Potential All Whites World Cup bolter Lachlan Bayliss excelling for A-League Men's hottest team
Sunday, 22 February 2026
The hottest player on the hottest team in A-League Men is a Kiwi.
A 23-year-old who played for the Oly Whites at the Paris Olympics two years ago.
But who is yet to be called up to the All Whites, let alone make his debut for them.
With New Zealand's return to the FIFA World Cup after 16 years away fast approaching – now less than four months away – he could be timing his run to perfection.
Lachlan Bayliss has scored four goals and provided the assist for two others in the Newcastle Jets' last four matches.
His hot run of form began with a goal after 21 seconds against the Wellington Phoenix a month ago.
The midfielder also set one up as the Jets won that match, scored two in a win over the Brisbane Roar a week later, set another up in a win away Adelaide United and scored another in a win away to Perth Glory last Friday.
The Jets are on a seven-match winning streak and have a one-point advantage over Auckland FC at the top of the table with a game in hand and nine still to be played all up.
Under coach Mark Milligan, a former Socceroo, they are also playing what is by some distance the most attractive football in A-League Men, scoring goals at the second-best rate in competition history – 2.35 per game.
On Sunday evening, they face Macarthur FC, the last team to beat them. Next weekend, they face the Central Coast Mariners in an F3 derby – a fixture they lost in round one.
Bayliss is loving life right now, midway through his third season with the Jets – a club that is dear to his heart as he spent several years in their youth system, before a stint with the Mariners.
“It's very enjoyable,” he told Stuff this week.
“Every footballer wants to score goals and attack all the time.”
“This style of football is great to play under. It's very exciting stuff, and especially exciting for the fans as well.”
He also knows All Whites' coach Darren Bazeley is watching.
“He's sent me a few messages after some of the goals I've scored.
“It's definitely nice that he keeps in contact and keeps tabs.”
But as he looks to help return the Jets to finals football for the first time since 2018 and hopefully add more silverware to the Australia Cup they won in October, he isn't letting World Cup bolter chat distract him from the task at hand.
“Everyone dreams of going to a World Cup as a kid, but it's not something that I've thought about yet for myself.
“I do want to be called up for a New Zealand camp and to be able to represent them.
“Ultimately, I've just been focusing on playing here and getting game time and just improving every day.
“I always say that those things come if you're doing well [with your club], so that's where my focus is at.”
An injury blow at another A-Leagues club this week has made a first call-up for Bayliss when the All Whites host Finland and Chile in Auckland at the end of March a distinct possibility.
Sarpreet Singh took a knock to a knee in his first match back at the Phoenix, away to Western Sydney Wanderers last Friday, suffering an MCL injury that will rule him out for two months.
That is set to leave a vacancy for Bazeley to fill and Bayliss appears to be the perfect man to fill it.
Though he puts his recent goal contribution spree down to playing further forward, in his favoured attacking midfield role, he has often played deeper for the Jets.
That versatility could help him press his case for a place in the All Whites’ 26-man World Cup squad that set to be named in May.
Bazeley is likely to have a spot or two to use where he wants extra depth and if he decides he wants more midfield cover, the choice could be between Bayliss and Owen Parker-Price.