The man saying that knows better than most - he's the club chief executive.

But Lawrie McKinna was still as surprised as anyone when Brisbane Roar formally announced last week they were about to make their presence felt on the Mid-North Coast.

The Roar have set up a talent identification program in the region - which started last Tuesday - through their academy, with a focus on player development.

Brisbane have openly said that if a player who went through their system progressed to play for the Roar, the Newcastle-based club or Sydney FC they had done their job.

Developing players is what their academy is about, but McKinna said the Jets also had a few ideas about what they could do better so the Roar don't take full control over the region's playing potential.

"We're definitely as committed as ever to the area and are looking for the next Angus Thurgate," McKinna said.

"It is our backyard and we've got a lot of youth players as well as Gus that have come through Port Macquarie."

The Jets believe they have a strong relationship with the Mid-North Coast although many argue there is room for improvement when it came to engagement north of the Hexham Bridge.

"We could get more of our coaching staff up there and be more hands-on, but we're working around what's happening down here," McKinna said.

"I've been up there a few times, Labi Haliti (who is now at Western Sydney) used to come up quite a bit as well, but we can probably engage a bit more with our coaches.

"We'll continue working on that."

McKinna said the Jets announced their own regional training hubs in Port Macquarie back in December, 2017.

"We've got hubs up there that have been going for a couple of years which we'll look to continue," he said.

"We're working with Mid-North Coast with a few other ideas to make the presence of the Jets bigger and better than it's ever been."

Twenty up-and-coming Football Mid-North Coast referees attended the Jets-Central Coast Mariners match in Newcastle two weeks ago.

They met match referee Kurt Ams and did a pitch inspection alongside Ams and his assistants.

"I don't know of any other time this has been done in an A-League game," McKinna said.

A financial commitment to the region would reinforce how serious the Jets were to the Mid-North Coast, but McKinna said they were currently not in a position to do so.

"Over the last three years, since I've been here, we've given free tickets to the kids so the parents can come into the game for nothing, so that's our financial commitment," he said.

"We're not in any position to give anybody a financial commitment with our own financial situation."

Discussions are ongoing between the Jets and Port Macquarie-Hastings Council about the club returning to the region next season.

Suitable venues were unavailable this season.

"We've already spoken to the mayor about looking at next season," McKinna said.

"As long as if it's going to be midweek we can get the floodlights improved ... we love coming up there.

"It's just disappointing with our schedule and the floodlights this year that we couldn't fit it in the pre-season or we would have definitely been there."

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