There are plenty of matches to keep an eye on this weekend in Round 11 so here’s what’s coming up.
Match of the Round - New Lambton FC v Adamstown Rosebud JFC
Alder Park, Sunday 4pm
New Lambton and Adamstown will both be looking to bounce back from defeats and prove themselves as final contenders this weekend.
Rosebud went down 2-0 against table leaders Broadmeadow Magic after a three-game winning streak.
Adamstown’s coach Ryan Campbell is happy with the team’s progress this season but was wanting to see a bit more from his side against the competition leaders.
“I was a bit disappointed with our performance last week. We didn’t play our best,” said Campbell.
The last time New Lambton and Adamstown met in Round 4 it resulted in a 0-0 draw. However, this time both sides see the injection of Jets players into their squads.
Campbell is very aware of the impact Cassidy Davis, Tara Andrews and Lauren Allan will make to the New Lambton side.
“This time they will be a lot stronger side. We know that,” Campbell said.
Leia Puxty has also returned to the Adamstown side from the Jets but is still yet to hit her strides in the competition.
“Puxty has added a bit of experience to the team.”
“She hasn’t played as well as she would have liked to since returning. She didn’t play a huge amount of minutes for the Jets, so is starting to get back into the groove of playing.”
Despite having a young team, Rosebud have stood up and proved that they are lethal competitors. In their game plan for going up against a side like New Lambton with heavily experienced players, Campbell believes that his side does not need to overcomplicate things in order to get a result.
“I keep it simple in that fact. We are a really young squad, so if we say too much about the opposition players, they overthink things. If we try and complicate it too much, the players get overawed.”
“I just want them to turn up and do their best to play the best they can.”
Adamstown is happy with how they are tracking on the table, currently sitting in fifth spot but knows the importance of getting a result against New Lambton.
“We are lucky that we have done enough in the first part of the season to have room for a few poor results,” Campbell said.
“New Lambton is a team that wants to be playing finals football. Us being able to beat them, not only helps us push further away from them on the table but also takes points away from them. We want to keep up with Maitland.”
New Lambton will be on the hunt for points to keep their hopes of finals alive after a mixed bag of results this season. The side went down to Maitland 3-1 last weekend but will be their experienced players to help turn their fortunes around.
Mid Coast FC v Charlestown Azzurri FC
Taree Zone Field, Sunday 4pm
Azzurri will be looking to climb up to second on the table this Sunday when they travel up north to face Mid Coast.
Niko Papspiropoulos’ side are currently one point behind second place Newcastle Olympic FC and will be hungry to continue their winning ways after defeating Warners Bay 8-1 win last weekend.
Cassie Corder from Azzurri will be out to back up her 20-minute hattrick with Jorja Brown and Emily Diaz wanting to continue their scoring ways in Taree.
Mid Coast have struggled to find form this season but will be looking to put the pressure on Azzurri.
Emma Stanbury’s side are currently sitting in 10th spot on the ladder and will need to pull out something special against a strong Azzurri side.
The last time these two teams met, Azzurri walked away with a 6-3 win.
Maitland FC v Warners Bay FC
Cooks Square Park, Sunday 4pm
Maitland FC will be looking to make it three wins in a row this weekend when they take on a struggling Warners Bay side.
Maitland will be coming into the match confident after snatching a 3-1 win away from New Lambton FC last weekend.
After impressive goals from Indianna Auddio, Chelsea Greguric and Sophie Stapleford in the last match, Maitland will be looking to repeat their performance against the Panthers on Sunday.
Warners Bay FC are still desperately searching for their first win of the season, with the side going down 8-1 to Charlestown Azzurri last weekend. They are also without defender Jada-Lee Mcbride, who received a red card last Sunday.
Ryan Swinkels’ side have not gained a point in all 10 rounds so far and have conceded 112 goals.
The last time these two teams met in Round 4, Warners Bay suffered their worst defeat this season, going down 19-0.
Newcastle Olympic FC v Broadmeadow Magic FC
Darling Street Oval, Sunday 4pm
Olympic and Broadmeadow will battle it out in a top of the table clash on Sunday.
This clash is a must-win for both sides, with Olympic looking to topple Magic from the top.
Despite suffering their first loss of the season in Round 9, Olympic were able to respond, thrashing Mid Coast 6-0 last weekend with four goals from Jemma House.
Magic will be looking to continue their five-match winning streak with help from forwards Lucy Jerram, Andriana Konjarski and Chelsea Lucas. However, they will be without midfielder Kirstyn Pearce, who received a red card last week.
The last time these two sides played, it was a tight contest, resulting in a 3-3 draw. This week’s match is expected to be no different, with both team’s desperate to be at the top.