Match of the Round
Cooks Hill United v Valentine FC
Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field, Saturday 4:30pm
Cooks Hill United coach Chris Zoricich says that the departure of star attacker Cody Nancarrow will mean that his players will have to step up ahead of their clash against Valentine FC on Saturday.
Cooks Hill will line up on home soil at Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field for the first time this year without 2024 NPL NNSW Young Player of the Year Nancarrow, who has signed with league leaders Broadmeadow Magic.
It is a disappointing blow for Cooks Hill, Zoricich said the departure will create an opportunity for someone else in the squad moving forward.
“We’re obviously disappointed to lose Cody and a player of his calibre, but it’s his decision to leave,” Zoricich said.
“It’s now time for someone else in the group to step up. We have players waiting in the wings. Are they ready? We don’t know yet. But hopefully someone is.
“There are definitely players in that position that can come in and do a job for us, but how well they do is totally up to them.”
Cooks Hill have won two of their four matches so far this year and are now looking to secure back-to-back victories for the first time.
They have played three away matches as well as a home fixture at No.2 Sportsground and are determined to make their return to Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field a successful one.
“We’re happy to be home. We haven’t been able to train or play on there since Christmas, so the boys are excited to get back there and make our home ground a fortress,” Zoricich said.
“It’ll be a tough match against Valo. I don’t think any game this season is going to be easy, so we have to be on.
“We’ve had a week break to refresh. I gave the boys a bit of time off but we’re back into training and working hard to get ready for this game.
“The break after four games meant we do lose our momentum a little bit after a great win away to BelSwans, but we’re looking for continuity and consistency now and to not be so up and down.
“We’d like to put on a bit of a run earlier than we have done in the previous two years.”
Valentine will look at Saturday’s clash as an opportunity to kick-start their campaign following a frustrating start so far.
They have only picked up two points from a possible 12 after two draws and two losses and they have been in positions to win all four games but have failed to convert.
Injured attacking duo Carter Smith and Nick Martinelli are still sidelined for round five and Valentine will also be without experienced defender Carl Thornton after he was sent off against Newcastle Olympic in a 3-1 loss in round four.
Coach Kallum Garbett thought the character and determination his side showed when they went down to 10 men in that match was admirable and hoped to see that for 90 minutes against Cooks Hill on Saturday.
“We’ve been in every game and I think we need to look at that as a positive,” Garbett said.
“Obviously the results can be frustrating but we’re getting ourselves in positions where we can win games.
“As a group now, we just need to really stand up and try and go together and make sure we push as a group.
“Looking at how the games have gone, we could have had a very different start to the season results-wise, but we just haven’t taken the opportunities when they’ve been presented to us.”
Valentine is hopeful that Japanese visa player Kohane Yamakami will be available for his first game for the club on Saturday, but as of Thursday morning they were still awaiting his international clearance.
Charlestown Azzurri v Lambton Jaffas
Lisle Carr Oval, Saturday 2pm
Lambton Jaffas coach David Tanchevski is hopeful the return of several key players will see a change of fortunes for his side when they travel to Lisle Carr Oval to challenge Charlestown Azzurri this Saturday.
The Jaffas are scoreless in their last three matches and have only picked up four of a possible 12 points this season, with their first month of the season being plagued by injury.
Matt Cahill is now available for starting selection after he was used as a substitute in a 1-0 loss at home against Adamstown in round four, while defenders Nikolai Topor-Stanley, Jimmy Oates and Tom Waller are all expected to be available this weekend as well after they missed the Rosebud clash.
Fellow defender Matt Buettner has been ruled out for the season following an ACL injury he suffered early in a round three stalemate against Edgeworth.
Another player that will not line up for Lambton on Saturday is Yuhei Sato, who has departed the club since the Jaffas’ loss against Adamstown.
“We’ve parted ways with Yuhei. There was probably some communication barriers there and him not really understanding how we want to play,” Tanchevski said.
“We wanted more defensive work rate from our 10 but he was after a free-roaming role. It was an amicable part though.
“Last game we had five players unavailable, so we have people coming back who can step into that role.
“The injuries we’ve had have created opportunities for some younger guys, which has been one positive. We had four players under 19-years-old playing against Adamstown.”
As for this weekend, Tanchevski is expecting a tough contest from one of the form teams of the competition.
“Charlestown has started really strong. They do most years to be honest,” Tanchevski said.
“They are really well-organised and are tough to break down.
“They touched us up and knocked us out in the semis last year, so it’s going to be tough for us.
“We probably need another six-week pre-season to get some consistency in our team. We haven’t fielded the same team twice, in fact we haven’t even fielded the same frontline, midfield or backline twice this year.”
James Pascoe’s men are looking to bounce back from their first loss of the season after they went down 3-2 away from home against Broadmeadow in round four.
They had won their first three matches and almost stole a point against Magic, and they are now hungry to return to winning ways against a vulnerable Jaffas outfit.
