Round 17 is right around the corner, who will stand up and who will be left searching for answers, as we head into the pointy end of the season?
Port Melbourne v Green Gully
7:30 pm, Friday, June 9, JL Murphy Reserve
Port Melbourne smashed Moreland City to remain in fifth place last weekend, while Green Gully won its first game in a month against Bentleigh.
Dor Jok returned to his early season form with a hat trick for Port Melbourne, in a dominant display from the striker, and will be a hard match-up for Green Gully defenders Jordan Lampard and Taylor Schrivers.
Green Gully's Pierce Waring also returned to the scorers' sheet in his side's win over the Greens, to bring his season's tally to nine. The striker has been directly involved in just two goals across his last five games after having been directly involved in six goals in his two games.
Forwards Adolph Koudakpo (4 goals) and Nahuel Bonada (2 goals) have also stepped up in recent weeks, which will ask some questions of Port Melbourne defenders Jalil Regague, Ross Archibald, and Kristian Bombaci.
Port Melbourne's major strength is its depth through the midfield with the likes of George Mells, Luca Tevere, and Dan Edwards tearing up opponents week after week, creating a great battle against Green Gully's Josh Hope, Luc Jeggo and Justin Spiteri.
Green Gully will need to be wary of Port Melbourne's Jackson Courtney-Perkins who is capable of being dangerous on goal. The midfielder, who returned last week off the bench has the best shooting rate of any player in the league.
The Cavaliers defeated the Sharks when they faced off in Round 4, Pierce Waring proved the difference as the striker scored a brace.
Can Green Gully continue to get out of their mid-season slump or will Port Melbourne inch closer towards the top four?
Oakleigh Cannons v Heidelberg United
8:30 pm, Friday, June 9, Jack Edwards Reserve
The Cannons came away with all three points against the Thunder last week, and Heidelberg took care of St Albans at Olympic Village.
Oakleigh has won three games in a row as they look to bridge the gap between South Melbourne and Avondale.
The Heidelberg defenders will have a tall order trying to contain the dangerous Oakleigh attack, with seven players scoring four or more goals so far this season. Alex Fiechtner leads the way with six goals, while Alex Salmon, Connor Hampson, and Wade Dekker aren't far behind with five.
Heidelberg has made the fewest shots on goal and has the lowest expected goals in the NPLM since May, but it appears the Bergers' attack is starting to come to life.
Strikers Kaine Sheppard and Kenny Athiu have both found the back of the net in the last two weeks, subsequently resulting in six points for their side, while Bailil Habib's pressure continues to put the opposition defence under pressure, winning 90% of tackles.
Anthony Lesiotis (Heidelberg) played a terrific game through midfield last week alongside Deion Nikolaidis, while the Oakleigh midfield continues to go from strength to strength.
Joe Guest (3 goals, 10 assists) ranks in the top two in the NPLM for scoring chances created, while Stefan Valentini showed his class with a blistering run and assist for the Cannons' first goal in Round 16. Oliver Kubilay (4 assists) is ultra-consistent, Cameron McGilp continues to settle in at his new side and Connor Hampson provides a spark.
Oakleigh defeated Heidelberg 5-0 the last time they met, with Cade Lucas scoring a brace.
Can Heidelberg continue its resurgence up the ladder and win three straight matches, or will the Cannons prove too good?
Avondale v North Geelong Warriors
3:00 pm, Saturday, 10 June, Avenger Park
Avondale defeated Hume 1-0 in Round 16 and North Geelong lost heavily at the hands of the Magic.
The Avengers continue to win; however, Hume City made the ladder leaders work for the three points with a Yitay Towns goal the only difference in the clash.
North Geelong will need to be at their best to ensure the scoreline doesn't turn ugly with key defender Marvin Brauweiler ruled out of the clash due to picking up a red card against Altona. Full-backs Charlie Fleming and George Ellis will be forced to do a mountain of work to contain the Avondale attack which has piled on 55 goals so far this season.
Stefan Zinni and Zander Guy (NPLM #2) have been electrifying this season with nine goals, and strikers Manny Aguek and Liam Boland have been just as lethal inside the box with seven goals this year.
