Newcastle Jets youngster Craig Goodwin puts his hand up to fill Socceroos left-back void Robbie Slater runs the rule over the Socceroos' disastrous friendly performance against Brazil. A NEW contender has emerged for the Socceroos problematic left-back spot - and Aussie fans can take heart that hes a natural defender. Craig Goodwin is coming off the back of an impressive 12 months that saw him make his Socceroos debut and trial with English side Reading. And the Newcastle Jets young gun has put his hand up to fill the void for the national team. Brisbane Roar's Matt McKay has been shifted to the troublesome position, prompting much consternation from fans and pundits alike. And while Goodwin has praised the midfielder's efforts playing in an unfamiliar role, he says he'd be happy to answer the call. "With the World Cup closing in, if I can have a good season, no matter what position I'm playing, I think I have a chance of making the squad, if everything goes to plan," Goodwin told foxsports.com.au. It is a problem not having a natural fullback in that position but when Matt McKay has played there he's done really well. If Holger does decide to call me up in the future, I'd be happy to play that role. I'm a confident player. Newcastle Jets' Craig Goodwin has thrown his hand up for the Socceroos. The 21-year-old enjoyed a breakout season at the Jets in 2012-2013, playing 25 games at both left-back and further up on the wing. While he admits he prefers to play higher up the pitch, the attacking-minded 21-year-old says he's happy to play in defence if that's what his club and country coach want. I would like to play in that left wing role but different coaches have different preferences. If Gary (van Egmond) sees me as a left-back, and that's where he wants to play me, I'll adapt to that," Goodwin said. When I was at the East Asian Cup, Holger was playing me as a winger. If he's playing me in that role, I guess that means he rates me as a left winger as well. Goodwin trialled with English club Reading in April, and says he'd be playing his trader in England if the Royals weren't relegated from the the Premier League. "Their feedback to me was that they were very impressed," Goodwin said. It was great to see the level of there in the Premier League. It was really good to see I'm not that far off the level required. If they stayed up they would have taken me on as a development player, but they couldn't because they got relegated. While the Adelaide-born left-footer admits it was a blow, he takes a pragmatic view of the situation. "At the end of the day, football is a lot about timing," Goodwin said. You can do as well as you can but sometimes the timing is not right. I learnt a lot over there and it would be great if I can bring that back into the A-League season with the Jets. Goodwin, who enjoys whipping balls into the box for intimidating former England and Liverpool striker Emile Heskey, is tipping Newcastle to make the finals this season, something they haven't achieved since 2009-2010. As a team we've sat down and our priority goal is to make the top six. We haven't made it for the past three seasons and we're not happy with that," Goodwin said. That's the main thing we'll be striving for this season. If we perform well and get into the top six, then from there, like any team, our aim will be to win the competition.