NPL Men’s NNSW club Adamstown Rosebud will fight for survival on Saturday when they challenge HIT106.9 Northern League One outfit Toronto Awaba in the Promotion/Relegation Play-Off Final.
The goal for the men in green and red is a simple one – win and stay up.
One of their youngest and brightest talents is relishing the opportunity to line up in the do-or-die clash in what will be just his sixth first grade game for Rosebud.
Nineteen-year-old defender Nicholas Rich, joined Adamstown midway through the 2024 campaign following seven years in the Newcastle Jets youth system.
Rich has enjoyed his start to life as a Rosebud and said his new teammates and everyone at the club had been welcoming.
He now wants to repay that by helping the club get the job done at Edgeworth’s Jack McLaughlan Oval on Saturday.
“It’s been good so far at Adamstown. I’ve only been here for half a season but it’s been great,” Rich said.
“Chris Moylan our coach also came in halfway through the season and he’s welcomed me with open arms. He’s a good coach with a lot of experience.
“As we’ve got to the pointy end of the season, we’ve known what our place on the table has meant, so the attitude has been there at training and on gamedays and we’ve been focused.”
Adamstown finished 11th in the NPL Men’s NNSW competition which saw them take on HIT106.9 Northern League One side West Wallsend SFC in the Promotion/Relegation Play-Off semi-final.
A tight two-leg tussle saw Rosebud run over the top of Westy in extra time of the second leg to win 6-2 on aggregate and advance to the play-off final.
Rich said that for the club, losing was simply not an option.
“It’s do-or-die for us now,” Rich said.
“We’re a long-lasting club in the NPL and we know we just must stay up. We’re going to prove that on the weekend.
“It’s not the grand final we had hoped to be in at the end of the season but we invite the atmosphere and we’re definitely going to bring it to Jack McLaughlan Oval.”
Find out all match day information for this weekend’s play-off final HERE.
