Match of the Round
Adamstown Rosebud v Weston Bears
Adamstown Oval, Friday 2.30pm
Adamstown Rosebud boss Chris Moylan is hopeful his side can fire up and execute with three points and a cup on the line against Weston Bears on Friday afternoon.
Adamstown Oval will host the third annual ANZAC Cup clash between the clubs, with Rosebud looking to win the silverware that Weston secured with a 2-0 victory last season.
Moylan’s men have lacked consistency so far this season with Adamstown sixth following three wins and five losses. They went down 4-0 to Newcastle Olympic in their most recent league clash before the Easter long weekend break but responded in style as they defeated West Wallsend SFC by the same scoreline in the Australia Cup knockout tournament days later.
Moylan said his playing group would need to be at their best to string together back-to-back wins for the first time this season on Friday.
“Weston are a good side with a good rotating midfield and their strikers are very dynamic, so we’ll have to be at our best,” Moylan said.
“If they perform to their best, we’ll really have to be at our best to get something out of the game.
“I’m really looking for some consistency in our performances. That’s the most frustrating thing for us currently. One week we do things really well, then the following week we do things completely different.
“We know what we have to do, it’s just a matter of doing it. The big thing is we need to stop the errors creeping into our game. They are compounding and leading to us conceding goals.
“We’ve set a tradition and this is the third year we’ll have played Weston for the Anzac Cup.
“It’s an important day and it’s become an event we look forward to. We have a special ANZAC Day ceremony by the Adamstown Brigade before the game and the JDL boys from both Adamstown and Weston will walk the players out and be part of that ceremony and have a kick around at half-time.
“It’s a fairly significant day for both clubs, on top of being a significant occasion already for what the day is.
“We’re looking forward to it but once the whistle goes we’re playing a game of footy. They currently hold the cup because they won last year, so we’ll be looking to see if we can get it back off them.”
Weston have emerged as one of the teams to beat this season. The fifth-placed Bears are coming off a 2-1 loss against Broadmeadow that brought a four-game winning streak to an end. But Weston bounced back in style when they defeated Newcastle Suns 8-2 in the Australia Cup on Tuesday night.
They are now determined to return to winning ways in the league and retain the ANZAC Cup. Bears assistant coach Nathan Morris said his side were expecting a tough tussle against Rosebud.
“We do look forward to this one. My first experience with it was last year and I thought it was awesome and I know the players love it,” Morris said.
“We’re expecting it to be very tough against Adamstown. They’re very physical and very fit and they work the whole game. They showed that against Magic. 2-0 down against Magic, a lot of teams would pack their bags and go home, but they stayed in that game until the very end.
“With the occasion added in, we’re expecting a big game on Friday.”
Morris said that although the Bears were disappointed that they were unable to convert their chances in the defeat to Magic, they were pleased with the way they performed against the competition’s benchmark side and were full of confidence heading into Friday’s match, for which they will be at full strength.
New Lambton FC v Belmont Swansea United
Alder Park, Friday 5pm
Belmont Swansea United coach Mick Stafford said there was plenty of positivity among his playing group ahead of an ANZAC Day clash against New Lambton FC at Alder Park on Friday evening.
The promoted side are proud of what they have achieved in the top flight so far but are now looking to secure their second victory and climb back up the table after falling from first to 10th since round one.
BelSwans have drawn four of their seven matches since they defeated Adamstown Rosebud 5-2 on the opening night in February and they have been competitive in two of their three losses.
They only have the league to focus on now after crashing out of the Australia Cup with a 4-2 away loss against HIT106.9 Northern League One club Toronto Awaba last week and all their attention is on a Golden Eagles side that Stafford is expecting to put up a tough battle on Friday.
“We’re pretty happy with where we’re at at the moment and we want to continue building,” Stafford said.
“In the eight games we’ve played we’ve only lost three and they were against well-established NPL clubs.
“You’ve got to show respect to the clubs that have been in this comp for a long time. To pick up points off Edgeworth Eagles, Lambton Jaffas and Charlestown Azzurri is massive for a promoted team and there are plenty of positives in those results.
“Looking at the table, we’re 10th but we’re just one win away from sixth place.
“It’s quite a competitive, even comp this year and we’re showing we deserve to be part of it. We’ve been competitive in every single game bar one.
“This weekend, it’s a huge game for us in the context of promotion and relegation. We’ll be looking to take three points back to Blacksmiths.
“New Lambton from what I’ve seen are quite good. They’re keen and eager and they’re a young team that play a good brand of football. Shane Pryce is a great coach with a lot of experience.
“If we’re not at our best, it’s going to be very tough for us.”
New Lambton are yet to win this season and have only picked up one point from their first eight games.
They are also out of the Australia Cup following a 3-1 extra-time loss against Zone League Two club Croudace Bay last week and they will be throwing everything they have at BelSwans on Friday.
