has been decked out in Jets colours and branding by the Inspirations Paint for the entirety of the Club's Hyundai A-League 2016/17 campaign. Merrick Era 2017–18 season On 9 May 2017, Ernie Merrick was named as Newcastle's new coach for the next two A-League seasons after previously managing A-League teams Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix, managing a total of 241 A-League games, and winning the 2006–07, 2008–09 titles. After the announcement Merrick stated: Merrick's first A-League match as coach was on 7 October 2017, against F3 Derby rivals Central Coast Mariners, with the Mariners having won the previous meeting 2–0 at home. Newcastle won the game 1–5, beating the Mariners by four goals and making it the largest F3 Derby victory. After Newcastle's first game, they followed up by going five games undefeated, losing their first game of the season on 18 November 2017, to 2016–17 champions, Sydney FC in round 7. Between rounds 7 and 24 Newcastle achieved 10 wins, 3 draws, and 3 losses, before losing three games on the trot, scoring only two and conceding ten. In the last game of the regular season Newcastle again played F3 Derby rivals, Central Coast, playing them for a third time during the season. After three consecutive losses Newcastle made both A-League and F3 derby history, beating the Mariners 2–8, winning by the highest margin in the F3 derby, a feat they achieved in round 1 of the season. Playing in the highest scoring A-League match, winning all three F3 Derby matches during the 2017–18 season and finishing in second position and qualifying for the AFC Champions League for a second time. After one of the most successful regular seasons in Newcastle Jets history, manager Ernie Merrick signed on for a further season extending his contract to the end of the 2019–20 A-League season. Newcastle played Melbourne City at home in the semi-final of the A-League finals, winning 2–1, with goals to Riley McGree and Jason Hoffman. Newcastle reached their second A-League Grand Final in history. Newcastle were defeated in the 2017–18 A-League Grand Final by Melbourne Victory, losing 1–0. Dimitri Petratos was named Newcastle Jets player of the season. After a very successful season in the A-League, Andrew Nabbout, a former Newcastle player, and Dimitri Petratos, Newcastle player of the season and joint golden boot winner for Newcastle, were named in the Australian squad for the 2018 FIFA World