Match of the Round
Weston Bears FC v Lambton Jaffas FC
Rockwell Automation Field, Saturday 2pm
Lambton Jaffas coach David Tanchevski is hopeful that getting his troops back on deck will lead to his side finding the back of the net and turning a corner this Saturday when they travel to Rockwell Automation Field to challenge Weston Bears.
The match of the round clash is a battle between the team that has scored the most goals after five rounds and the side that has scored the least.
The Jaffas have been held scoreless in three games so far and have struggled to find someone to fill the shoes of multiple-time golden boot winner Kale Bradbery, who left Jaffas in the off-season to link up with Newcastle Olympic.
Bradbery has netted five times for his new club and has set up a couple more, while Lambton have only found the back of the net three times in five outings.
Defensively Lambton have thrived, with seven goals against them putting them up alongside Broadmeadow and Weston and behind only Edgeworth (3) and Charlestown (5).
The Jaffas have been decimated by injury so far this season but have slowly started to get all of their players back on deck.
Matt Buettner (knee) is out for the season and Jimmy Oates is unlikely to play at Bear Park, but Tanchevski is confident everyone else will be ready to line up against one of the form teams of the competition.
“We’ve been defending well. Take away the Magic game when we had injuries to four defenders in that game, our defence is pretty strong,” Tanchevski said.
“We’ve only conceded in three games out of five, and take the Magic game out of it, it’s two goals in four games. We’ve played the top three teams away too in Magic, Edgeworth and Charlestown.
“The Adamstown game is a blip on our radar, but we did have five players unavailable for that game. We win that game we have two wins and draws against Edgy and Azzurri, and that’s not a bad start to the season.
“Right now, it feels like we’re a million miles away because we’re 10th on the table, but we’re equal with a few teams and only six points away from second, so it’s not the end of the world after five games.
“Our scoring, I think is just inconsistency in who we’ve had available. We had Yuhei (Sato, who recently departed the club) up there for a couple of games and there was a hot game where we found out he can’t run in the heat so we had to sacrifice that game.
“We were going to bring Jimmy into 10 and he got injured, and the front three or four have changed a fair bit, with Shusuke (Kirihara) having to move from nine back to 10 and Sam Donnellan moving from wing to wing back.
“We haven’t put the same front four out five games in a row, but we’re going to put a similar team out this weekend to last weekend, and hopefully some consistency has an impact. I think the goals will come.”
While the Jaffas have been struggling to convert so far, no side has scored more than Weston in 2025. They have netted 17 goals in the first five games and 14 of those were in the past three weeks.
Striker Chris Hatfield is leading the golden boot race with seven goals and the side have plenty of other fire power in the likes of Blake Archbold, Aaron Niyonkuru, Cooper Buswell and Burke Fahling.
Their assistant coach Nathan Morris has loved what he has seen from his men so far but is well aware that Lambton are a sleeping giant.
“Results have started to go our way, which is good because we’ve been working hard,” Morris said.
“For a few years now we’ve had a good side and not been able to get the results we wanted for the most part, so we’ve really simplified things and we’re working harder than we have in a long time. Some handy results have come off the back of that.
“I watched a little bit of Lambton’s game against Charlestown and they have quality everywhere. The results aren’t really going their way but there aren’t too many weaknesses in their side.
“We’ll need to win the one-on-one duals, as you always need to in our competition, and then hopefully whatever we come up with tactically works from there.
“You can’t give the Jaffas any chances. Their goal last week for example; Charlestown did really well defensively but they gave one of their midfielders a bit of space and he put it in from 25 out. One lapse in concentration and they went bang.”
Morris said the Bears were at full strength for Saturday’s game and were determined to extend their 2025 home winning streak to three games.
Maitland FC v New Lambton FC
Cooks Square Park, Saturday 4:30pm
Shane Pryce admits his New Lambton FC side must find a way to win when they travel to Cooks Square Park for a bottom-of-the-table clash against Maitland FC on Saturday.
The Golden Eagles are the only winless team in the league after five rounds and are sitting last with no points to their name.
Early signs were worrying after just two matches and Pryce demanded that his men toughen up and show some fight moving forward.
The New Lambton boss certainly got the response he was looking for as his side netted five goals in two weeks against last season’s grand finalists and then pushed the high-flying Weston for 60 minutes last weekend before a red card derailed their round five contest.
Despite an improved showing against quality opposition in the past three rounds, those efforts have not led to any points.
“I think we’re on the right path but there are no rewards for being on that path and not winning,” Pryce said.
“We’ve got a group that is going in the right direction to get some positive results, but it’s not translating on the table.
“It’s disheartening for me and the players, but that’s got to bring out fight from the players and a reaction.
“It gets you down when you look at the table because we know the consequences of it.
“For us, it’s just about working harder, keeping faith and moving forward.”
Pryce acknowledged that Maitland is a club with a quality roster that have underperformed so far in 2025 and will be looking to get their season on track with a win this Saturday, but he declared the Golden Eagles were going to be up for the battle when they arrive at Cooks Square Park.
For Maitland and their coach Adam Hughes, it has been a less-than-ideal start to the campaign following just one win, one draw and three losses so far.
They showed glimpses of what they were capable of in round five when they led Newcastle Olympic 3-1 after 29 minutes, but they capitulated and conceded four unanswered goals to go down 5-3 in front of a home crowd.
