Newcastle marquee Ronald Vargas is hoping his maiden A-League goal is a sign of things to come as he attempts to put behind him a horror first year in Jets colours.
Vargas finally broke a 20-month wait between goals when he latched onto a Jason Hoffman cross in Friday's 1-1 draw with Adelaide.
Not since scoring for AEK Athens in February, 2017, has the former Venezuelan international found the back of the net.
He then failed to get on the scoresheet in his first year for Newcastle, where he was limited to just nine appearances due to a serious ankle injury.
Ahead of Saturday's Grand Final re-match against Melbourne Victory, Vargas spoke of his mental battles coming back from a major lay-off.
"It's always positive when you score," Vargas told reporters on Wednesday.
"This is extra motivation. Individually for [me] last year, it was the first season I played that I didn't have the chance to score. So mentally I was sad, or angry with myself.
"But the first one came, and I hope it can come more often, every week."
The game against the Reds was also the first time the 31-year-old completed a full 90-minute shift in back-to-back games since arriving with plenty of expectation in the Hunter.
Now he is banking on his new-found health to show why the club went to great lengths for their first marquee since former England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey.
"I feel healthy, that's the most important," Vargas said.
"Two games, 90 minutes -- if you remember it was a long time ago that I did it. In this way, you can say I'm improved. But there are still things like, to be faster, or get more goals.
"And of course, win games."
While the last-placed Victory have been criticised for consecutive defeats to open the season, the Jets have only registered one point from their two matches.
Newcastle were undefeated in their opening six games last season, before they were cruelly beaten in the decider when the VAR system broke down during the crucial goal.
"We didn't start like how we started last year, but we didn't finish how we wanted, or we deserved. So we need to keep working harder to show the best end," Vargas said.
"It's the first game we're going to play at home, this is extra motivation for us, and also for the fans and everybody here in the city."