Canberra United search for breakthrough A-League Women's victory against Newcastle Jets

United will look to ignite their ALW campaign when they face the Newcastle Jets at Hunter Stadium on Sunday.

Canberra were bold in declaring their ambition to win the league on the eve of the season opener but find themselves anchored to ninth on the table and only one point clear of last-placed Wellington after a winless start from six matches.

Their campaign hit a roadblock when their last outing was postponed due to positive COVID-19 cases and the playing group was sent into isolation.

Now Linton has been handed the unenviable task of building the squad's training load back up to mitigate injury risks while preparing them for a showdown with Newcastle, who have picked up two wins in five games this season.

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Laura Hughes has emerged from isolation with the rising star determined to bury the demons of a frustrating summer and chalk up a drought-breaking win.

"It's been so stop-start, so it's so good to be able to just play and train. Especially with isolation, that was tough, so we're just happy to be able to play," Hughes said.

"With isolation, our load has dropped a lot. This week has just been about building our load back up so we don't have any injuries.

"[We're] learning from our past games but we don't want to look too far in the past. Just looking forward and taking each game as one step.

"This season we've struggled to manage games and keep possession of the ball, it's been really transitional so we're just working on that sort of stuff, and a lot of finishing on goal because we want to score more goals.

"It's a tough one to swallow because with our preparation, we've tried really hard working on those small details and then it's just frustrating when it doesn't come off in a game.

"We've been a bit unlucky in some games not to get some goals and we deserved a bit more out of some games. That's definitely frustrating but we've got to keep looking forward and learning from our past games."

A week in isolation means the heaviest defeat in Canberra United history - a 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Sydney FC - still stands as their last outing.

Karly Roestbakken missed that clash due to a Matildas camp and she won't be seen in Canberra colours again this season after finishing her loan deal from Norwegian club LSK Kvinner.

The remainder of Linton's squad will be determined to make a statement when they hit the road to face the Jets, with Grace Maher and Emma Ilijoski poised to return after entering the league's COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

"Last time we played them, they're a real fighting team. You can't take them lightly, from the first minute to the last minute they will push us hard," Hughes said.

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