Max Cooper (soccer)
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Maxwell Cooper | ||
| Date of birth | 14 January 2007 | ||
| Place of birth | Newcastle, Australia | ||
| Position | Central defender | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Newcastle Jets FC | ||
| Number | 42 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Warners Bay FC | |||
| 2015– | Newcastle Jets | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2025– | Newcastle Jets NPL | 11 | (1) |
| 2025– | Newcastle Jets | 9 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2026– | Australia U20 | 2 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 17 June 2026 | |||
Max Cooper (born 14 January 2007)[1] is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a central defender for the Newcastle Jets.
Youth Career
Newcastle Jets FC
Max joined the Jets academy at the age of eight[2], progressing through the entire academy before cracking into the Newcastle Jets Youth Team in the 2025 Football NSW League One season.
He would score his first goal for the Youth team against Northern Tigers in round 21, a last minute header from a set-piece[3].
Club career
Newcastle Jets FC
2025-26 - Debut season and Australia Cup Success
Max made his senior debut for the Jets against Adelaide United in the Australia Cup[4] after impressing Head Coach Mark Milligan with his Youth team performances[5]. Max played all available minutes from the Round of 32 through to the semi-final against Avondale.
Max signed a multi-year scholarship deal[5] ahead of the 2025 Australia Cup Final, which he would unfortunately miss due to illness[6]. He would return to the starting lineup in round one of the 2025–26 A-League against the Central Coast Mariners, where he was shown a yellow card. He would also start the round five fixture against Perth Glory.
International Career
Youth
Max received his first call-up for the Australian under-20 national team alongside club team-mate Will Dobson for the Australia-China Friendship Series in March 2026[7][8]. He debuted in the second game of the series, starting in a 4-2 win[9].
Career statistics
- As of 5th May 2026
| Club | Season | League | Domestic Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Newcastle Jets FC Youth | 2025 | Football NSW League One | 8[10] | 1 | — | — | — | 8 | 1 | |||
| 2026 | 3[11] | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||||
| Jets Youth Sub-Total | 11 | 1 | — | — | — | 11 | 1 | |||||
| Newcastle Jets FC | 2025-26 | A-League Men | 9 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2026–27 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| Jets Sub-Total | 9 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 20 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 1 | ||||
Honours
Newcastle Jets FC
- Australia Cup Champions: 2025
- A-League Premiership: 2025–26
References
- ↑ "Maxwell Cooper Stats". www.soccerway.com. Retrieved 2025-11-27.
- ↑ matthewcomito (2025-09-25). "Jets academy gun completes 10-year journey to first team amid scholarship signing spree". A-Leagues. Retrieved 2025-11-27.
- ↑ rwood (2025-06-29). "Match Report: Late Max Cooper Header Delivers Victory for Youth team". Newcastle Jets. Retrieved 2025-11-27.
- ↑ "'You don't want to stuff up': Jets rookie repays faith with assured debut in Cup". www.newcastleherald.com.au. 2025-08-01. Retrieved 2025-11-27.
- 1 2 rwood (2025-09-25). "Jets Academy graduate Max Cooper Signs Scholarship Deal". Newcastle Jets. Retrieved 2025-11-27.
- ↑ Jets, Newcastle (4 October 2025). "Newcastle Jets Australia Cup Final Lineup". Facebook.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Young Socceroos squad for Australia-China Friendship Series confirmed | Socceroos". socceroos.com.au. 2026-03-12. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
- ↑ "Jets youth rewarded: home-grown duo earn national call-up". www.newcastleherald.com.au. 2026-03-12. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
- ↑ LIVE: China U20s v CommBank Young Socceroos | Australia–China Friendship Series | Game Two. Retrieved 2026-04-01 – via www.youtube.com.
- ↑ "Match Centre - Dribl Match Centre". competitions.footballnsw.com.au. Retrieved 2025-11-27.
- ↑ "Match Centre - Dribl Match Centre". competitions.footballnsw.com.au. Retrieved 2026-03-05.