The Australian international centre-half couldn't have had an easier return to action as United scored in the fifth-minute and never looked troubled from then onwards.
Carl Finnigan, who went on to grab a hat-trick, nodded Martin Brittain's cross firmly into the net to open the floodgates. Finnigan doubled Newcastle's lead, firing home from 10 yards after Ashington keeper Andy Clark could only parry a 25-yard drive from Alan O'Brien. Right back Liam Atkin scored twice with low drives after 32 and 76 minutes, and left back Phil Cave hit the goal of the game in-between with a rising 52nd-minute drive.
Newcastle hit three more goals in the final eight minutes. Matty Pattison netted first and Finnigan completed his hat-trick with an 86th-minute tap-in. Daryl Smylie completed Ashington's misery three minutes from time to make the result 8-0.
NEWCASTLE: Krul, Atkin, Cave, Moore (Smylie 45), Edgar, Farman, Brittain (Baxter 64), Gate, Finnigan, Pattison, O'Brien (Shanks 64).
Sub Not Used: Marshall.