Match of the Round|
Broadmeadow Magic FC v Edgeworth Eagles FC
Magic Park, Sunday 2pm
Broadmeadow Magic’s Jim Cresnar and Edgeworth Eagles’ Peter McGuinness are relishing a top-of-the-table match of the round clash between their sides on Sunday as they prepare to go head-to-head at Magic Park in a battle for top spot.
This blockbuster clash sees the two best teams in the competition finally meet again after the Eagles won their round one grand final rematch 1-0.
Since then, neither side has lost in the 2025 campaign, with Edgeworth sitting first on 23 points after seven wins and two draws across their nine matches and Magic close behind them on 21 points after seven straight wins.
Broadmeadow’s three most recent league matches have been washed out but they have been training hard and finally got to stretch their legs when they took down Charlestown Azzurri 3-0 at Magic Park in the Hahn Australia Cup on Tuesday night.
Cresnar played a near full-strength side in that clash and said his men would be better for the hit-out come Sunday.
“We needed that game big time. We needed a good, solid hit out, which we got,” Cresnar said.
“It’s always tough against Charlestown. They’re a good team, and I thought that we handled the conditions really well and the team played very solidly.”
The defending champions have now turned their attention to the league leaders as they prepare for the top-of-the-table clash and look to turn the tables on Edgeworth after the round one result.
“That result is motivation, for sure,” Cresnar said.
“Edgeworth are one team we haven’t beaten in the normal rounds for the past three of four years. They are well-drilled with good individual players and they are coached well.
“It’s a huge motivation to get a win against a side we haven’t been able to in a few years, and going to the top of the table is too, of course. You want to win every game you play.”
The Magic coach said his team had gotten through Tuesday’s Cup game unscathed and would likely be at full strength on Sunday, with the injured Bailey Wells expected to be available for selection.
Magic have only made two changes in this week’s registration window, so far, with goalkeeper Taylor Pate departing for Maitland and Brayden Butler arriving from the Newcastle Jets Youth to replace him as a backup to Lewis Alvarez.
The Eagles are flying high this season as they remain undefeated after nine rounds and alive in the Australia Cup, just two wins away from a spot in the Round of 32.
Striker Ryan Feutz leads the golden boot tally with 10 goals in eight games and he scored the decisive goal last time out against Broadmeadow when he netted a 90th-minute winner in round one.
Coach McGuinness is confident that his men will be facing a hungrier and more polished Magic outfit on Sunday afternoon.
“We are really excited for this game. It’s the turn of the round and they’ve always been real good battles over the years between these two clubs,” McGuinness said.
“I expect it to be the same this weekend and I’m looking forward to the matchup. I think they’ll be in a better space than round one, and we’re in a better space as well. The main thing is to keep getting better every week.
“The players will all be fitter than round one too, but all clubs have had bad preparation in regards to what the weather’s done to us over the past few weeks. It’s made scheduling pretty difficult and finding training paddocks difficult. But like I said, that’s affected everyone, not just Edgeworth.”
McGuinness said that the Eagles would be at full strength this weekend for the top-of-the-table clash. They have only made one mid-season addition this season, with Blake Robinson returning home from the US and linking up with the club.
New Lambton FC v Lambton Jaffas FC
Alder Park, Friday 8pm
Lambton Jaffas coach David Tanchevski believes Carter Smith is the final piece of the puzzle for his side as they look to kick off the second half of the season with a derby victory against New Lambton at Alder Park on Friday.
Smith is a Jaffas junior who has spent time at Maitland FC, Cooks Hill United and Valentine FC in recent years, scoring 21 goals in his two seasons at Cooks Hill and netting three times for the Phoenix this season in just four appearances due to injury.
The Lambton faithfuls are excited to see him back in yellow and are hopeful that he will continue his good form against the Golden Eagles and beyond.
The Jaffas have been a defensive powerhouse during the 2025 campaign, with the exception of a 5-0 rout against Broadmeadow Magic and have conceded just six goals in their other nine matches.
Their form in front of goal has let them down so far but Tanchevski was confident that will turn around now that Bailey Newton is back onboard after time away in the US and with Smith to line up on Friday.
“The competition is so close this year and the teams down the bottom are putting up a fight each week. There’s no easy games this year,” Tanchevski said.
“I’m expecting a tough game from New Lambton. They defend well, and they will probably defend with a lot of players behind the ball and look to hit us on the counter, so we need to be wary of that.
“We get Shusuke (Kirihara) back for this game and Pat Bond is back from his suspension, and we’re excited to see Carter back at Lambton. He’s been in great goal-scoring form over the past few years and that’s what we’ve been missing this year.
“Our defensive record has been really good; we just need to put some goals in at the other end. We had started to do that before the Maitland game, and I think Carter and Bailey will help that going forward.”
The Jaffas will be without Ben Kennedy for two to three weeks after the goalkeeper suffered a calf injury against Maitland on Saturday evening and they could also be without Tom Waller after he was concussed in that match.