Adamstown Rosebud FC v Edgeworth Eagles
Adamstown Oval, Friday 8pm
Two teams will look to secure back-to-back wins when Adamstown Rosebud welcomes Edgeworth Eagles to Adamstown Oval on Friday night.
Adamstown have been the surprise package of the campaign during the opening month. Overwhelmingly tipped to feature in the relegation battle again in 2025, they have proved many wrong so far with two wins in their first four games to sit sixth.
Their last start saw them produce their first clean sheet of the season when they prevailed 1-0 away from home against Lambton Jaffas and Chris Moylan’s men are now hoping to treat a home crowd to a similar defensive display on Friday night.
To do so they will need to rise to another level when they welcome the only undefeated side in the competition to town.
Last season’s grand finalists Edgeworth have been solid so far in 2025, winning their first and most recent fixtures either side of two draws.
Their coach Peter McGuinness had challenged them to start finding the back of the net prior to round four after they had only scored twice in their first three games and they achieved that when they put four goals past New Lambton at Alder Park.
The Eagles will now look to continue where they left off in that game after last weekend’s break.
Belmont Swansea United FC v Broadmeadow Magic FC
Blacksmiths Oval, Saturday 4:30pm
Belmont Swansea United will be boosted by two welcome returns when they host the league leaders Broadmeadow Magic at Blacksmiths Oval on Saturday afternoon.
Midfielder Matt Hall has not played since round one and defender Alex Clayton left the field six minutes into round two, but they have overcome their injuries and are both available for selection for BelSwans’ battle against the in-form defending champions in round five.
The hosts are almost at full strength, with Matt Ingham left to return, as they look to bounce back from their first loss since being promoted and avoid back-to-back losses.
Broadmeadow Magic are on a three-game winning streak and have found the back of the net 13 times since they were held scoreless in the season opener against Edgeworth.
They most recently won a top-of-the-table clash 3-2 against Charlestown Azzurri to climb into first place and have since welcomed the 2024 NPL NNSW Young Player of the Year Cody Nancarrow to the club from Cooks Hill United.
The youngster arrives at Broadmeadow seeking a new challenge and determined to take his game to another level alongside some of the league’s best players.
Nancarrow’s last match for his former team was at Blacksmiths Oval where he scored a brace in a 3-1 win against BelSwans and he could come back to haunt Mick Stafford’s men again this Saturday as Broadmeadow’s coach Jim Cresnar advised that the attacker would be available for selection.
“He’s [Nancarrow] a good, promising player and he’s got huge potential as well,” Cresnar said.
As for Saturday’s clash, Cresnar said Broadmeadow were at full strength and were expecting a difficult challenge against a BelSwans side that he described as being well-organised and well-coached.
Maitland FC v Newcastle Olympic FC
Cooks Square Park, Sunday 2pm
Newcastle Olympic will still be without Roy O’Donovan for their road trip to Cooks Square Park on Sunday where they will challenge Maitland FC in round five.
O’Donovan has not played since his Olympic debut in round one as he continues to recover from a back injury he sustained prior to round two.
Kane Treble (hamstring) is 50-50 to return for Olympic this weekend, while Zach Thomas (groin) is available for selection for the first time since he limped off 28 minutes into round two.
Olympic have won two of their first four matches and have picked up seven of a possible 12 points to find themselves sitting fifth on the table.
Coach Paul DeVitis was pleased with his side’s progression since adding Jared Muller, Ben Hay, Adam Zervas and Kale Bradbery to the side, who all starred in their round four win against Valentine last time out.
While Olympic are in a good place a month into the season, it is quite the opposite for Maitland who are 10th on the table after just one win from their first four games and a horror outing in their round four match last Saturday.
The Magpies travelled to Rockwell Automation Park for the rescheduled clash and were thumped 5-1 by Weston in the El Clasicoal.
They didn’t just lose the game, but they also lost assistant coach Nick Harmon for eight weeks for match official abuse after an altercation in injury time that saw Benjamin Power-O’Toole sent off and suspended for three weeks for violent conduct.
The Magpies will now look to put that loss and a poor start to the season behind them when they host Olympic on Sunday.
New Lambton FC v Weston Bears FC
Alder Park, Sunday 4:30pm
New Lambton FC can sense that a win is not too far away, but they will have to be at their best if they are to take three points off the in-form Weston Bears at Alder Park on Sunday evening.
The Golden Eagles have lost all four games so far but showed plenty of fight in their two most recent matches as they found the back of the net five times against the 2024 grand finalists Broadmeadow and Edgeworth following a scoreless opening fortnight.
They conceded nine goals in those two matches though and they have the worst defensive record so far this season, something they are determined to turn around from round five.
Weston is coming off their biggest win of the campaign after they trounced Maitland 5-1 at Rockwell Automation Park last Saturday in the rescheduled El Clasicoal derby.
Chris Hatfield registered his second brace on the trot in that match and fellow attacking weapon Blake Archbold extended his scoring streak to four games as the Bears produced back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Those two victories were on home soil after they picked up just one point of a possible six in their first two matches on the road, so this Sunday’s fixture is a chance for them to score their first away win of the campaign.