JETS midfielder Mateo Poljak has lived in Australia for five years. He met and married wife, Katarina, here. His six-month-old daughter, Mia, is an Aussie. Newcastle has become home.
But the 27-year-old Croatian national is faced with the prospect of moving his young family overseas to continue his career.
Poljak applied for Australian citizenship in October. He was listed as a “priority process”. Seven months on, he is still waiting.
Until naturalised, Poljak is classed as a visa player in the A-League. Each club is permitted five visa players. If the status quo remains, it appears unlikely that the veteran of 116 A-League games will be re-signed at the Jets. His chances of picking up a contract elsewhere are limited.
Bring him here. If he performs at All White level he might be fast-tracked under Van Dyke rule?
Shame it only works for minority sports like netball, it worked a treat for Australian and Kiwi football until 1990s.