Match of the Round
Adamstown Rosebud JFC v Maitland FC
Adamstown Oval, Sunday 4pm
Maitland FC coach Joe Wright said his side will not be taking any team lightly this season as they prepare to face Adamstown Rosebud JFC at Adamstown Oval on Sunday afternoon.
The reigning premiers have quickly grown into the season and are undefeated, with a draw and two wins under their belt in their first three matches.
But it hasn’t all been easy, having to come back from 1-0 down at half-time last weekend before eventually beating Broadmeadow Magic 5-1.
Some would argue that the Magpies have had a weaker draw to start their 2025 campaign, but Wright believes that no teams should be underestimated this season.
“It will be a competitive season where there are no easy fixtures in the competition,” Wright said.
“For me there are no favourites it just depends on who performs best on the day.
“It is good for us to pick up points where we can. We are taking it week by week and focusing on the next opponent.
“Credit to Adamstown for keeping a clean sheet and creating opportunities against Newcastle Olympic.”
Maitland will likely be without captain Sophie Stapleford for a third consecutive week as she recovers from an ankle injury and her co-captain Tahlia Gossner remains on limited minutes as she returns from injury.
But Wright remained confident in the depth across his squad and believed that if they can keep improving, they can continue their unbeaten run on Sunday.
“For us, it is about focusing on us and on that gradual improvement. There have been signs of that which is good. We want to continue to improve each week,” Wright said.
“Every single one of the young players that have gotten minutes in first grade have earned that and they will all continue to grow and improve with the more experience that they get.
“The more training sessions that we get under our belt the more those combinations will evolve.”
One of Maitland’s new signings South African International Marry Ntsweng continues to be a stand-out in the league and has netted four goals in her first three matches of the season.
Wright said that one of Ntsweng and his squad's best assets is their ability to play in various different positions across the park.
“Marry is great to have that flexibility of where she can play that we can tailor to the opponent,” Wright said.
“We have a lot of versatile players including Marry and Renee Pountney, who have played in a few different positions so far.”
Adamstown head coach Martin Slade was very aware of the dangers Maitland posed to his side but believed his side would be up for the fight.
“Maitland will be another top-four team. Renee Pountney, Marry Ntsweng and Georgia Amess have some firepower,” Slade said.
“They are a tough team to keep clean sheets against.
“I think it would be massive for the club to get a win and the competition. It would make things a bit tighter up the top. It would be good for the competition if there was a big upset at some point.
“Not losing to Maitland would be a big boost.”
After a tough introduction to season 2025, Adamstown bounced back valiantly and secured a 0-0 draw against league leaders Olympic.
Slade was impressed with the response he got from his side last weekend and was hopeful they could put on another impressive performance against the reigning premiers this weekend.
“I just want to build into the season. Obviously, the Broadmeadow game knocked us a little bit from where we wanted to be but it was nice to get a response from the players last week.
“I want us to keep building what we are doing. We had a really positive performance last week.
“We want to work on being consistent and keeping a clean sheet against Olympic was massive for us. If we can do that against the top two teams from last year.
“We will need to start looking at scoring goals and creating a couple more clear-cut opportunities.
“We will need to work hard, compete and hopefully we do enough to walk away with some points.”
The Buds will play at Adamstown Oval in the first of three home games scheduled away from their regular home ground Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility.
“The players expressed that they wouldn’t mind playing a couple more games at Adamstown Oval for more of an atmosphere,” Slade said.
“They are looking forward to playing there and hopefully they can make a bit of noise there and have a good crowd turnout.”
Slade confirmed that all players would be available for selection this weekend.
Charlestown Azzurri v Broadmeadow Magic
Lisle Carr Oval, Saturday 4pm
Broadmeadow Magic coach Jason Konjarski hopes his side can put a full 90-minute performance together when they travel to Lisel Carr Oval to face the reigning champions Charlestown Azzurri on Saturday.
Magic have had a roller coaster start to the season after a win and two defeats in their first three matches of the season. They sit fourth on the table, three points behind their opponents.
Konjarski was pleased with the first-half performance of his team against Maitland which saw them go 1-0 up into the break. But they were unable to uphold their strong defensive unit for the full 90 minutes, conceding five goals in 34 minutes in the second half.
This is something that Konjarski hopes his team can improve upon heading into this weekend’s match against the Blues to help create some consistency in their performances and results.
“We go again against a strong Azzurri side,” Konjarski said.
“I am looking forward to the girls putting together a full 90-minute performance instead of a 45- and 60-minute performance.”
Azzurri continue to set the standard, with two dominant wins under their belt against New Lambton FC (6-1) and Lake Macquarie City FC (4-1).
Charlestown is third on the table with six points and one game in hand after they served the bye in round two. But they are just one point behind the league leaders Newcastle Olympic and Maitland FC, which makes a win this weekend crucial to stay with the top of the pack.
The additions of former A-League players Gema Simon and Melina Ayres being available from the start of the season has made a significant impact on the squad, with both looking unstoppable across the pitch.
Some of Broadmeadow’s key players jumped ship to the Blues including Kalista Hunter, Madi Gallegos, Chelsea Lucas and Kiarra Lewis jumped ship to Charlestown in the offseason.
They will be determined to get one over on their former club and keep their unbeaten streak alive in 2025.
Lake Macquarie City FC v New Lambton FC
Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility, Friday 8pm
Two teams will be vying for their first win of the season when Lake Macquarie City FC host New Lambton FC at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility on Friday night.
The Roosters started their NPLW NNSW campaign brightly with a 1-1 draw against reigning premiers Maitland FC but since then have suffered heavy back-to-back losses against Newcastle Olympic (5-1) and Charlestown Azzurri (4-1).
One thing coach Gabrielle Blanch will be pleased with is her side’s ability to create opportunities in attack, scoring in all three of their matches.
But Lakes will need to tighten the strings in defence conceding 10 goals so far this season.
Blanch will hope that her side can continue to grow and snap up all three points at home to remain above the Golden Eagles on the table.
New Lambton’s start to the season has been less than ideal, as they suffered consecutive defeats and then served the bye in round three.
They sit at the bottom of the table, yet to pick up a point and will be desperate to get off the mark in their quest to not fall short of finals yet again.
One major boost for the side will be the inclusion of former A-League goalkeeper Claire Coelho, who will make her debut for the Golden Eagles after signing as an injury replacement for Isabella White.
New Lambton have shown promise in attack with the likes of Tara Andrews and Caitlin Pickett who have proven to be threats in front of goal but will need to put a full team performance together to stop the Roosters on Friday.
Bye – Newcastle Olympic