New Lambton were on the losing side when these two sides met in round one back in February.
The Golden Eagles went down 2-0 at Arthur Edden Oval and have only managed to pick up two points since as relegation looms as a real concern at the halfway mark of the campaign.
They are hungry to treat a home crowd to their first win of the season against their local rivals on Friday night.
Adamstown Rosebud FC v Belmont Swansea United FC
Adamstown Oval, Saturday 2pm
Belmont Swansea United are looking to return to winning ways when they travel to Adamstown Oval to face Adamstown Rosebud on Saturday afternoon.
The two sides met in the season opener back in February and BelSwans scored a 5-2 victory in their first match in the NPL since being promoted, but they are yet to win in their eight outings since.
They have only lost three of those though, and they are hopeful their new signing will help them start converting draws into wins.
New Jersey attacker Drew Patterson will become BelSwans’ first US import this weekend when he makes his debut for the club and if his effort and execution at training are anything to go by, the Buds are surely going to have their hands full.
Chris Moylan’s men are just one point ahead of BelSwans and are determined to create a four-point gap on Saturday.
The Adamstown men won two of their first four games but have only won one of their past five.
Although they have already ensured this season is more successful than their last, they have work to do to ensure they avoid another relegation fight in 2025.
Weston Bears FC v Charlestown Azzurri FC
Rockwell Automation Park, Saturday 4:30pm
In a weekend full of mouth-watering clashes, one of the picks of the bunch will be contested at Rockwell Automation Park on Saturday evening when the Weston Bears host Charlestown Azzurri.
These two sides are third and fourth on the table, respectively and will view this match as an opportunity to not only make some ground on each other, but also claw themselves closer to the top-ranked sides Broadmeadow Magic and Edgeworth Eagles.
Charlestown’s round 10 and 11 matches were washed out and they finally got back out onto the park on Tuesday night for a Hahn Australia Cup clash against Broadmeadow.
They lost that contest 3-0 and they have been beaten in their past two league matches as well, so they are eager to get their season back on track against one of the benchmark sides in the competition this Saturday.
Weston were one of four teams that played last Saturday as they took down Valentine 2-1 at Rockwell Automation Park. That extended their undefeated winning streak on home soil to three games in 2025 and they are now determined to make that four on Sunday.
The Bears were beaten 3-1 away from home against Charlestown back in round one but have found their groove since then, having only lost once in eight matches since while scoring more goals than any other team in the competition.
Valentine FC v Maitland FC
Croudace Bay Complex, Saturday 4:30pm
Maitland FC are hoping to take momentum into Saturday evening’s clash at Croudace Bay Complex when they meet Valentine FC to kick-start the second half of the season.
The Magpies are unbeaten in their past three league games and have won their past two, which included a 1-0 victory against Lambton Jaffas last Saturday.
Adam Hughes’ men are now eighth with 11 points and sit just one win behind fourth-placed Charlestown Azzurri.
But the Magpies’ boss insisted the table is far less of a concern than the performances of his players, which he proudly declared have been improving in recent weeks.
Maitland is expected to strengthen as they get set to mount a finals push. They have added gloveman Taylor Pate to replace the now retired keeper Matthew Trott, and have also brought in attacker Yuhei Sato, who started the season at Lambton Jaffas.
Valentine are 11th on the table and sit three points behind their 2024 head coach’s side.
The Phoenix have lost their past two matches but pushed Weston Bears to the final whistle at Rockwell Automation Park in a 2-1 loss last Saturday.
The addition of visa player Kohane Yamakami and the return of Nicholas Martinelli from injury look set to give Valentine a boost and if they can play the way they did when they drew 3-3 away from home against Maitland in round one, they are certainly a chance.
Cooks Hill United FC v Newcastle Olympic FC
Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field, Sunday 3:30pm
Round 12 will wrap up at Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field on Sunday afternoon when Cooks Hill welcome Newcastle Olympic.
This contest will give the hosts a chance to stand up and show they belong in the finals football conversation.
Chris Zoricich’s men are seventh on the table but are two points behind fifth-placed Olympic and fourth-placed Charlestown, which means a win would see Cooks Hill go above their opponents and potentially finish the weekend inside the top five.
For Olympic, Sunday’s clash is also an important one as they are closer to 11th place than they are to second.
Coach Paul DeVitis was disappointed in that but was confident his men could get themselves in the premiership picture now that marquee striker Roy O’Donovan is back fit and ready to fire after missing eight weeks with a back injury.
DeVitis said Olympic were quite sore following a 120-minute draw and penalty shootout loss against Weston Bears in the Hahn Australia Cup last week.
He thought that last weekend’s washout was a timely one for his side and is expecting them to be refreshed and ready to rumble come Sunday.
They get back goalkeeper Adam Pearce but will be without defender Zach Thomas, who is suspended after being sent off against Weston in the Cup.