IN-form Jeremy Brockie hopes weight of goals will convince the Newcastle Jets to retain him as he hones in on Joel Griffiths’s single-season scoring record.
Brockie’s two goals in Sunday’s 5-2 win against Sydney FC lifted him to eight for the season, the third-best tally in the A-League behind Brisbane’s Besart Berisha (11) and Perth’s Shane Smeltz (nine).
Only one Jets player has found the net more frequently in any of the A-League’s seven seasons.
That was Griffiths in Newcastle’s premiership-winning 2007-08 campaign, when he scored 14 times in 23 games to collect the A-League’s Golden Boot prize for leading marksman.
Brockie said initially he had aimed to score about 10 goals this season, but now that he was ahead of budget he was tempted to set his sights on Griffiths’s milestone.
‘‘I guess it’s not out of reach at this stage,’’ Brockie said.
‘‘We’ve got seven games to go, plus finals, so it might take a goal a game.
‘‘It would be nice to get close to that but at the end of the day, as long as we’re getting results and get into that top six, that’s the main focus.’’
Brockie, who is among a host of Jets players off contract at the end of the season, said he was keen to stay in Newcastle and had held preliminary discussions with club management.
Having pinballed from Auckland to Sydney to Townsville before he joined Newcastle last season, the 24-year-old New Zealand international was reluctant to move again.
‘‘I’ve had some initial talks with the club,’’ Brockie said.
‘‘I love it here in Newcastle and want to stay.
‘‘Obviously when you’re happy in your environment you feel settled.
‘‘My partner likes it here, she’s got a good job, and hopefully I can keep scoring goals and help the club towards a top-six finish and that boosts my chances.
‘‘Being an attacking player, your money comes from goals.
‘‘So hopefully I can keep scoring goals and that increases my value, which is always good.’’
Brockie was coy when asked whether he had been approached by any rival clubs, hinting that he might have options overseas.
‘‘Not that I’m aware of, not in the A-League,’’ he said.
‘‘There’s a bit of interest from outside but nothing concrete ... there’s been no offers or anything.
‘‘I guess when you’re an attacking player and you’re scoring goals, you get a little bit of interest, but nothing concrete.’’
Jets chief executive Robbie Middleby said the powers that be had noted Brockie’s form.
‘‘Jeremy’s having a fantastic season and it hasn’t been just recently that we’ve spoken to him,’’ Middleby said.
‘‘It’s been ongoing for quite some time now ... it’s a catch-22.
‘‘We don’t want to lose Jeremy but we don’t want to push him into a corner.
‘‘Everyone wants to stay but it will come down to salary caps and what we can afford.
‘‘But he has had a great season and so far he’s in Gary’s plans.’’
Brockie, who was plagued by injuries in his formative years, and winger Ryan Griffiths are the only players to have played in all 20 of Newcastle’s games this season.
Fully fit, the All Whites star is beginning to realise the potential he showed as an 18-year-old when he broke into the A-League with the now-defunct New Zealand Knights.
‘‘The more goals you score as an attacking player, the more confident you get,’’ he said.
‘‘Obviously I’ll be going out there on Saturday night full of confidence, and hopefully they keep rolling in.’’
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