Newcastle Jets will travel to Melbourne to face giant-slaying Heidelberg United in Saturday’s historic 2025 Hahn Australia Cup final.
Lakeside Stadium is where Mark Milligan’s Jets will look to make history in their maiden Australia Cup decider before kicking off the Isuzu UTE A-League 2025-26 season with an F3 Derby against rivals Central Coast Mariners on October 19.
The Jets have the chance to claim their first piece of silverware since winning the 2008 Isuzu UTE A-League Grand Final after overcoming NPLM VIC premiers Avondale FC in the club’s first Australia Cup semi-final in 12 years.
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“It’s extremely exciting,” Milligan told reporters. “It’s been a long time since the club’s been in this position. Really if you look back, probably only twice they’ve had this opportunity in terms of winning trophies in the club’s history.
“For this young group to put this run together in pre-season whilst taking on so much information and so much change, whilst so many players are being integrated into the way we do things, I’m extremely proud to be apart of this group.”
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Next up for Newcastle is a clash with Heidelberg, who have stunned Isuzu UTE A-League trio Western Sydney Wanderers, Wellington Phoenix and Auckland FC en route to the decider under former A-Leagues assistant John Anastasiadis, who also delivered an NPLM VIC Championship this year.
Milligan’s tenure as Newcastle head coach is in its infancy after replacing Rob Stanton heading into 2025-26 but the Jets’ new era under the A-Leagues great is continuing to take shape.
Never before had the Jets reached the cup decider but in their first semi-final after more than a decade, Milligan’s Newcastle set up a showdown against giant-slaying NPL outfit Heidelberg United on October 4 – not only a chance to claim silverware but qualify for the 2026-27 AFC Champions League Two as Australia Cup winners.
With ACL Two qualification comes a lucrative payday. Newcastle could pocket $300,000 USD – which equates to around AUD $450,000 for just qualifying for the group stages, like Sydney FC and Macarthur Bulls have netted previously. Winning the entire competition could result in a windfall of AUD $4.92million.
Saturday’s decider, meanwhile, will be a family affair. Heidelberg’s former A-Leagues forward Max Bisetto will look to take down the Jets, where his father Maurice is executive director.
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FULL FIXTURES:Â Every match of the Isuzu UTE A-League 25-26 season here
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How to watch?
The 2025 Australia Cup final will be available to watch on Channel 10, while it will also be streamed live via Paramount+.
Australia Cup final 2025 Details
Heidelberg United v Newcastle Jets
Date: Saturday, 4 October 2025
Venue:Â Lakeside Stadium, Melbourne
Kick-off:Â 7.40pm AEST
Broadcast:Â Channel 10, Paramount+
