Kahibah FC captain Robbie Turnbull believes his side has enough quality to preserve their NPL Men’s NNSW status against Newcastle Croatia in the Promotion/Relegation Play-Off final at Hunter City Motor Group Stadium on Saturday, as he prepares to play the final game of his career.
Having previously played for Weston Bears and Adamstown Rosebud, Turnbull found his home at Kahibah, recently making his 100th appearance and helping the club rise to NPL Men’s NNSW.
Turnbull captained the club to promotion last year as the 2025 premiers of the HIT106.9 Northern League One. After announcing his retirement this season, he’s determined to lead them out one final time and finish the job he helped start.
Reflecting on Kahibah’s win in the promotion/relegation play-off series against New Lambton FC that secured this shot at survival, Turnbull described the feeling as one of relief more than celebration.
"It's good to have the opportunity to play in the final, but it's more of a relief than anything," Turnbull said.
"It was our expectation to be in the final. New Lambton put up a really good fight in the first leg, but once we got back to our home ground with the support we had and scored early, it settled the nerves."
Turnbull said Kahibah's first season in the NPL Men’s NNSW has shown the club belongs at that level, proving they can compete with Newcastle’s best despite a difficult end to their league campaign.
"The sentiment is that we're only just getting started. We don't want to end it now," Turnbull said.
"We adapted really well from the beginning of the season and built that belief early.
"It's a new, young playing group and through the difficulties we’ve endured over a long NPL Men’s NNSW season, the team morale and camaraderie have been really impressive."
For Turnbull personally, Saturday's game carries extra significance.
"It's a bit of a full-circle moment. I finished up playing NPL a few years back, then went to play with a mate at Kahibah and built a really strong connection with the club," Turnbull said.
"It's really romantic that I get to play my final game at Weston, a club I have a deep connection with.
"Being a part of this group that got the team promoted and now hopefully captaining them to stay up, it would no doubt be a proud memory to look back on.
"It would be a nice way to finish it off and hand the baton over to the group that takes it forward."
On the challenge Croatia will pose, Turnbull expects a tense game decided by fine margins.
"I think it'll be pretty tense; those one-off grand-final-type games can be tight," Turnbull said.
"They're a team that likes to play football, a bit like us. If you look back at the play-off fixtures, we've scored five goals, they've conceded eight.
"That says it'll be a really interesting game and it'll come down to who can handle each attack the best.
"They've got a lot of experience and some quality players, so I think it'll be a match of moments."
Turnbull expressed how important the supporters have been in the club's inaugural season in the NPL and expects the same this weekend.
"This year has seen real growth for Kahibah. It's a community club with a pathway now from juniors right through to NPL," Turnbull said.
"We've seen more and more support over the course of the year and when the crowd's there, we tend to lift.
"We can't wait to play in front of a big crowd, especially our younger playing group. It's their first time in finals-type football and it’ll be a great experience for them.
"As we claimed automatic promotion last season, we never got to experience that finals feeling.
"Now we have an opportunity to have that moment with all of our supporters."
Watch Kahibah and Newcastle Croatia go head-to-head this Saturday at Hunter City Motor Group Stadium from 2pm.