Rapper Champness to give Jets swagger

Nov 3, 2017 - 6:16 AM Part-time rapper, full-time footballer.

It's a rare combination but it seems to be working pretty well for Joe Champness as he prepares for his maiden A-League start.

The Newcastle young gun is set to be rewarded for his sizzling form off the bench with a run-on role in the Jets' Saturday home clash with Wellington.

With midfielder Ben Kantarovski (corked thigh) likely to miss, coach Ernie Merrick has been forced into a reshuffle that will see Dimitri Petratos move centrally and Champness given a berth out wide.

The lanky 20-year-old - who was cut from Brisbane Roar's youth ranks less than a year ago - is emerging as one of the finds of the season after a string of encouraging cameo appearances across the first four rounds.

He's also an emerging hip-hop artist, having released his debut track 'Wet Floor' on Spotify earlier this year under the stage name 'JOWIC', with a full mixtape currently in the works.

"He's been ripped a few times in the changeroom for that haircut," Jets captain Nigel Boogaard said on Friday.

"But he's a good young lad, he listens.

"He's an exciting young player who'll get at defenders and cause them some trouble.

"Hopefully he can take this starting opportunity and we see him on the scoresheet.

"He can be one for the future, he just needs to put a few things in place."

Champness' natural swagger should suit them perfectly.

Merrick has turned the Jets into an aggressive, attacking side that would rather put on a show than park the bus and grind out a result.

"A clean sheet would be nice, but with the way we're trying to play and take a few more risks going forward... we're always confident we can outscore a team," Boogaard said.

Newcastle are warm favourites to beat the Phoenix, who are still searching for their first win under new coach Darjie Kalezic.

They looked on course to do it last weekend but threw away a 3-0 lead against Brisbane Roar to be held to a draw at home, and Boogaard said it was tough to get a proper read on the Kiwis.

"It's a bit hard to analyse them," he said.

"Obviously the opponents they've come up against have been quality and some mixed results.

"But the focus all season has been on us and making sure we do what the coach wants. If we do that, it goes a long way to us winning the game."

STATS THAT MATTER

* Newcastle have made 298 passes into the final third this campaign, more than any other team in the competition.

* Wellington are undefeated in their last three games against Newcastle, scoring nine goals and keeping two clean sheets in that span.

* Roy O'Donovan is set to take to the pitch for his 50th A-League game; he's gone four games without scoring against Phoenix however.

Source: AAP