Round 1 Preview – NPL Men’s NSW

Pre-season is over and we can now smell the start of the 2025 National Premier Leagues Men’s NSW season, kicking off this Friday evening at Cromer Park.
LISTEN TO THE NPL MEN’S NSW SEASON PREVIEW PODCAST
Manly United FC vs Central Coast Mariners FC
7:30pm, Friday 7 February, Cromer Park
Manly United will open the NPL Men’s NSW 2025 season as they face the Central Coast Mariners on Friday night.
The home side will be looking to start the season strongly as they aim for finals football, a bid set to be spearheaded by youth product and former A-League Men’s player Harry Van der Saag.
With American Lucas Meek, Irishman Aaron O’Driscoll and former Sydney Olympic star Darcy Burgess also joining the squad, Manly will be looking to make a statement in Round One against a Central Coast Mariners side looking to improve on a difficult 2024 season.
The Mariners remained in the NPL Men’s NSW by the skin of their teeth, retaining their spot after beating fellow A-League Men’s academy side Bulls FC in the relegation playoff at the end of last year.
As Central Coast look to promote from within in 2025, they will be aiming to avoid a similar trajectory to last season and calm nerves with a strong win to begin their campaign.
Western Sydney Wanderers FC vs Mt Druitt Town Rangers FC
3:00pm, Saturday 8 February, Wanderers Football Park
Mt Druitt Town Rangers will return to the NPL Men’s NSW competition with a trip to face the Western Sydney Wanderers in the first of an astonishing seven Saturday matches in Round One.
Mt Druitt, who gained promotion from the Football NSW League One competition in 2024, took no time in making a statement signing, bringing star striker Joey Gibbs from Blacktown City.
With brothers Jude and Will Rankin also in the squad, Mt Druitt will look to avoid a yoyo straight back down to League One, and will be hoping that will just be a blip in their history.
However, they will be up against a Western Sydney Wanderers side hungry to begin their campaign as strong as their 2024 season, where they were first on the table until Round 15, before falling off as the season went on.
The Wanderers will possess a squad full of players looking to impress for a potential A-League Men’s call-up, making this fixture all the more exciting with both sides possessing plenty to play for in the opening round of the year.
Sydney United 58 vs Sharks FC
5:00pm, Saturday 8 February, Sydney United Sports Centre
One of the most coveted fixtures of Round One will kick off at 5pm on Saturday, as a new-look Sydney United 58 side, coached by Ante Juric, takes on Sharks FC at Sydney United Sports Centre.
The main story of this match sees new Sharks FC player and captain Danijel Nizic return to his former home in Sydney United Sports Centre, with the reception from the United 58 fans something to look out for on Saturday evening.
Both sides have recruited strongly, with United 58 bringing in Mario Shabow and Tristian Prendergast from Blacktown City, as well as NPL Men’s NSW stalwarts Thomas Makko and Richie Darko.
Meanwhile, beyond Nizic, the Sharks have also added brothers Kosta and Maki Petratos, and among others, former A-League Men’s midfielder Jerry Skotadis, who is likely to be one of their key players throughout 2025.
With Nizic making return to Sydney United Sports Centre, and both sides boasting new-look teams, this game is set to be an exhilarating encounter to continue the NPL Men’s NSW action in the opening round.
Sydney Olympic FC vs St George FC
5:00pm, Saturday 8 February, Belmore Sports Ground
Sydney Olympic will open their 2025 season as they face St George FC at Belmore Sports Ground.
The home side for this match have responded to a disappointing 2024 campaign with an array of signings, bringing Connor O’Toole from the A-League Men, Jack Gibson from the Western Sydney Wanderers and signing Cyrus Dehmie and Joshua Hong from the NPL Queensland.
However, perhaps Olympic’s biggest coup for the campaign comes in the form of Jack Armson, with the incisive midfielder set to light up Belmore Sports Ground after moving from APIA Leichhardt.
While Olympic have remained with Labinot Haliti, St George FC have picked up a new coach in Fabian Miceli, as they aim to make finals in their second successive season in the NPL Men’s NSW competition.
To help achieve that goal, they’ve added Bai Antoniou from a Premiership winning Rockdale Ilinden side amongst others, in what is set to be another entertaining Round One match featuring two changed sides.
