Match of the Round
West Wallsend SFC v Wallsend FC
Johnston Park, Sunday 2.30pm
Fans love a derby and a big crowd is expected at Johnston Park on Sunday when West Wallsend host their bitter rivals Wallsend.
West Wallsend coach Geoff Blomfield was relishing the home fixture.
"[I’m] looking forward to the derby at our home ground. It's always good playing Wallsend, they're always tough but that's why you play footy," Blomfield said.
"Wallsend always turn up for the game and have a crack so it will be good.
"It's definitely a high intensity fixture, Wallsend always get up for us. Always.
"We usually draw a fair crowd, especially for this match so there will be a good atmosphere."
Blomfield will welcome back several players which will bolster the team.
"We've been lacking troops. I think we get four or five back this week so hopefully we're starting to get back to full strength over the next couple of weeks.
"Bailey Jensen and Bryce Cox are looking good and there’s a few others coming back.”
Although the table does not show it, Wallsend have had a good start to the season.
The Red Devils had the bye in round one followed by scoring three goals against reigning champions BelSwans to share the points.
Supporters are in for a high-octane game of football.
"[It’s an] exciting fixture. Very physical, very high intensity that's for sure," Wallsend coach Michael Gatt said.
"We've still got a few long-term injuries but we'll probably be the same side we had against BelSwans last week."
After last week's six-goal thriller, Gatt wanted to keep the firepower up front and plug the leaks at the back.
"It was a good game against BelSwans. A good result to start off, we now have to lift a gear,” Gatt said.
"The derby always brings out the best in everybody so it should be a good challenge that's for sure.
"We conceded poor goals last week. We are focusing on tightening that up and continuing with our goal scoring.”
South Cardiff FC v Toronto Awaba FC
Ulinga Oval, Friday 8pm
One club’s 100 per cent winning record has to give when South Cardiff face Toronto Awaba on Friday night.
After a scintillating 5-0 win over Thornton in round one and last week's bye, South Cardiff have a clean bill of health.
"We had the bye last week, so no new injuries or anything like that, we're all good to go," South Cardiff coach Perry Mellon said.
"We've had a good start to the season. [Toronto Awaba] have had a good start also, two wins from two.
"We're well aware it's going to be a tough game but we're suitably prepared and ready to give it a good crack.
"We should have a couple more players to choose from on Friday night.
"The bye was good for us, to rest, recuperate and get ready to go for the next round of games.”
As the temperature drops, Friday nights are conducive to fast-paced football.
"It's obviously our first home game for the season, we didn't have too many home games last year because of the rain,” Mellon said.
"So it'll be good to get back home. We've tried to get more Friday and Saturday night fixtures so more supporters can attend, it's game on.”
Joint top of the table Toronto Awaba will be seeking to make it three wins from three but coach Jarrod Hiles knows what awaits.
"Perry Mellon's teams play a nice brand of football and I'm sure he'll have them primed for this one," Hiles said.
"Friday night is good to escape the heat so conditions should be excellent for the players, it will be a good test for us.
"We lost Kye Howland from our starting 11 and our goalkeeper Drew Olsen is still out with a quad injury but other than that, we're unchanged.
"Our keeper Reef Parker is only 18 and he's been doing a fantastic job in goals.
"Definitely looking forward to this one.”
Belmont Swansea United v Cessnock City Hornets
Blacksmith Oval, Saturday 4.30pm
Two points after two rounds is not how last year's champions were hoping to start this season.
But that is more of a testament to the strength in depth of this year's Northern League One competition.
Belmont Swansea United return to Blacksmith Oval looking to kick-start their season against Cessnock City in front of their home supporters.
"We are looking forward to the game against Cessnock. We have no injuries and are unchanged from last week," Belmont Swansea coach Joshua Rufo said.
"We are expecting a competitive game with both teams looking to get their respective seasons kick-started."
Hornets coach Brad Miles is hoping to spoil the party at Blacksmith Oval.
"We look forward to playing the champions from the last couple of seasons. It's always a challenging road trip,” Miles said.
"Zac Kronholm is our only change from last week, suspended after the weekend’s send-off.”
Kahibah FC v Singleton Strikers
Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility, Saturday 7pm
After their 2-0 win over the Thornton Redbacks, Singleton Strikers coach Mick Jarvis was already planning their next match.
"We're going from one of the smallest pitches [at Pasadena Oval] to one of the biggest pitches in Newcastle," Jarvis said.
"We are back training on Tuesday and Thursday this week after last Friday's match. We are looking for a more fluid approach.
"There's not much in these games, everything's very tight. We like to play on the bigger pitch, we've got a fair bit of speed in the team with good wheels.
"After a solid pre-season, we've got a fair bit of fitness, we only made one substitution against the Redbacks last Friday, Jack Clare came on for us after 80 minutes.
"We've done the work in pre-season to make sure the players can play big minutes. So the big pitch will allow us to move the ball around a bit more and utilise our quick fellas.”
The Strikers are sitting pretty at the top of the table and have more firepower to come.
“Two wins are good as we’ve been missing several players each week,” Jarvis said.
“We haven't been at full strength yet, even on Friday Jake Bartlett and Jackson Skinner were missing along with Nick Hough and Brad Cox who are all regular first graders.”
A mixed bag was Kahibah coach Mat Moncrieff's assessment of last week's performance against West Wallsend.
"Disappointed with last week's result but was happy with parts of our game which was an improvement on the previous game," Moncrieff said.
"Singleton are always a tough game and I'm sure this weekend will be no different.
"We have one suspended from last week in Jenson Hunt and a few players available this week that weren't available last week, so we will line up a little different for this one.”
Thornton Redbacks FC have the bye