Match of the Round
Newcastle Olympic v Charlestown Azzurri
Darling Street Oval, Sunday 4pm
Newcastle Olympic coach Craig Atkins says his side’s goal is to secure all possible points ahead of the finals series when they host Charlestown Azzurri at Darling Street Oval on Sunday afternoon.
Olympic have not played an NPL Women’s NNSW match since the beginning of July due to the Women’s State Cup and serving the bye in round 18.
They will enter round 19 looking to continue the momentum gained in their last hit out where they defeated Adamstown Rosebud JFC in a hard-fought 2-0 victory.
These two sides have gone head-to-head four times in 2025 in the NPLW NNSW, HMRI Charity Shield and Women’s League Cup competitions, with Charlestown coming out on top each time.
But Atkins is confident his side can turn the tables this weekend.
“I think the girls are more excited just to be able to play a competition game again. It feels like a long time, with the state cup and then we had the bye as well,” Atkins said.
“It feels like a long time since we sort of played a competition game, so the girls are keen to get back into it with three big games before the semi-finals and it doesn’t get much bigger than Azzurri this weekend.
“We had to work hard against Adamstown and credit to the girls they scored two really good goals and a clean sheet as well.
“We didn’t give them a lot of opportunities, which was great. So defensively, we were nice and compact. Some real positive signs came out of that Adamstown game.
“We’ll step our game up this week against Azzurri and look to continue that momentum that we started in that game.
“Going into the semi-finals we want to be winning every game, and we’ve got Azzurri, Maitland and New Lambton to finish off the season, so for us we see that as a real good stepping stone into the semi-finals when you’re playing the teams in the top four.
“Our goal is to win every game, and Azzurri have got the better of us this season, but we’re confident we can turn the tables.
“But we will definitely need to be switched on for the full 90 for this one.”
A win for Azzurri this weekend could see them jump to the top of the table, but coach Heath Whyte said his side would not let possibilities affect their mentality for this weekend’s clash.
“If you step onto a pitch, everyone gets white line fever because you want to win the match. So, we’re not going to dwell on that possibility, we’re going to focus on our football, as we always do,” Whyte said.
“I think if you put the result before the process, you can be fraught with danger. So, we’ll focus on our processes, play solid football.
“We want to play our strategy and if we do that well, I hope that the result will come.
“Olympic are a good squad who have got a lot of depth and we’re probably suffering a little in depth now with some late season injuries.
“We really need to be focussed as a collective on our game plan and executing that well.
“They do have some key players we need to be wary of, and that will be part of our strategy as well.”
New Lambton FC v Adamstown Rosebud JFC
Alder Park, Saturday 4pm
Adamstown Rosebud JFC coach Martin Slade says his side aims to spoil New Lambton FC’s party when they go head-to-head at Alder Park on Saturday afternoon.
Adamstown will enter the contest on a high after taking points from league leaders Maitland FC in their 1-1 draw in round 18.
The Buds have been unable to defeat New Lambton this season, going down 6-2 in round five and more recently 6-0 in round 12.
But they have been able to take points away from the rest of the top four. Drawing twice with Maitland and once with both Charlestown Azzurri and Newcastle Olympic.
Slade is determined to add the Golden Eagles to their list this weekend.
“I think the players have been performing well all year and when we compete for 90 minutes, when we put it all together, we have proven that we can take points off everyone in the top four,” Slade said.
“The only team that we haven’t done that to so far this year is New Lambton.
“So that’s the aim to spoil their party.”
Adamstown are unable to make finals this year, but Slade wants his side to remain in fifth and finish the season with as many points as possible.
“We want to finish fifth and we want to win as many points as possible,” Slade said.
“We’ve still got a job to do for the rest of this season, which is to keep promoting ourselves in the best possible light so if there are any players out there that are considering, or when we go to try and sign players next year they see that Adamstown is a club that they want to be a part of.
“Hopefully word gets around that they’re still happy and everyone wants to stay.
“Then we’ll replace a couple of players we’ve lost and hopefully bring in a couple of new faces just to rejuvenate the squad and push for next season is the plan.”
New Lambton bounced back from their 3-1 defeat at the hands of Maitland in round 16 with a strong 3-0 victory over Lake Macquarie City FC.
They were unable to find the back of the net in the second half, but coach Aaron Stedman believed their first half performance was the best of the season.
Stedman will hope his side can replicate their performance and continue to strengthen ahead of finals series.
The Golden Eagles will be eager to secure a win this weekend and go into their final matches of the season on a two-game unbeaten streak.
Broadmeadow Magic v Lake Macquarie City FC
Magic Park, Friday 8pm
Two teams will be eager to return to winning ways when Broadmeadow Magic welcomes Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility to Magic Park on Friday night.
Broadmeadow have not picked up any points since the last time the two sides met in their 2-2 draw in round 12.
They will be raring to lock in their second win of the season and gain as many points as possible before they serve the bye in round 21.
Broadmeadow have conceded the most goals this season, 41 more than Lake Macquarie City in second.
They will look to strengthen their backline after Lakes put eight behind them in round five.
Lake Macquarie will be eager to repeat their dominant 8-1 win from round five and will look to end their season as high as possible.
The Roosters sit sixth on the table, but a win this weekend would see them sit at fifth, the highest they could finish in their inaugural season.
They will take confidence into the match after preventing New Lambton FC from finding the back of the net in the second half of their round 18 clash and going down 1-0 to Charlestown Azzurri in the final moments of round 17.
Maitland FC - Bye
