Newcastle Olympic hopeful of securing Jason Hoffman for run at NPL finals

Hoffman was farewelled by the Jets in his 300^th A-League appearance on Saturday, which ended in a 3-1 loss to Central Coast at McDonald Jones Stadium.

In recent weeks, the 35-year-old has made no secret of his desire to give back to grassroots football once his career is over, leading to speculation of him returning to play for Olympic this year. Hoffman was plucked from Olympic's finals team to make his A-League debut for Newcastle in 2007 and has maintained a connection to the Greek club.

DeVitis said Olympic had informal discussions with Hoffman weeks ago and planned to speak with him again before the May 13-17 NPL window for roster changes.

He hoped to finalise a deal and have Hoffman available as soon as possible, if the veteran does not continue his professional career elsewhere.

"He has indicated that he's keen to play in the local league and help out the competition, which is fantastic," DeVitis said. "There's a few unknowns at the moment but we're obviously very interested in signing him."

Hoffman is contracted to the Jets until June 30, meaning he will need an early release - potentially from new club owners - to play in the NPL before round 18.

Olympic, meanwhile, could be without striker Archie Finn for the rest of the season after X-rays revealed he broke his leg in a tackle late in the 2-1 win over New Lambton on Saturday.

"It's devastating for him because he's only a young guy, 21, and he's been playing really well for us," DeVitis said.

Finn joins Jacob Pepper, who faces another month out because on calf tears, on the sidelines.

Olympic are fifth on 13 points after eight games this season.