Newcastle Jets have lost their hometown hero and they've already announced they won't sign any domestic or international stars. So why is one of the league's most experienced coaches so happy?
If you're a fan of spotting young talent (and let's face it, who isn't?) then the W-League is more enticing than just about any other sporting league on earth.
Now in its 12th year, Australia's domestic competition has truly excelled in providing opportunities for its best and brightest.
You only have to take a passing glance at the Matildas, for whom a whopping 20 of their recent call-ups are under 24-years-old, to recognise just how efficient the W-League has been in unearthing the prodigies among its ranks.
At the heart of Australia's phenomenal youth development has been one of its current weaklings, Newcastle Jets.
The Jets are reeling from one of their worst seasons in the top-flight and the worst finish under experienced gaffer Craig Deans, who after five years in the role only managed an eighth placed finish last time out with the Hunter club.
So when the club lost Emily van Egmond - to rivals Melbourne City, no less - things appeared to have gone from bad to worse. Then the club proudly announced they weren't looking at a replacement for the 90-cap Matilda and you began to get a little worried.
But Deans has been around the block a few times, so when he says "we’re really pleased with the quality of the recruiting we’ve been able to do", there's got to be something there, right?
Surely a coach this experienced isn't just trying the same old spin?
If you scratch beneath the surface, however, you begin to realise that Newcastle have a secret weapon. One that could secure a very rosy future for the Novocastrians indeed.
Newcastle were one of the first and remain the only W-League club to have a traditional female academy. The importance of this fact cannot be overstated - this is a club not just looking to develop youth, they're looking to develop Newcastle youth.
In the increasingly cut-throat world of W-League transfer dealings, where as Newcastle know all-too-well, the might of a club like Melbourne City can lure the league's best talent, young or old, if you're a small regional club, you need to have a secret weapon.
Newcastle's is their academy. Situated a short journey up the M1 from the country's most prolific football hotbed, the Jets are now perfectly suited to attract the best young talent around the country before they have to worry about another club even knowing.
But there's a trade-off to this strategy: to attract the best, you have to believe that they're ready before anyone else will.
It takes bravery and if you're fighting for finals and have a 27-year-old and a 17-year-old on the bench, well, Alan Hansen didn't famously say 'You can't win anything with kids' for nothing.
Lawrie McKinna has that bravery. Deans has that bravery. And as the former ruthless A-League centrehalf says, the secret weapons they're accumulating are absolutely 'lethal'.
"We’ve brought in a group of people who will really add to this group on and off the park,” Deans says.
“There’s W-League experience in Nicki and Annabel, and Lauren [Allen] has proved locally just how lethal she can be in front of goal.
“To have Keelan [Hamilton] come on board and act as a second assistant coach alongside Ash Wilson is also great, he’s done really well locally and we think he’ll add a lot to our backroom set-up.”
It would be easier to write off Newcastle's youth-centric approach as a cop-out were it not for the experience they have in the backroom. We saw this first-hand towards the end of last season, where an incredibly fresh-faced Jets squad began to compete wholeheartedly against the league's best.
Now they've got a first season under their belt and a bunch of new additions to boot. So will they win a Championship this season? Fat chance. Next? Probably not.
But will the hunted, one day become the Hunter once more?
You better believe it.
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