North Geelong is still on the lookout for a consistent scorer, as they have only scored two goals from their past five matches (Charlie Fleming Round 14, Luke Zivcic Round 13).
North Geelong has scored one goal from inside the box for every 44 penalty area entries this season (* correct as of Round 16), the least frequently of any team in the competition.
Avondale defenders James Riccobene and Ayden Brice have played the ball to one another the most of any pairing in the competition but won't likely see as much ball this weekend.
Warriors' midfielder Nikola Jurkovic was absent last week, but if he returns will add some much-needed dare to the side as he has the highest rate of any player to have made at least 15 take-ons this season.
North Geelong's Aden Gardner continues to show his class and has been which will provide an interesting match-up against the dominant Kristian Tracjecski (5 goals, 8 assists).
Avondale has scored eight goals after a buildup of five or more passes, and if the midfield of Tracjecski, Blake Carpenter, Yitay Towns and Dilon Jakupi can control possession, we may see that number increase this week.
The Avengers defeated the Warriors 4-1 in Round 4, and midfielder Kristian Tracjeski was superb in victory with two goals.
Can the Avengers win its fifth straight match, or can North Geelong pull off an almighty upset?
Bentleigh Greens v Melbourne Knights
3:00 pm, Saturday, June 10, Kingston Heath Soccer Complex
The Greens were defeated by Green Gully last week and the Knights fell short against South Melbourne at home.
Spirits were high in the Bentleigh camp when Lucas Derrick scored the opening goal against the Cavaliers, but it wasn't to be as they lost their 13th game for the season.
Bentleigh's forwards will find it tough to score against the talented Knights' defence, (NPLM #4), however, Christos Theodorakopoulos will be one player to keep an eye on, he has scored four goals when the Greens have been trailing this season, the joint-most of any player in the competition.
Knights' defender Josh Phelps has a passing accuracy above 80% this season and is often used as the distributor out of the backline, while Ivan Franjic has had a splendid month, being voted the May NPLM Player of the Month and full-back Anthony Duzel has been a consistent contributor.
The assignment has been made even harder for Bentleigh this week with key midfielder Scott Hilliar handed a red card against Green Gully, leaving Alex Baker and Alec Mills to take on Gian Albano (6 goals, 5 assists) and Luca Kolic (2 goals, 3 assists).
Gevaro Nepomuceno played a terrific game against South, scoring his side's only goal, and is set to once again cause havoc on the wings for the Knights. Ciaran Bramwell (6 goals) will be a threat up front, while Mohammed Sumaoro (5 goals) will be a dangerous weapon off the bench.
The Knights defeated Bentleigh 1-0 in Round 4 with a Gian Albano penalty proving the difference.
Can the Knights get back on track after their loss to South, or will Bentleigh continue to build off their promising performance last week and claim the upset?
Altona Magic v Moreland City
6:15 pm, Saturday, 10 June, Paisley Park
Altona enjoyed their time on the road last week, thrashing North Geelong 5-0, while Moreland City was handed a beating by Port Melbourne at home.
The Magic are within striking distance of the top six, but with an inferior goal difference to their closest rivals, the three points become all the more meaningful.
Moreland's defence led by Nick Bavcar and Michael Tzoutzidis will have their work cut out for them coming up against the in-form Magic forwards. Full-back Birhan Elibol has made 40-headed clearances this season, more than any other player in the competition and 13 more than any Altona Magic SC player.
Tommy Semmy has made 47 dribbles this season, the second most of any player in the competition, and will use his burst of speed to provide Moreland with plenty of headaches. Striker Jonas Markovski continues to fire, leading the competition with 10 goals, following a brace against the Warriors.
Moreland has been kept scoreless in five of its past six matches, with their 3-1 win over Bentleigh the only outlier. Fletcher Fulton has been their most reliable goal scorer with four for the season, while Apai Ukuno, James Hooper, and Jamie Latham have all found the back of the net three times.
