NPLW Round 18 Preview
Belconnen United v Canberra United Academy | Saturday, 3pm @ McKellar Park
Belconnen United will look to wrap up an undefeated regular season when they host the Canberra United Academy on Saturday afternoon at McKellar Park. After the news of his standing down following the season was released, the team will be looking to finish his final Premiership season on a high before the week off going into finals. A strong win against Monaro last week was enough to keep up momentum, but it’s unlikely Jagarinec’s side will push too hard given the low stakes here.
For the Academy, they locked in a finals spot with the late victory against Gungahlin United last weekend and Heather Garriock is nursing a few injuries as they long for the fixture-free weekend ahead of finals. This game gives them a chance to have a hit-out against the best side in the competition for some of the youngsters who will likely play, and a barometer of where they are at approaching finals.
Gungahlin United v Canberra FC | Sunday, 2pm @ Gungahlin Enclosed
Gungahlin United need just a point (save for a 17-goal Woden-Weston win) to secure their top four aspirations but must get past second placed Canberra FC to do so. When they travelled to Deakin back in round nine they lost 2-1 and can’t afford a repeat of that but need to cut short a downturn in form that saw them draw with Monaro and then lose late on to the Academy last week after winning for much of the game.
Canberra FC are seeing out the season, comfortably safe in second spot regardless of what happens this weekend. That hardly means they will roll over for a rival side though, and Nik Brozinic will still send a strong side out given they have played just one league game since late July due to byes and reschedules. That means there will be plenty of fresh legs around though and with the fixture free weekend still to come the coach should have a squad ready and firing come finals time. This weekend though, momentum will be important and they will be looking for all three points and to spoil the finals aspirations of the hosts.
Woden-Weston v Monaro Panthers | Sunday, 3pm @ Melrose Synthetic
Woden-Weston will be locked in a battle for fourth on Sunday, gunning for victory against Monaro and knowing they need Canberra FC to help them out against Gungahlin Enclosed. A strong win against Wagga City last weekend set them up for this and they have a great chance to potentially break into the top four given they seemed out of the race not long ago. They come in off the back of three wins in a row, and the last time they met Monaro they recorded a 5-0 victory at Riverside, which they will be hoping to replicate.
Monaro meanwhile can set out to spoil the party, and they will be keen to build off a strong showing against Belconnen United. Despite the scoreline the Panthers were competitive for large parts of the match and points here could potentially lift them out of eighth at the end of the weekend dependent on the result in Wagga Wagga. The performance of some of their youngsters has been a high-point this season and although Chris Yip-Au has departed, as did Darby Whiteley a few weeks back Ian Worthington should have a strong side to put out on the park.
Wagga City Wanderers v Canberra Olympic | Sunday, 3pm @ Gissing Oval
It’s seventh v ninth at Gissing Oval on Sunday as Canberra Olympic and the Wagga City Wanderers wrap up their respective seasons. For the Wanderers, it has been a tough introduction to the competition, but they have shown flashes of strong play at different times and there are plenty of positives to take, including some strong individual performances. They will want to finish off the season strong at home, but will need to beat a side that narrowly saw them off at O’Connor earlier in the season.
For Olympic, they drew with Tuggeranong United last week after going behind early, and will also be keen to finish the season on a high after a big drop off from last year’s campaign, with a number of stars departing. Andrew Woodman has had plenty of injuries and missed games throughout the campaign, like other sides and will be looking for some rest and relaxation come the end of the season. A win here would ensure they can not be caught by Monaro and can finish the year off in seventh spot.
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