A Jaiden Kucharski-inspired Perth Glory have made an early season statement and notched back-to-back wins by downing reigning premiers Newcastle Jets 2-1 at HBF Park.

With captain Tom Lawrence suspended, there was a question of how Glory would cope in the final third without their talismanic skipper.

As it turned out, it was answered emphatically — twice — by Kucharski, who followed up a 20-yard rocket late in the first-half with an excellent finish running away from the goal shortly after the restart.

In a clash of contrasts, Newcastle’s considered build-up play went up against a hungry Glory side who feasted on turnovers and sprung into counter-attacks at warp speed, and it was the latter which won out.

This may not have been the box-office Jets of last season, but the winless Newcastle, battered by a congested schedule, kept themselves in the fight and grabbed a late lifeline through Nikolaos Vergos’ injury-time finish.

But neither was it a one-man show from Perth despite Kucharski’s man-of-the-match efforts. Young centre-back Cher Deng again stood tall as he and defensive partner Lachlan Jackson loomed large over proceedings, while teenage full-back Tadi Kuzamba once more impressed.

Meanwhile, the energetic midfield duo of Will Freney and Lucas Scicluna were vital to their side’s defensive efforts against a ball-dominant Newcastle side who enjoyed plenty of territory but could not penetrate Perth’s steely defensive lines.

The Jets screamed out of the blocks and did not look like a team who, with their intercontinental commitments, were playing their seventh game in less than four weeks.

But Perth were up for their challenge and so too were the crowd as Glory players snapped into tackles and hunted the ball as the crowd urged on a high-tempo start from both sides.

Kuzamba and Jets left-back Daniel Wilmering both went into the book in the opening seven minutes, the latter for a clumsy clattering of Kucharski.

Wilmering and Xavier Bertoncello caused Perth all sorts down Newcastle’s left flank, while Vergos almost opened the scoring with a 25-yard effort which had goalkeeper Daniel Solsky scrambling to his right.

And the Jets should have taken the lead when former Glory fan favourite Alex Grant forced Solsky into an excellent save from a corner and one-time Perth striker Patrick Wood saw his first follow-up smothered and his second balloon over the bar, much to the delight of The Shed.

Perth gave away 11 free-kicks to just three in the first half as they aggressively pressed, but their fouls were borne of desperation more than frustration - and their attentions were leading to turnovers, with Sebastian Despotovski culpable of his composure twice eluding him in the box.

But six minutes before the break, his misses were washed away when Scicluna’s clever slipped pass allowed Despotovski to tee up Kucharski, who duly let fly with a howitzer.

And the second half was barely three minutes old when Kucharski was at it again, dribbling right to avoid pressure before arrowing a daisy-cutter across his body to double his money.

Scicluna and Deng both came close to adding to Perth’s advantage, but as the Jets encroached further up the field and their weight of possession began to tell, Glory were forced into defensive mode.

Substitute Will Dobson thrashed a shot wide of the post in the box, and then Vergos’s looping header late was denied by Solsky’s fingertips.

And with Perth parking the bus late, Vergos pulled one back in the second minute of injury time, although it was too late for Newcastle to grab a second.