Edgeworth Eagles v Newcastle Olympic
Jack McLaughlan Oval, Saturday 2pm
Newcastle Olympic will look to do what eight sides before them have been unable to when they travel to Jack McLaughlan Oval to challenge Edgeworth Eagles on Saturday.
Edgeworth are undefeated so far this season and are on a five-game winning streak that sees them sit second on the table. They boast the best attack with 23 goals scored and they are also setting the standard in defence with just four goals conceded and five clean sheets.
Peter McGuinness’ men have shifted up a gear since losing the 2024 grand final against Broadmeadow Magic, who are the only side ranked ahead of the Eagles.
Paul DeVitis’ Olympic were thumped 4-0 by Edgeworth when they last lined up at Jack McLaughlan Oval in May 2024 but they have well and truly strengthened since then and are promising to put up a much stronger fight come Saturday.
Sitting in fourth place with Kale Bradbery firing up front, Adam Pearce electric between the sticks, a defensive line that has secured back-to-back clean sheets and Roy O’Donovan back from injury and in the mix, Olympic may well give the Eagles their toughest battle yet.
Both of these teams were victorious in Australia Cup away games last week as Olympic edged out Kotara South 2-1 and Edgeworth downed Cardiff City 3-0. They will now look to continue that momentum on Saturday.
Cooks Hill United v Charlestown Azzurri
Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field, Saturday 4.30pm
Cooks Hill United are determined to turn their cup dominance into a run of form when they welcome Charlestown Azzurri to Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field on Saturday.
Chris Zoricich’s men have failed to string back-to-back wins together in the league this season but they can finally do so across all competitions this weekend after demolishing Valentine FC 5-0 in the Australia Cup last week.
That result saw Cooks Hill avenge a 4-0 loss against the Phoenix earlier in the year in the only match they have played at Fearnley Dawes Athletics Field so far, while it also put a 2-0 loss against Edgeworth in round eight behind them.
But they are well aware that they will face a far greater challenge than Valentine on Saturday when they welcome one of the big guns to town.
Charlestown Azzurri have featured in the last two preliminary finals and are on track to have another crack at the finals in 2025 as they sit third following four wins and just two losses so far this season.
One of those losses was in their most recent league match when they went down 2-1 on home soil against Maitland before the long weekend break. But they were quickly back to winning ways when they took down Mayfield United 4-0 in the Australia Cup on Tuesday night.
Valentine FC v Lambton Jaffas
Croudace Bay Complex, Saturday 4.30pm
Two sides desperate for a win will go head-to-head at Croudace Bay Complex when Valentine FC host Lambton Jaffas on Saturday evening.
The Phoenix are coming off a victory in their most recent league match after they beat New Lambton 3-2 at Alder Park before the long weekend break but they are yet to win on home soil from five attempts across all competitions after being thumped 5-0 by Cooks Hill in the Australia Cup last week to suffer a fourth straight home defeat.
Valentine have been leaking far too many goals of late, having conceded 19 times in four matches across all competitions since keeping their lone clean sheet against Cooks Hill last month.
The Jaffas’ issues are at the other end of the park and they are determined to start converting more of their chances into goals after scoring just four times in seven league games so far this season, comfortably the worst attacking record in the division.
Though Lambton also have the second best defensive record in the league, having only conceded eight goals all season, with five of those coming in the round two defeat to Broadmeadow.
They put two away in a clean sheet Australia Cup victory against South Cardiff last week and will be looking to take advantage of a struggling Valentine outfit on Saturday.
The Jaffas promise to be one of the teams to beat in the competition if they can start finding the back of the net as they have shown so far that they are one of the toughest teams to score against, with only Edgeworth conceding fewer times in 2025.
Maitland FC v Broadmeadow Magic
Cooks Square Park, Sunday 4.30pm
Round nine will wrap up at Cooks Square Park on Sunday evening when Maitland FC attempt to bring Broadmeadow Magic’s red-hot winning streak to an end.
The defending champions are on top of the table and have won seven straight league games since they went down 1-0 away from home against Edgeworth Eagles in a round one grand final rematch in February.
They have only kept one clean sheet so far this season but have been finding different ways to get the job done each week, with their last four wins in the league all coming by the narrowest of margins.
Broadmeadow also prevailed in the Australia Cup last week when they took down Kahibah 4-2 at Magic Park and they are fresh after the long weekend break.
Maitland seem to be turning a corner following a slow start to the season that saw them sitting in 11th place on the 12-team table for several weeks.
They won 2-1 away from home against Charlestown in their most recent league match and then outscored Newcastle Croatia FC 5-2 in the Australia Cup last week.
Maitland skipper Braedyn Crowley leads the golden boot race with eight goals alongside Edgeworth’s Ryan Feutz following a solid start to the season and his teammates are now starting to gain some momentum as well.
