The races at both ends of the National Premier Leagues Northern NSW Men’s table heated up in Round 9.
Round 10 offers plenty more opportunities for twists and turns.
Here’s what to expect.
Match of the Round - Valentine FC v Lake Macquarie City
Hunter Sports Centre, Saturday 5pm
Valentine may count themselves unlucky after narrowly losing 2-1 to Edgeworth and Lambton Jaffas in consecutive weeks.
Valentine coach Adam Hughes reflected on the tight losses and touched on solutions as they head into this week's match of the round against Lake Macquarie.
"As a group we are a bit frustrated with the last two results as we think we should have taken more from those games," Hughes said.
"We are happy with large parts of our games and how we are arriving into front third areas.
"Now it's just finding those moments where we can be clinical and finish our chances.
"We’ve got Weston [in the Australia Cup on Wednesday night] then Lakes on the weekend, so it's going to be one of how we manage this as a squad, to play with high energy in each game.
"We will continue the way we have been going and look to continually improve efficiency in the team to create more opportunities on goal.”
Steve Piggott's Lake Macquarie held Broadmeadow Magic to a draw in round eight and may have a trick up his sleeve for the match of the round.
"We will possibly make a tactical change to play Valentine," Piggott said.
"We were disappointed with the first half against Weston who were sharp and executed very well.
"No physical injuries that I know of, should get one player back in Kyle Macorig.”
Lambton Jaffas v Cooks Hill United
Arthur Eden Oval, Saturday 2.30pm
Lambton Jaffas are on a roll, winning six NPL matches in a row including a 3-2 victory over league leaders Charlestown Azzurri last weekend.
After a sluggish start, Jaffas have raced up the table into second place and have narrowed the gap to two points behind front runners Azzurri.
This year's competition is wide open with a cluster of teams ready to pounce whenever the top teams drop points.
Lambton Jaffas coach David Tanchevski was acutely aware of the strength in depth of this year's competition.
"It's an interesting competition this year, very close between teams and you could throw a blanket over the top five or six teams to be honest," Tanchevski said.
"The teams in the middle to bottom half are proving very hard to beat and taking points off teams also.
"Three points is important every week but we are trying not to look too far ahead, just prepare and take each game as it comes.
"We are looking forward to another hard game this weekend, Cooks Hill took points from Maitland last week, which we couldn't do a few days before.
"Unfortunately a few players are unavailable for us. Matt Hoole (groin), Cameron Howard and Dylan Newbold (suspended) are out.”
Cooks Hill kept a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw against Maitland last week and defeated New Lambton 2-1 in round eight.
Cooks Hill are in seventh place and Saturday's result will determine whether they move into the top or bottom half of the table.
Adamstown Rosebud v Edgeworth FC
Adamstown Oval, Saturday 2.30pm
Adamstown Rosebud will look to bounce back after their 5-0 defeat from Broadmeadow Magic last weekend.
In round eight Rosebud demonstrated they can mix it with the best teams in the competition after holding Weston to a 2-2 draw, the week after the Bears beat Azzurri.
Rosebud's passionate supporters may provide that extra edge as they walk out Adamstown Oval on Saturday.
If it ain't broke, don’t fix it is the approach of Edgeworth coach Peter McGuinness after defeating Valentine 2-1 last weekend.
They backed up on Tuesday evening, defeating New Lambton 2-1 in the Australia Cup.
McGuinness is likely to freshen up the squad to maintain energy levels.
"Same approach [as last week]. We will rotate the squad [after the Australia Cup game] and again on the weekend to ensure we have high levels of intensity," McGuinness said.
Weston Workers FC v New Lambton FC
Rockwell Automation Park, Sunday 2.30pm
Weston have had a fine start to the season sitting in third place on the table, four points behind Azzurri and two points adrift of the Jaffas.
After dropping two points on ANZAC Day to Adamstown Rosebud, they bounced back last week with a clinical 4-0 demolition of Lake Macquarie City.
New Lambton had a sluggish start to their round nine match against Newcastle Olympic, going 2-0 down in the first half but improving as the match wore on.
New Lambton will need to be quick out of the blocks on Sunday because the Bears have pacey wingers that can punish teams on the transition and have their big man Cooper Buswell upfront who can score with his head, feet and provide assists.
Broadmeadow Magic v Charlestown Azzurri
Magic Park, Sunday 2.30pm
Charlestown Azzurri have lost their air of invincibility after losing to Weston in round seven and going down 3-2 to Lambton Jaffas last week.
Broadmeadow Magic will be looking to carry on where they left off last week after dismantling Adamstown Rosebud 5-0.
Consequently, Azzurri's lead at the top has been reduced from eight points to two points from a chasing pack in hot pursuit.
After a rock solid start to the season, Azzurri are at risk of losing top spot if they do not secure all three points.
Magic are fourth on the table on 14 points, seven points adrift of Azzurri. A crucial three points will maintain their position in the chasing pack.
Newcastle Olympic v Maitland FC
Darling Street Oval, Sunday 4pm
Newcastle Olympic’s 2-1 win over New Lambton last weekend elevated them into sixth place on the table with 13 points.
After the match Olympic coach Joel Griffiths echoed the defiant words "we are still in the contest."
It was a testament to the strength of this year's competition. Last year's premiers Maitland are stuck in eighth place on nine points but with a game in hand over most of their rivals.
No team has outplayed the Magpies this season who have not always had the rub of the green. Three points will be crucial to keep their title hopes alive.