Cooper was set for a classic Australian Christmas at his grandmother's house in Byron Bay. Instead, the homegrown talent will be preparing for a Boxing Day blockbuster against Macarthur FC at McDonald Jones Stadium.
"It's unreal," Cooper said. "It should be a massive day for the community. Mum, Dad and I were planning on going away... We obviously are not going now."
His rapid rise is a dream come true. Just six months ago, Cooper was playing in the NPL 2 for the Jets' youth team. The season before that, he was a fan in the stands at Turton Road, dreaming of an A-League future.
"It is pinch yourself stuff to be here a part of a professional environment," he admitted. "Especially being only 18. I was there obviously one of the people in the stands a couple years ago. Now I'm just trying to make them happy."
Stepping up to the professional challenge
Cooper is part of an exciting young Jets brigade, alongside fellow academy products Xavier Bertoncello and Will Dobson, and Young Socceroos captain Alex Badolato. The no-frills centre-back made his senior debut in the Australia Cup and has now started in six A-League matches, including the last five consecutively.
"It's definitely a massive step up," the Jets academy product acknowledged. "I'm trying to improve every day. The boss is really big on improvement every day."
His commitment was on full display in the Jets' last outing, a 2-0 win over Sydney FC. In a man-of-the-match performance, Cooper combined with Mark Natta to shut down a dangerous Sky Blues attack. One standout moment saw him outpace new Socceroo Al Hassan Toure with a perfectly executed slide tackle.
"We do our homework during the week," Cooper said modestly. "Honestly, I just play. It doesn't matter who I am up against. The belief of the boys and the boss as well, it's really good for me."
A towering Boxing Day test awaits
Cooper and the Jets face a distinctly different challenge against Macarthur. Their primary threat is Bulls striker Harry Sawyer, the A-League's tallest player at 198cm. Sawyer, 28, was in strong form heading into the weekend, fresh from scoring a brace.
"I played him in the Australia Cup so I know a bit about him," Cooper said. "He's had a couple of months to improve and get his fitness right, so it will definitely be a bigger task this weekend."
The sixth-placed Jets are chasing a rare third straight victory, a feat they haven't achieved since round 18 last season. Before that, it had been a five-year drought.
The squad's experienced heads, including Max Burgess, Joe Shaughnessy, Lachie Rose and Kosta Grozos, recently gathered the younger players for a motivational chat. "We are just trying to get an Australian Cup run going again around the Christmas period leading into next year," Cooper revealed.
Burgess, recovering from a groin injury, has returned to training and is considered a 50-50 chance to feature in the Boxing Day fixture, potentially boosting the Jets' midfield options for this crucial festive period clash.
