The wait is over as the National Premier Leagues (NPL) Northern New South Wales Men competition makes its return for 2023.
Match of the Round
Lambton Jaffas v Maitland FC
Adamstown Oval, Friday 8pm
The 2023 season kicks off with a bang on as reigning champions Lambton Jaffas host 2022 premiers Maitland FC at Adamstown Oval on Friday night.
It is a match that needs no introduction with the Jaffas aiming to start 2023 where they left 2022 and with the Magpies defending their premiership.
Maitland FC were crowned 2022 premiers after a crucial win on the last day of the season, defeating the Jaffas 3-1 in the rescheduled round one match to win the title by one point.
But it was the Jaffas who had the last laugh, defeating the Magpies 1-0 in the grand final a month later.
Lambton go into Friday’s blockbuster with several new faces from the team who lifted the cup.
“We've had a bit of turnover in the squad. We've got five players missing from our grand final starting line-up from last year,” new Lambton Jaffas coach David Tanchevski said.
“The Virgili brothers have retired, Mitch Rooke has moved to Melbourne and a couple of the boys are having a year off.
“Pre-season games have been going ok and the new players have been gelling nicely into the squad but we'll get better as the season goes on.”
The changing of the guard may be an opportunity for the emerging players to shine.
“It's probably a good thing to freshen some stuff up. On the plus side, I've got some good young players that are going to make an impact,” Tanchevski said.
“But on the negative side we have lost some really experienced players who have been producing in the NPL for a number of years.
“But the young boys have brought a new energy into the team.
“I’m coming back into the Jaffas. We're trying to play our own brand of football and that's a lot of possession-based football.”
Arthur Edden Oval will not be the venue of Lambton’s home fixture for round one.
“It's disappointing we can't play our opening match at our home ground. It’s getting ripped up by the council to improve the drainage,” Tanchevski said.
“That said, Adamstown is close by and it’s a good central location in Newcastle so people can watch the game.
“The boys are pumped after a long pre-season.”
Maitland’s triumphant 2022 season ended with a bitter grand-final loss to the Jaffas, a memory that looms large with the Magpies.
“We're playing the grand final winners and we got beat,” Maitland coach Michael Bolch said.
“The boys don't need any motivation going into this match and neither do I.
“A rematch of the grand final in round one, everyone will be up for it.
“I don't mind Friday night games, especially this time of year with the heat around.
The coach tweaked the training regime to ensure the players are peeking on matchday.
“I’ve changed training up this week to prepare for the Friday night match,” Bolch said.
“We usually train on Tuesday and Thursday but we moved to Monday and Wednesday to prepare for this.
“We've lost two players, Zach Thomas who signed with St. Albans in [Melbourne] and we lost Joey Melmeth to Edgeworth.”
The Magpies have one of the youngest squads in the league with an average age of 20 and with it, pace to burn.
“We've added Tom Davies and Rhys Cooper from Newcastle Olympic, Damon Green from Broadmeadow Magic and Isaac Collins from the Jets youth team,” Bolch said.
“We're a young side, probably 75 per cent of our squad are under 23 or 24-years-old.
“But we have experience, we're talking about players like Jimmy Thompson and a number of boys who have played plenty of NPL first grade games.
“We go into round one with eight or nine starters from last year’s grand final, the new players have integrated really well into our style of football.
“Our football is adaptive, we're a good counterattacking team, our transition is really quick.
“A lot of our goals come from the breakdown, we've got plenty of pace in the front third, so not much will change from how we played last year.”
Broadmeadow Magic v Weston Workers FC
Magic Park, Friday 8pm
Agonisingly missing out on last year’s premiership by one point, Broadmeadow Magic are seeking to go one step further with a brand of football that is easy on the eye.
Their opponents, Weston Workers, have appointed former Dutch international Kew Jaliens as head coach, injecting a shot of world class quality into the team.
Broadmeadow Magic coach John Bennis provided insights into the team’s build-up for round one.
“It's good to get the season underway, definitely,” Bennis said.
“We’ve had a few hit outs in pre-season building up for round one.
“It’s good to get underway on Friday and in front of our home supporters.
“We like to play an attractive brand of football but we also have to be adaptable depending on who you’re up against.
“As you know, we try and play a good brand of football that is hopefully entertaining for everyone.
“Friday nights have a good atmosphere, we've played a few night games there, but not traditionally.
“We've always been a Sunday afternoon set-up but Friday we should get a good turnout for the first game of the year.”
Jaliens has played against the best in the business in Europe’s top-flight leagues, the Champions League and the FIFA World Cup.
