Preliminary Finals Preview – NPL Men’s NSW

The four best sides in the NPL Men’s NSW 2025 competition will battle it out for two spots in the coveted Grand Final, as NWS Spirit and APIA Leichhardt take on Rockdale Ilinden and Marconi Stallions respectively in this Sunday’s Preliminary Final bonanza.  

APIA Leichhardt FC vs Marconi Stallions FC

4:00pm, Sunday 7 September, Lambert Park

For the fourth time this season, APIA Leichhardt and Marconi Stallions will face off in a crucial Derby D’Italia.

APIA have enjoyed a stellar NPL Men’s NSW season, finishing second on the ladder, while scoring the most goals in the league with 75 in 30 games – an astonishing average of 2.5 per match.

The home side will have an advantage coming into this match with their top-two placement earning themselves a direct spot in the Semi-Finals, giving them the week to recover and prepare for this critical clash.

With four wins and one defeat in their last five matches, they are in good form coming into this fixture and will be confident of finding the result they need to advance to the coveted NPL Men’s NSW Grand Final.

Marconi, meanwhile, finished two points below APIA, while earning themselves the best defence in the league, conceding just 29 goals across their league campaign.

They advanced to the Semi-Final with a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Sydney United 58, in which goalkeeper James Hilton saved three penalties in a stellar performance to give the reigning Champions the victory.

Hilton will likely be important once more this weekend, particularly considering the absence of star centre-back Lachlan Griffiths, who picked up a second yellow card in stoppage time on Wednesday night.

Further forward, James Bayliss will be crucial in midfield for the away side, while Marko Jesic will be ever present in his role up front.

For APIA, it’s hard to look past the quality of Presley Ortiz up front,  with the striker netting an impressive 17 goals in the 2025 regular season.

Jack Stewart will be looking to produce another moment of magic in front of the APIA faithful, while Dredon Kelly has been exceptional at the heart of defence for the second half of the campaign.

It remains to be seen whether their 120 minutes mid-week will impact Marconi’s high-intensity style of football, and APIA will be looking to wear their opponents down as the game goes on and capitalise on their freshness.

But the home side haven’t experienced joy against their rivals in the NPL Men’s NSW competition this year, losing 2-0 at home and 3-2 away in the regular season.

APIA did emerge victorious in their Australia Cup Preliminary Round tie, prevailing 3-2, and will be aiming to produce a similar result against the reigning Champions this weekend.

This match promises to deliver plenty of excitement, intrigue and quality football, as two of the best sides in the league battle it out for passion, pride and a place in the Grand Final on Sunday afternoon.

NWS Spirit FC vs Rockdale Ilinden FC

5:00pm, Sunday 7 September, Christie Park

NWS Spirit will take on Rockdale Ilinden as both sides look to secure their spot in the 2025 NPL Men’s NSW Grand Final.

This fixture will depict the 2025 Premiers against 2024’s league leaders in an exhilarating fixture between two quality sides.

Spirit will enter the final series as the team to beat, after storming to a storied title with 20 wins, six draws and just four defeats across 30 games.

The home side for this match will be raring to go in their first season in NPL Men’s NSW finals in front of what promises to be a huge crowd at Christie Park.

Spirit haven’t been defeated in an astonishing 11 games, with their last loss coming in Round 19 to St George City FA.

Meanwhile, opponents Rockdale have been on an elongated unbeaten streak of their own, not losing in their last seven matches, but they’ve only won once in that time period, after beating Blacktown City earlier in the week to advance to the Semi-Final.

Incidentally, their last two victories – separated by 60 days – both came against Blacktown, and they will have to defeat Spirit for the first time this season to advance to the Grand Final for their second successive season.

After a 1-1 draw in their first match of the season, Spirit defeated Rockdale in a sensational 6-3 victory in Round 24, with braces from Yu Okubo and Takumi Ofuka supplemented by goals from Jordan Perez and Michael Konestabo.

However, Spirit will be without Okubo for the finals series, who was so often the difference-maker during their Premiership triumph, with the striker making the move to Asian Champions League II club Eastern SC for an undisclosed transfer fee.

Meanwhile, star attacking midfielder Michael Konestabo will also be unavailable for this clash, after receiving a red card in their Round 30 clash, meaning the Premiers will come into this match without two of their star trio of forwards from their regular season.

But the Premiers have strong quality ready to take their place, and they will nevertheless be confident and prepared heading into this crucial fixture.

With Rockdale looking to amend last season’s Grand Final defeat, and Spirit looking to add a Championship to an already sensational season, it’s going to be a brilliant match at Christie Park on Sunday evening between two fantastic teams.