Northern NSW All-Stars gave an excellent account of themselves in matches against Newcastle Jets on Saturday.
The Northern NSW All-Stars Women's and Men's representative sides faced the Newcastle Jets in front of a crowd of more than 2,200 at Darling Street Oval as part of the A-League club’s pre-season preparation.
NNSWF selected senior men’s and women’s representative teams to play as the Northern NSW All-Stars to take on Newcastle Jets’ men’s and women’s teams.
Similar matches have previously appeared on the football calendar but the formal partnership between Northern NSW Football and Newcastle Jets cleared the way for the fixtures to return annually.
Newcastle Jets 6-2 NNSW All-Stars Women’s
A first half India Breier hat-trick helped Newcastle Jets to a 6-2 victory over NNSW All-Stars in the opening match of the day.
The All-Stars started brightly and were the better side for the opening 10 minutes. Northern NSW could have taken the lead when Jemma House went through on goal, only for the Newcastle Olympic striker to hit the post from a tight angle.
The Jets took the lead against the run of play on 15 minutes when Breier tapped home from a corner.
The 19-year-old scored twice more in the first half to give the Jets a 3-0 lead at the break.
An Alexis Collins double and a Makayla Clifton goal had Newcastle 6-0 in front before House pulled a goal back for Northern NSW.
The All-Stars showed no signs of giving up and were rewarded with a second goal through Maitland FC captain Sophie Stapleford.
“I thought it was a good game, actually,” Stapleford said.
“I thought the Jets came out to really play and that’s what they did. They scored their chances early on and I think in the first 10 minutes we had one or two chances. If we had have finished them it might have been a different first half. But it’s always hard when you come up against a quality side like the Jets.
“The girls are playing for the Jets for a reason. They’re good and it is a step up from the NPL to the A-League. But it’s a good experience especially for the younger girls who got to play today. They get to showcase what they can do and the talent they have for people like the Jets which is a really positive thing.”
Stapleford, who played for the Jets during the 2022-23 A-Leagues season, said her Northern NSW teammates would take plenty from the match.
“Hopefully [they will take] confidence from it. They made the All-Stars and were picked out of however many players are in our competition. They were the ones that were picked because they showcased how well they did in the NPL competition over the last 24 weeks. So hopefully they took a bit of confidence out of being noticed,” Stapleford said.
“But also what it takes to make an A-League side. The intensity is there, the technical ability is there, the decision making is there. Everything is just a step up from the NPL. And I think if they aspire to do that they just have to keep training and keep believing in themselves. Confidence is key and hopefully they took a lot of confidence out of that.”
The 31-year-old, who wore the captain’s armband for Northern NSW, said she was a huge fan of the All-Stars concept and hoped it would remain.
“I know in the past we’ve done it and then it stopped. But this is a great initiative especially from Northern [NSW Football] to bring it back. I think you just have to keep doing it,” Stapleford said.
“It shows how good the NPL is now in northern NSW. It also shows how good the Jets are in the A-League and they’ve got a lot of youngsters and it shows how good they are. But I 100 per cent think the All-Stars initiative should be a thing every single year.”
Breier was awarded the inaugural Player of the Match medal for the fixture.
Newcastle Jets 6 (Breier '15, '24, '41, Collins '55, '62, Clifton '77) defeated Northern NSW All-Stars 2 (House '84, Stapleford '92)
Player of the Match: India Breier
Newcastle Jets 4-0 NNSW All-Stars Men’s
A strong second half showing earned the Newcastle Jets a 4-0 victory over Northern NSW All-Stars Men's in the evening kick-off.
The sides were scoreless at the break as Northern NSW did well to keep the Jets at arm’s length.
But the All-Stars’ resistance was broken four minutes into the second half when Oscar Fryer poked home.
The 19-year-old set up Newcastle’s second seven minutes later when he lured Edgeworth defender Xander Woweries into a mistimed challenge, with Lachlan Rose dispatching his penalty confidently past Ben Conway.
Rose added his second and the Jets’ third on 66 minutes when he cooly finished a one-on-one chance past an advancing Conway.
Newcastle completed the scoring with the goal of the match nine minutes from full-time as Xavier Bertoncello cut in from the left and unleashed a superb strike into the bottom corner past a despairing Conway.
Northern NSW striker Braedyn Crowley thought the game was competitive with the All-Stars showing they could match it with the Jets, particularly in the first half.
“I think it was competitive. At times in that first half [the Jets] were frustrated in the way we were playing. I said in the sheds before the game just to have pride and believe and be brave and honestly I thought we did that. I thought we played good football at times,” Crowley said.
“It’s always going to be difficult coming up against an A-League team that train five times a week. The boys should be proud and hopefully the people watching were proud of that performance.
“People in Newcastle probably get looked over a little bit. There’s obviously stronger NPL [competitions] out there but I think being in it the last couple of years the NPL has definitely picked up here. You look at the players, some of the young boys here that are probably good enough to get to that level. I think any of these boys or girls could go in there and train.
“I rocked up early to support our [Northern NSW] Women’s team because there’s a lot of good women’s players here that probably get looked over [as well]. I just think that it was a good chance to showcase what northern [NSW] are about.”
Crowley echoed the thoughts of his Maitland FC clubmate Stapleford with his support of the Northern NSW All-Stars representative concept.
“I think it’s exciting. This whole last two weeks from on the inside it was exciting to train with players who are normally your rivals. That was a little bit different,” Crowley said.
“But it was exciting. And to get a turnout like this and have the crowd behind us and supporting us I think was massive for northern [NSW]. And I think it’s helpful for the Jets as well just being involved with the NPL clubs again. I think was exciting, it’d be good to even get another match in the year.”
Fryer was awarded the Player of the Match medal.
Newcastle Jets 4 (Fryer '49, Rose '56, '66, Bertoncello '81) defeated Northern NSW All-Stars 0
Player of the Match: Oscar Fryer
NNSWF Technical Director Ryan Doidge was pleased with the opportunity given to talented northern NSW players to showcase themselves against the region’s national league teams.
“Overall I thought in the women’s game that the players showed good levels of determination not to give up. At one point they were 6-0 down and then still scored two goals,” Doidge said.
“I think that really resonated with me in that the players took it seriously. I think we wanted to get that out of it in terms of us taking it seriously regardless of the opposition.
“I think the boys were also in that category. I think they were extremely competitive throughout the game but up until half-time they were well in it.
“And then for me it was about showcasing the level of talent we’ve got in our competitions and I felt like we did that. So for me I think it was about really understanding the event, taking it as seriously as we could and showcasing the level of talent that we’ve got and I thought we did that in both games.
Doidge said the matches also proved valuable in showing the levels required for aspiring northern NSW players.
“I think for them it’s probably an opportunity to see where the level is and where they’re at compared to that. They probably don’t get to play at that level often. So having an opportunity to do that I think really gives them the carrot to hopefully kick on and get to that level. And hopefully they’re back here in 12 months’ time,” Doidge said.
“I think we 100 per cent have to [continue with this concept]. Maybe there’s an opportunity to either increase the number of games or change the opposition. But for sure I think representative football should be an annual event for Northern NSW Football.”
