Newcastle Jets skipper Jobe Wheelhouse may only be 26 but he is one of the few players who have played in every season since the Hyundai A-League’s inception.
Born and bred in Newcastle, Wheelhouse commanded football attention with an outstanding junior career that included a stint at the Australian Institute of Sport and selection in the Australian under-20 and under-23 sides.
He was offered a contract in the old NSL with Newcastle United as a 16-year-old and was one of the first players signed to the Jets when the A-League launched in 2005.
After 75 appearances for the club and keeping in line with new club owner Nathan Tinkler’s vision of promoting local talent, Wheelhouse was named as captain for the Jets 2011/12 season, an honour for the Newcastle-born midfielder.
“I am very proud, my mum and dad were obviously buzzing,” Wheelhouse told Sportal.
“It has been a dream of mine since I was a little boy and I am looking forward to a big season. And I suppose it is inspiring – if a local boy like me can go on and become captain of the Jets then anyone can do it.
“Hopefully it is going to bring the best out in me, on and off the pitch.”
While Wheelhouse is seen as one of the more ‘aggressive’ players on the pitch. He has attracted his fair share of yellow cards in his career and is aware the role of captain demands that he show more composure on the park.
However, off the field he is fairly reserved, so the step-up in media duties faced by the captain is something he is yet to fully come to terms with.
“I am getting used to it,” he said in reference doing interviews and post-match conferences.
“I have probably had more in the last couple of weeks than I have had in my whole career, but I like it.”
“But out on the field I definitely need to be cool-headed,” he added.
“Apart from a few lads, we have a pretty young team and they will be looking up to me and I have been here long enough now to show them the ropes on and off the pitch.”
And the fact that he is captain doesn’t necessarily guarantee Wheelhouse an automatic starting spot in the line-up.
“You would think so, but we have a really good midfield and a really good squad so if I am not performing I am sure I will not be taking the field,” he said.
“That is the challenge for me and all the players, to maintain form, week in, week out.”
Despite having played for the Jets since 2005 Wheelhouse has spent a fair bit of that time on the sidelines with a number of frustrating injuries that have curtailed his career.
However, after a solid recovery in the extended off-season, the imposing 26-year-old believes this is his year to finally live up to his junior potential.
“The body feels great, six months of the pre-season, and it is the best I have ever felt at the start of a new season,” he said.
“To tell the truth, I have hardly a pre-season without interruption since I first started, so this is the year that the Jets fans will get to see the best of Jobe Wheelhouse.”
And finally, Wheelhouse has a message to the media out there in regards to the pronunciation of his first name. While many think it is a biblical reference nothing could be further from the truth.
“I am named after Jobe surfboards, my dad used to ride on back in the day” he revealed. “My three brothers have very unique names.”
“So it actually pronounced ‘Jobe’ like ‘globe'”.
