The last time Newcastle beat Sydney FC, Cortnee Vine was wearing Jets colours. That was six years, one month and five days ago. Now, she is the Sky Blues' marquee player and, in August, etched her name into Australian football folklore by sealing an historic semi-final appearance at a World Cup. The Matildas winger is set to add star power to the Jets' clash with Sydney FC at No.2 Sportsground on Sunday. Vine has not played since sustaining a hamstring injury while in action for Australia in Perth in late October. The 25-year-old, whose penalty kick secured quarter-final victory over France at the World Cup in August, lines up against Matildas teammate Emily van Egmond. Van Egmond is back in Newcastle after playing a two-match series for the Matildas in Canada during the past week and is expected to start the third game of a four-game guest stint with her home-town club. Jets captain Cassidy Davis described it as a rare opportunity to see two of the sport's biggest names in action on Sunday and hoped another big home crowd would turn out at No.2 Sportsground as Newcastle aimed to end a nine-game losing streak against Sydney FC. "Central Coast Mariners have only come back in this year so Sydney have been more of our derby," Davis said. "They've definitely been our rival team and they're always a very hard team to beat, so it's going to be a huge game for us. There's also been a of our players leave to go to Sydney. Clare Wheeler went to Sydney FC. Cortnee Vine played for us and then she went to Sydney. Kirsty Fenton. Lucy Johnson." Newcastle improved to seventh spot on seven points after an important 4-3 win over Canberra in their last outing while the Sky Blues are ninth on six points with two games in hand. Whether Vine starts or not remains to be seen, but Davis does not care either way. "For us, we'd rather beat their strongest team," Davis said. "The stronger team they have, the better it is and the better game it's going to be too. I'm not sure what role she will play but she'll definitely play a role and we're up for it. "It's been a while since [the Matildas] have all played [in A-League] and you don't really get to see them in person other than the World Cup. "So, that's huge for Newcastle and it's a bit more intimate, especially at No.2. We have kids on field after the game and the opportunity to actually meet those players." A vocal crowd of 3207 turned out at No.2 in round five to watch on as the Jets almost beat big guns Melbourne City only to be overrun 3-2 in stoppage time. Philippines forward Sarina Bolden, who also played at the World Cup, will make her first appearance in Newcastle after debuting with a match brace in Canberra. There will be at least one change to the Jets' starting line-up from their win over Canberra with midfielder Libby Copus-Brown expected to be sidelined for up to a month with a knee injury. Forward Lara Gooch, who is one of four Jets who have been in China with the Young Matildas in the past week, is nursing an ankle complaint and was set to be re-assessed on Saturday. Jets coach Gary van Egmond confirmed on Friday he had been approached about a role with the Chinese Football Association but said no deal had been struck.