Jaliens has a long resume which includes keeping Argentina’s Lionel Messi scoreless in the opening round of the 2006 World Cup.
Jaliens played in the Eredivisie for 14 years, the top tier league in Dutch football and won the national title in 2008-2009 before signing for the Newcastle Jets and ending his professional career in Australia.
After retiring from professional football, Jaliens moved into coaching as the Newcastle Jets and Northern NSW Football Youth Technical Director.
Jaliens appointment is a big coup for the league and has been applauded by his fellow coaches.
“Kew is a fantastic person to have at your club and a great acquisition for the competition,” Bennis said.
“He's obviously been involved in some fantastic set ups throughout his career as a player and as a coach, including technical director roles at the Jets and everything else.
“So I expect them to be pretty well organised and very competitive, a real tough first match.”
New Lambton FC v Charlestown Azzurri
Alder Park, Saturday 2.30pm
New Lambton accomplished their long-term goal of a place in the NPL Men’s NNSW competition and celebrated with the Northern League One premiership last season.
Now, it will be fascinating to see if the newbies of the league can go toe-to-toe with the NPL heavyweights.
Charlestown Azzurri finished in a credible fourth place last year recording nine wins, seven draws and four losses, finishing on 34 points.
If Charlestown can convert some of the drawn matches into three points, they will be title contenders in 2023.
Following a solid pre-season including matches against BelSwans and Hamilton Azzurri, Charlestown will be seeking to start the campaign on the front foot at Alder Park on Saturday afternoon.
Cooks Hill United v Lake Macquarie City FC
Fearnley Dawes Athletic Field, Saturday 3pm
Cooks Hill and Lake Macquarie finished in ninth place and last place respectively last season and both teams will see this as a match to win to start their 2023 campaigns.
Cooks Hill finished their 2022 season on a high, defeating Adamstown Rosebud 3-0 in the rescheduled round one fixture.
Leaky defences plagued both teams last season who collectively conceded more than 100 goals.
If the form book is anything to go by, there will be goals in this potential six-pointer.
Newcastle Olympic v Edgeworth FC
Darling Street Oval, Saturday 5pm
Newcastle Olympic will look to consolidate last year’s fifth place position and go further in 2023.
Olympic coach Joel Griffiths’ stable of stallions are champing at the bit leading into round one.
“It's come around quicker than expected, to be honest, everyone's excited,” Griffiths said.
“Now pre-season is out of the way, the players are champing at the bit to get going.
“Pre-season has been ok, the results haven't really been there but I'm not too worried about that because now points are at stake and that’s a different kettle of fish.
“We've come a long way in terms of our football style, now we're just concentrating on putting runs on the board.”
Griffiths is focused on tightening things up to make an impact this year.
“Our football style is dependent on our opposition,” Griffiths said.
“You try and keep your style simple, however in the last couple of games we've played, we've become loose in our play.
“I'm not happy about that, it enables other teams to counter us when we lose the ball.
“This is something we are constantly working on. We haven't got it perfect but we’re getting better.
“We like to be fast in the transition but in saying that, you've got to figure out what's the best for the team and it depends on the opposition.”
Griffiths is pleased with the carousel of emerging talent coming through the football club.
“I thought last year we had a young team but this year we've gone even younger,” Griffiths said.
“We don't have the experience or big names like some other clubs but there’s a lot of upsides to our youthful squad who are on the rise.”
In a sport that is constantly evolving, the qualities of self-awareness and learning remain evergreen.
“We take one training session at a time, to back your instincts with these players,” Griffiths said.
“Sometimes as a coach, every now and then, you doubt yourself with decision making.
“As a coach, there's a lot of things that I'm doing better at but at the same time, there's a lot of things that I need to keep on learning.
“The learning never ends.”
Edgeworth have a long history of success at senior and youth level in the NPL and will looking to improve on last year’s sixth-placed finish.
In a competition with small margins, Edgeworth finished last season on 32 points, only two points outside the top four.
Adamstown Rosebud v Valentine FC
Adamstown Oval, Sunday 3pm
Round one finishes on a Sunday afternoon crescendo at Adamstown Oval as Adamstown Rosebud take on the Valentine.
Adamstown had a solid pre-season including trial matches against Maitland FC and will have the support of the home crowd.
Valentine FC finished mid-table in seventh place last year and will be targeting three points against a team who leaked 64 goals last season.
Consistency will be the key for Valentine who recorded 10 wins, one draw and nine losses last season.
Valentine will look to build on their 4-0 win over Charlestown Azzurri in round 22 last year.