2024 NPL Men’s NSW Grand Final Preview
Premiers Rockdale Ilinden will come up against Marconi Stallions in what is set to be an exhilarating NPL Men’s NSW Grand Final at CommBank Stadium on Saturday evening.
Road to the final
The Grand Final will host a highly exciting 1 v 2 battle between Rockdale and Marconi, with both sides enjoying stellar league campaigns.
Rockdale stormed their way to the Premiership in emphatic style, finishing the season with 72 points – seven clear of Marconi in second place.
The Premiers netted 76 goals while conceding 40, and picked up 23 wins, three draws and just four defeats – and playing some of the best football the NPL has seen for quite some time.
Marconi, meanwhile, finished comfortably second, eight points clear of Italian rivals APIA Leichhardt, who were joint-third along with Blacktown City.
The Stallions scored 70 goals, while letting in just 35, giving them the best defensive record in the league.
The two Grand Final teams both finished the campaign in stellar form and translated that into successful Semi-final victories.
In the second half of the season, Rockdale picked up an astonishing 37 points out of the 45 available, while Marconi dropped points just twice in their final 10 games.
In the Semi-final, Rockdale defeated Sydney United 58, cancelling out an Aiden Milicevic opener with goals from Lochlan Constable, Dean Pelekanos and Brae Ovens.
Marconi, meanwhile, scored a stunning 6-2 victory over Blacktown City, with all six – three from James Temelkovski, two from Marko Jesic, and one from Domenic Constanzo – coming in the first half.
With both sides coming into the big dance in red-hot form after scintillating campaigns, it’s set to be a Grand Final chock-full of excitement, high energy and entertaining football.
Previous meetings
The elephant in the room heading into the Grand Final – and something giving Rockdale extra motivation to become Champions – is the previous game between these two sides.
Rockdale came in as strong league leaders, and the favourites to emerge victorious at Marconi Stadium.
However, the hosts stunned Rockdale, scoring an astonishing nine goals – including six in the first half – to win 9-0, something that this league has not seen in its history.
It was a sensational one-off game, and another battering will be far from Rockdale’s mind or worries, but it adds fuel to what is already set to be a fiery, exhilarating Saturday night at CommBank Stadium.
Prior to the 9-0, Rockdale and Marconi played out a 2-2 draw in Round Two, where goals from Costanzo and Temelkovski for Marconi and Brayden Sorge and Alec Urosevski saw the sides split the points at Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre.
Key players
The Grand Final will be chock full of quality, with every player – whether starting or coming on from the bench – set to play their part.
Rockdale will be led by captain and talisman Alec Urosevski who has had another stellar season in the NPL Men’s NSW competition, scoring an astonishing 31 goals in his 30 regular season games.
Hoping to shrug off a hamstring injury, Urosevski will be the man to lead the line, something he has done so well in the past several seasons.
Meanwhile, Marconi possesses a star striker of their own, with James Temelkovski leading the line with his trickery, physicality and sharpshooting.
Temelkovski netted a hat-trick in the semi-final against Blacktown and will be looking to produce similar heroics on Saturday evening.
Both sides possess an abundance of attacking quality beyond their strikers, with Rockdale – among others – having Lochlan Constable, Brendan Cholakian and utility Blake Ricciuto, and Marconi featuring captain Marko Jesic, Domenic Constanzo and Franco Maya.
In midfield, Isaac Danzo could be key as Rockdale look to dominate the match, while both sides possess steady, stable defences – both from an individual and collective perspective – with Nathan Millgate looking to put in a strong performance in his last match in the NPL Men’s NSW competition.
Both keepers will also be ones to watch out for. Ilinden’s mid-season recruit Nick Sorras has been an adonis in the back while Stallions keeper James Hilton continues to do his thing as he has kept things tight underneath the sticks.
Let’s not forget the tactical battle set to take shape from the coaching dug-out.
Ilinden’s duo of a returning Paul Dee alongside Nick Stavroulakis will face experienced campaigners Peter Tsekenis and Peter Papoythis in what will be an intriguing clash on the sidelines.
The Grand Final will feature an abundance of individual and team brilliance, as each player looks to make their mark on what is set to be a historic final match of the NPL Men’s NSW 2024 campaign at CommBank Stadium.
Tickets for the NPL NSW Women’s and Men’s double header Grand Final are currently on sale here, while the match will be broadcast live and free on Football NSW’s YouTube channel, with commentary from Tony Tannous and Alex Molchanoff.
Match details:
Teams: Rockdale Ilinden FC vs Marconi Stallions FC
Date: Saturday 7 September
Venue: CommBank Stadium
Time: 6:00pm