Eleventh is not a position the Magpies ever expected to be in this season and they are ready to start climbing the table on Saturday.
Adamstown Rosebud v Cooks Hill United
Adamstown Oval, Friday 8pm
Cooks Hill United coach Chris Zoricich believes he needs to see action from his side when they look to bounce back against Adamstown Rosebud at Adamstown Oval on Friday night.
This match was initially scheduled to be contested at Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field but has been relocated, with Adamstown taking over hosting rights and the return fixture in round 17 now scheduled for Cooks Hill’s home ground instead of the Rosebud’s.
Adamstown and Cooks Hill were the only two sides to be held scoreless in round five as they were both beaten 4-0.
Their respective losses saw them finish the weekend sitting sixth and seventh on six points each, four outside the top five as a gap starts to open up between the early contenders and the rest of the pack.
Each side is now eager to return to winning ways and prove they belong in the as the season goes past the quarter of the way mark.
These teams have been on an almost identical journey so far this season. They both lost their season openers and have gone win, loss, win, loss since.
While they have both struggled to find any consistency so far, that means they are both yet to lose back-to-back games which they are determined to keep that going this weekend.
Zoricich was disappointed with his side’s performance at home against Valentine last Saturday and has demanded a response from his men on Friday night.
“We are going to work our backsides off at training and try and make it right,” Zoricich said.
“The talking has been done. We’ve done a lot of talking recently. For me, it’s time for action, not talk. The players need to step up.
“It’s a similar scenario to the Weston game (4-0 loss in round three). We had a good win against BelSwans after that. We responded well then and we have to do the same now against Adamstown.”
Charlestown Azzurri v Belmont Swansea United
Lisle Carr Oval, Saturday 4:30pm
Belmont Swansea United coach Mick Stafford says his side will have to be at their best when they travel to Lisle Carr Oval to challenge Charlestown Azzurri on Saturday.
The promoted side have proved that they can match it with anyone in the top flight, having won two of their first five games and drawn another.
But BelSwans have lost their past two games and are eager to avoid a third on the trot.
They are itching to get back on the park following last Saturday’s defeat on home soil against Magic where they gave up a lead after conceding two penalties to slip to ninth on the table.
They face another tough opponent this Saturday in a Charlestown Azzurri side that is fourth following three wins, a draw and a loss so far in 2025.
“We’re going to have to turn up and be at our best against a team like this,” Stafford said.
“If we keep showing belief, we’ll continue to grow as a unit.”
BelSwans have just about everyone on deck for the away trip to Lisle Carr Oval but the hosts will be without a couple of key players, with Jarryd Sutherland sitting out for another stint on the sidelines after reinjuring his hamstring at training and Reece Papas sidelined with an achilles injury.
Azzurri did get Tyran Cousins back last weekend after he returned with limited minutes through reserve grade a week earlier and this weekend could see Taylor Regan make a return from an injury that has sidelined him since the 39th minute in round three.
Coach James Pascoe is in a favourable position though where he does not need to rush his skipper back as visa signing Richie Danquah and Kieran Hayes have formed a solid partnership at the back for Charlestown.
Broadmeadow Magic v Newcastle Olympic
Magic Park, Sunday 2pm
Another chapter in one of the greatest rivalries in the history of Newcastle football will be written on Sunday afternoon when Broadmeadow Magic host Newcastle Olympic at Magic Park.
These two clubs have proud histories and enjoy nothing more than getting one over the other, which Magic have done more often than not in recent history as they boast a four-game winning streak over Olympic in the league and are five games unbeaten against them dating back to 2022.
This fixture is one that always delivers goals. This Sunday’s game promises to deliver similar fireworks as the two clubs enter the weekend as two of the form attacking teams across the first five rounds of the campaign.
Magic is on top of the table and have scored 15 goals already, while Olympic is fifth and have registered 14 goals so far. Only Weston (17) have netted more times than the two local rivals.
Olympic have added plenty of talent to their squad after being knocked out of the finals in week one last season and they are genuine title threats in 2025.
A victory on home soil in round five would be even sweeter for Jim Cresnar’s Magic as it would see them go five points clear of Paul DeVitis and Mick Bolch’s men.
On the other side of the coin, an Olympic win would see them go ahead of Broadmeadow on the table for the first time since round two.
Valentine FC v Edgeworth Eagles
Croudace Bay Complex, Sunday 4:30pm
A round of highly-anticipated contests wraps up in style at Croudace Bay Complex on Sunday evening when Valentine FC host Edgeworth Eagles.
These two sides were big winners in round five and were the only two teams to keep clean sheets as they both registered 4-0 victories.
For Valentine, it was their first win of the season that saw them leap from 11th into eighth.
For Edgeworth, it continued an undefeated start to the campaign and saw them climb into second place.
The Phoenix have had no trouble finding the back of the net so far this season. They have not been held scoreless and have registered 12 goals in five games, which is only bettered by Weston (17), Magic (15) and Olympic (14).
But they have not yet faced a defensive test as great as Edgeworth and Sunday’s contest will show exactly what they are made of.
The Eagles have only conceded three goals in five games so far and have held three teams scoreless.
They are looking to add another scalp to that list this weekend and will also be playing to go top of the table should Broadmeadow drop points in their derby clash against Olympic earlier in the afternoon.