Jamie Latham (3 goals, 2 assists) continues to deliver for Moreland in midfield, however, will need the likes of Corey Thomas, Apai Ukuno and Peter Constantinou to stand up against the talented Altona outfit. Cian Cuba (2 goals, 4 assists) has been a level above this season for Altona, creating in excess of 14 scoring chances for teammate Tommy Semmy, while Ashton Ahluwalia and Charlie Leech are also having consistent seasons.
The two sides couldn't be split the last time they met with Jonas Markovski (Altona) and Chris Theodorakopoulos (Moreland) getting on the scoresheet in the 1-1 draw.
Will Altona sneak back into the top six or will Moreland claim its second win in 10 weeks?
St Albans Saints v Hume City
3:00 pm, Sunday, 11 June, Churchill Reserve
St Albans suffered a defeat against Heidelberg in Round 16, as Hume City also went down to Avondale in a tight match.
St Albans have lost two of their last three NPL matches at Churchill Reserve and have only won one of their past five matches, making them close to the relegation battle.
The Saints are in need of some firepower up front, and after starting the season alight, striker George Ott has struggled to find the back of the net in recent weeks, but if he can find some form alongside Joseph Colina it will go a long way in grasping the three points.
Despite St Albans going goalless in its past two weeks, Hume full-backs Hayden Tennant and Tomas Maricic will need to be on high alert on set pieces with Ott amongst the top players in the league at aerial duels won.
Hume's keeper likes to get involved in the play, making 524 passes this season 77 more than any
other goalkeeper in the competition, if the Saints can put enough pressure on his passing, they may be able to cause a mistake and capotilise.
Josh Bingham will start up forward for Hume, with Chris Dib and Zac Thomas tasked with stopping the dangerous forward, while Jewad Rezai has scored the most goals for Hume this season and will come u against Sean Timmins or Michael Grgic.
Hume City have scored 86% of their total goals in open play (19/22) this season, the
the highest rate of any team in the competition and with the leg speed of Rezai and Mustafa, they may be able to catch the Saints on the counterattack.
Hume will look to gain the ascendancy in the midfield with Ben Bowler, Harry Monaghan and Mark Ochieng appearing to have the upper hand against St Alban's Joey Monek and Troy Ruthven.
Hume and St Albans couldn't be split when they met in Round 4, with the two sides locked at 1-1 when the whistle was blown at the conclusion of 90 minutes.
Can St Albans cause an upset, or will their bad luck of form continue?
South Melbourne v Dandenong Thunder
4:00 pm, Sunday, 11 June, Lakeside Stadium
South Melbourne scraped past the Knights last week, while the Thunder fell just short of the Cannons.
Dandenong has only won one of its past five matches against South but has scored at least two goals in six of its past seven matches as the away team so expect the Thunder to bring the fight to the 2022 grand finalists.
Last week's close defeat to Oakleigh ended a three-game winning streak which saw the Thunder climb to sixth place on the ladder. Midfielder Grad Damen was a main component to their rise, scoring four goals over the past month and being a main distributor through the middle of the pitch.
South will need to limit the Netherlands midfielder's time on the ball as he has an accuracy of 44% from 45 crosses (inc. corners) this season, the best rate of any player in the competition.
Jack Painter-Andrews has been in a similar rich vein of form for South, scoring two goals in as many weeks, including the winning goal against Green Gully in Round 15. Fellow midfielder Pat Langlois (5 goals) is as equally dangerous and will be closely monitored by Dandenong's Harley Orr.
Dandenong has proved over recent weeks their forward is as lethal as any and South's defence will need to be at their best to contain them.
Kasper Hallam will play up front and will look to get the best of Jake Marshall and Marco Jankovic, while the dangerous Geoffry Lino and Leo Mazis will look to create havoc on the wings.
On the other hand, South's forward half has been firing on all cylinders, scoring 10 goals from their past five matches and will be a handful for Mersim Memeti, Luke Adams and Michael Boffey. Ajak Riak has continued to dominate up front with eight goals for the season and Max Mikkola (7 goals) has played 163 passes into the box this season, 15 more than any other player in the competition.
South defeated Dandenong 1-0 in Round 4 with a first-half Pat Langlois goal separating the two sides.
Can Dandenong return to the winners' list and remain in the top six or will South Melbourne prove too strong?