NWS Spirit FC vs Sydney FC
5:30pm, Saturday 8 February, Christie Park
NWS Spirit FC will take on Sydney FC to open their campaign with a home match to begin the season.
Spirit has made some strong signings in the offseason, picking up Yu Okubo from Hills United, and Takumi Ofuka from Wollongong Wolves, with the pair netting 13 and 11 goals respectively in 2024 as they look to improve their attacking output for the campaign.
Meanwhile, Sydney FC have made a few signings of their own, getting Corey Cronin from Manly United, Taye Hedley from the Central Coast Mariners, Jacob Cremen-Cowan from Sutherland Sharks and namely former Spirit star and Sky Blue academy product Kyle Shaw, who has already impressed with an A-League Men’s debut.
The academy side will be looking to improve on a year that saw them avoid the relegation playoff by just a point on the final day, while Spirit will be keen to pick up an early victory in front of their home fans at Christie Park.
APIA Leichhardt FC vs Wollongong Wolves FC
6:00pm, Saturday 8 February, Lambert Park
APIA Leichhardt will begin their NPL Men’s NSW season when coming up against Wollongong Wolves in another exciting Round One matchup.
The home side has mainly kept the vast majority of squad from last season, but have made a few additions, including Dredon Kelly, Cameron Fong, Joel Bertolissio, Presley Ortiz, and goalkeeper Oliver Kalac from rivals Sydney United 58.
After finishing third last season, they will be looking to push up the table and compete for the top spot on the ladder.
Their attacking output will be key to that, having finished as the top scorers in the league last season with 78 goals – an average of 2.6 per game.
However, they will have to be on their a-game this weekend when facing Wollongong Wolves, who possess a new coach in the form of Warren Grieve.
Grieve has made some interesting signings, with the main name being Solomon Islands international Raphael Le’ai, as well as Nicholas Olsen, Marcus Beattie and James Agnostopoulos.
There would be nothing better than three points at Lambert Park to begin Grieve’s term as head coach, but the Wolves will come up against an APIA side hungry to make amends and show the season what they’re capable of early on.
MATCH OF THE ROUND
Marconi Stallions FC vs Blacktown City FC
7:00pm, Saturday 8 February, Marconi Stadium
Two NPL Men’s NSW heavyweights will face off in this exhilarating clash at Marconi Stadium in one of two 7pm games to conclude Round One.
Returning as NPL Men’s NSW Champions, Marconi Stallions will be looking to pick up where they left off in Round One.
Despite losing top-scorer James Temelkovski to the A-League Men’s, they will be looking to replace his 18 goals with the likes of Aghan International Jawad Rezai and former Wolves striker Jake Trew.
They’ve also signed two defenders – Lachlan Griffith from Rockdale Ilinden and Tyren Burnie from their Round One opponents, with Blacktown going through a bit of a squad change after losing multiple players to rival sides.
The away side for this game will be looking to react to last season’s Semi-Final at Marconi Stadium, where they stunningly lost 6-2 as Marconi went on to win the Grand Final.
With plenty at stake as both sides look to outline their title ambitions in Round One, and Blacktown aiming to inflict a similar beating on Marconi to the one they suffered in the 2024 finals campaign, this promises to be a scintillating Saturday night fixture.
Rockdale Ilinden FC vs St George City FA
7:00pm, Saturday 8 February, Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre
The NPL Men’s NSW Premiers will be looking to open their campaign in fine form at Rockdale Ilinden Sports Centre when taking on St George City FA.
Rockdale have bolstered an already strong squad with some big signings in the off-season.
After originally planning on joining in 2024, Moudi Najjar will finally debut in Rockdale colours for the 2025 season, while they’ve also taken no time in replacing A-League Men bound Dean Pelekanos with Wollongong Wolves maestro Chris McStay.
They’ve also added James Nikolovski, Sydney Olympic striker Oliver Puflett and exciting young winger Ali Auglah, as they aim to be the team to beat once more in 2025.
However, they will be made to work for their first three points of the season when taking on a St George City side possessing a new coach in the form of Manny Spanoudakis.
Their big-name signings come in the form of recent A-League Men’s player Nathan Grimaldi, former APIA fullback Dakota Askew and foreigners Marc McNulty and Goncalo Agrelos, as St George look to secure finals football once more.
It’s a perfect way to jointly-conclude the opening round of the NPL Men’s NSW competition, as two of the most successful sides in recent history fight to take home a Round One victory.
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