How can the A-League's sixth all-time leading goalscorer not get a game in the competition's most toothless attack?

Sasho Petrovski has scored 26 goals in Australia's top flight, falling just behind the likes of Archie Thompson, Shane Smeltz, Danny Allsopp, Alex Brosque and Sergio van Dijk but is not even considered for the Newcastle Jets line-up which has netted a paltry five goals in 11 matches this season.

At 35, Petrovski may be nearing the end of his playing days but natural goalscoring ability is something that not many players, particularly in the A-League, possess.

The former Sydney FC and Central Coast Mariners man has been given just three substitute appearances by Branko Culina this term despite the fact that the Hunter club are performing at the alarmingly poor rate of a goal every second match - a statistic which will never win you more games of football than you lose.

Newcastle may be doing well off the pitch at the moment but have stuttered on-field even though things looked bright at the beginning of the campaign with a smattering of new signings and a large array of attacking talent.

However, for injury and form reasons, that talent has not come through with the goods in the opening three months of the 2010/11 season but for some reason, Culina and his coaching staff fail to see Petrovski as an apt goalscoring avenue. They even went under him to hand former Premier League striker Francis Jeffers a 10-match guest stint even though he has not played competitively since May.

Petrovski could not be happy with the current situation he finds himself in and may be keen to get out of Newcastle at season's end but it would pay Culina and his offsiders to give the proven goalscorer a chance before things become irreparable and the season gets completely away from them.