A quick glance at the Isuzu UTE A-League Golden Boot standings, and there is a strong theme emerging already.
Newcastle Jets star Alex Badolato and Melbourne City striker Max Caputo. The CommBank Young Socceroos teammates and rising stars have made a breath-taking start to season 2025-26.
“I’ve made no secret of how hard he’s worked to get the accolated he’s got away from us over the last 12 months,” Jets head coach Mark Milligan said after Friday night’s stunning hat-trick. “I think a lesser person would’ve probably struggled with what he’s been through but he is very determined.
“Once he starts getting more game time, you’ll start to really see his qualities,” Milligan added of Badolato, who had struggled for regular first-team minutes prior to his switch to the Australia Cup champions in 2025-26.
“That’s why I was so keen to get him in. I knew he’d be a big part of the jig-saw puzzle… his belief and buy-in to what we do is contagious.”
Not to be outdone, Young Socceroos teammate Caputo is also in red-hot form to usher in a new campaign.
Caputo has three goals to his name after the opening two rounds following Saturday’s 4-0 rout of Perth Glory at AAMI Park. The 20-year-old netted a first-half brace after scoring a 97th-minute winner in the AFC Champions League Elite during the week.
He managed a career-high five goals in 15 Isuzu UTE A-League appearances last season as City won the Championship. Caputo already has three in two league games this season.
Caputo has 10 career goals to his name since debuting in the Isuzu UTE A-League – the fifth-most in the history of the competition among players by the age of 20, only adrift of Archie Goodwin (20), Nestory Irankunda (26), Luka Jovanovic (12) and Thomas Waddingham (11).
“Max is great,” City head coach Aurelio Vidmar said this season. “He’s developed so much over the last couple of years.
“His intent is always positive. He wants to do so well, not just for himself but the team.
“He gets into good goalscoring positions. He is just going to get better and better.”
The likes of Nestory Irankunda, Adrian Segecic, Archie Goodwin, Thomas Waddingham, Mohamed Toure, Hayden Matthews and Nicolas Milanovic have all emerged in the Isuzu UTE A-League before catapulting themselves abroad.
Now, Badolato and Caputo are headlining the next generation breaking through in 2025-26.
