Elimination Final
Edgeworth Eagles v Belmont Swansea United
Jack McLaughlan Oval, Sunday 1pm
With an historic maiden finals appearance secured, Belmont Swansea United head coach Michael Stafford knows his side are hungry to keep their season going as they travel to face Edgeworth Eagles in the elimination final on Sunday at Jack McLaughlan Oval.
Edgeworth will come into the game looking to bounce back from their 2-1 loss to Maitland FC away from home last week, which ultimately cost them a chance to claim second place and secure a more favourable run in the finals.
Regardless, the loss has been the only blemish in a strong end to the season, with Edgeworth having drawn with Weston Bears and won their previous four games, including a 2-0 win over BelSwans.
With Sawyer Tonkin also back from injury, Eagles head coach Peter McGuinness delivered a simple message ahead of the fixture: the loser of this game will be eliminated from the finals.
“The message is quite simple: don't take anything for granted,” McGuinness said.
“Make sure you prepare as if it's your last game of football ever and make sure that you're up for the battle. You do all the things right, your preparation at training, your preparation before the game, the preparation the night before the game.
“I thought we were a little bit flat [against Maitland]. We're just glad to get through it without any suspensions or injuries. This week, we'll look to really freshen up and make sure that we're very focused on what our main principles are and how we want to play.
“We know we've got fight in the team. We'll do everything in our power to make sure that we're really well prepared and up for the battle.
“[It’s a] clean slate going into finals, [I’m] looking forward to the game against Belmont Swansea.
“I'm sure they're looking forward to playing finals footy for the first time. Should be a good crowd, should be a good atmosphere, should be good attendance. So, looking forward to it, really.”
While the visitors come into the finals having lost four of their last five games, they are likely to come out all guns blazing in their maiden finals appearance, boasting one of the most dangerous attacks in the entire league.
Recording 10 wins this year, including victories over the likes of Broadmeadow Magic, Edgeworth Eagles and Lambton Jaffas, BelSwans have been one of the big improvers of 2026. With Marco Gueli denied the Golden Boot after Luis Lara Delgardo’s eight-goal haul, the striker will arrive this weekend with a point to prove.
Despite losing their last regular season round thanks to two late goals from Adamstown Rosebud, Stafford is focused on the big picture, having used the Buds game to rotate in several players ahead of this weekend.
With his side set to be at full strength, BelSwans will be throwing the kitchen sink at departing Jack McLaughlan Oval with a win.
“The boys are very proud of their achievement, to be honest. It was a season goal to make the finals,” Stafford said.
“But speaking to them, they don't want the season to end. No one wants this season to end because it's been so enjoyable. Come Sunday, they're going to do everything they possibly can, you know, to keep this season going and keep playing football together.
“It's things you can't control [regarding the Golden Boot]. Marco scoring 25 goals in 22 games is a huge achievement. He's proud of that and we're proud of him. There is ambition now from that to continue on, for him to keep scoring goals and keep his season going.
“We're the classic underdog story, I guess, we're the smallest club in the league in every aspect.
“We're coming up against the NPL heavyweight with a history of being so successful. We're going to go there with that mentality to just throw everything we can at them.
“We've done that all year, every round. Even the game we played at Edgy where we got beat 2-0, we had seven first graders missing that day, but the boys still represented the club in the best possible fashion.
“There's no doubt that they'll turn up and put our best foot forward against what is a very good team, coached by a good coach, and one of the heavyweight clubs in northern New South Wales.
“Everyone’s raring to go.”
Qualifying Final
Maitland FC v Weston Bears
Cooks Square Park, Sunday 3pm
Maitland FC head coach Adam Hughes is expecting a ‘feisty’ match when his side welcomes Weston Bears for the qualifying final this weekend at Cooks Square Park on Sunday.
The match will mark the fourth time the El Clasicoal derby derby has been played in 2026, with the sides having faced off twice during the NPL Men’s NNSW regular season for a win apiece, while Maitland claimed victory in their Men’s State Cup clash at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility.
The result marked a strong turnaround for the Magpies after losses to Fremantle City in the Hahn Australia Cup and Broadmeadow Magic in the NPL Men’s NNSW, the only blemishes in what has been a strong second half of their season.
Following those results up with wins over Charlestown Azzurri and Kahibah FC, Maitland’s 2-1 defeat of Edgeworth Eagles last weekend proved enough to see them snatch second place from the Bears.
With several stars also returning from injury to have the Magpies at full strength, Hughes will be determined to get his finals campaign off to a strong start, with a major semi-final clash against Broadmeadow Magic looming for the victor.
“The group are all steering in the same direction, it’s a big positive to be heading into this time of year,” Hughes said.
“Since the start of the year we haven’t changed or altered in what we’ve been doing. It’s always a process, getting those slight adjustments and tweaks to give the best balance to the group.
“This just sets up another derby game. It’s a mentality of us against everyone else, that’s the way we’re going into this finals series. As a collective, we’ll work as best as we can.
“It’s going to be a feisty match, I dare say. They’ve got capabilities of adjusting in certain ways, but we’ll be prepared and ready to counteract moments and have our own plans for ourselves.”
The Bears come into the match hungry for a result, and not just because it is an opportunity to settle scores against an old rival following their loss at the Men’s State Cup.
Draws against Edgeworth Eagles and Valentine FC proved costly for the Bears late in the season, ultimately costing them a home semi-final following Maitland’s win over the Eagles.
Their form overall suggests that this clash has all the makings of a classic, with the Bears having not dropped an NPL Men’s NNSW game since their round 17 loss to Magic in June. When they have won, they’ve won big.
Scoring five goals against both Kahibah and Charlestown, the Bears backed that up in their final catch-up game, blasting a decent Adamstown side 4-2 and showing a knack for scoring goals in quick succession, a challenge that will be difficult for the Magpies to wrangle.
While losing Matthew Buettner to injury, head coach Damian Zane is expecting the consistency shown by his side, especially on the road, to shine through as they look to grab a win at Cooks Square Park, having already done so all the way back in round two.
“We had a couple of players we rested last week [against Valentine],” Zane said.
“We threw a bit of caution to the wind, [but] I'm not reading too much into that [draw].
“[Sunday] is a good chance to take another step towards the grand final. We're sort of three wins away from winning a competition. So we'll be hoping to chalk one off, you don't want to be playing in elimination finals.
“With derbies, with finals, with cup games, I just feel that you shouldn't play with a greater intensity in any of them. That consistency of performance is what every coach wants.
“Yeah, it's a big moment, there's a lot on the line. Often in these games, big players step up.
“We'll be looking for our players to step up and perform.”