2025 Grand Final Preview – NPL Men’s NSW

Rockdale Ilinden and APIA Leichhardt will go head to head in a blockbuster NPL Men’s NSW Grand Final at Jubilee Stadium on Saturday evening. 

Road to the final

Rockdale Ilinden finished fourth in a mixed regular season campaign.

After a decent start to 2025, Rockdale went on a stunning midseason run, not losing from Round Eight until Round 21.

In between those defeats, they picked up an astonishing 10 wins and two draws – 32 points from an available 36, and were looking in a strong position to take home their second consecutive Premiership.

However, a poor run of form at the end of the season saw Rockdale fall back from the chasing pack, and between Round 21 and Round 30, they tasted victory just once, with their regular campaign bizarrely ending with six draws in a row.

But in true Rockdale fashion, they found form just as they needed it, first beating Blacktown City on Wednesday night courtesy of a stunning fifth-minute strike from Isaac Danzo.

Then, in the Semi-Finals, they knocked out reigning Premiers NWS Spirit, with a 2-1 victory securing their spot in the big dance.

APIA, meanwhile, enjoyed a more stable campaign, finishing second on the ladder, two points behind Premiers Spirit.

After winning just once in their opening four matches, they found more form, albeit not reaching an unbeaten run to the length of Rockdale.

But in the second half of the campaign, APIA really came into their own, losing just once between Round 19 and the end of the season, in a 3-2 loss to Marconi Stallions.

In the Semi-Finals, APIA took revenge on their Italian rivals, prevailing 2-0 thanks to goals from Dredon Kelly and Presley Ortiz, as they now prepare for their first Grand Final since 2019.

Previous meetings

APIA have prevailed both times these sides have met in the league this campaign.

In Round 13, it came in arguably the game of the season, in which APIA took a 2-0 lead into the break thanks to goals from Jack Stewart and Presley Ortiz.

However, after half-time, Alec Urosevski flipped the game on its head, netting a stunning 22-minute hat-trick to put Rockdale close to victory.

Just as APIA looked down and out, a Josh Symons goal brought the scores all square in the 86th minute, before Seiya Kambayashi secured the win with a brilliant long-range strike in added time.

In Round 23, Rockdale were defeated 4-1, with APIA once more going into half-time winning 2-0.

James Nikolovski looked to launch a comeback, but an Ali Auglah red card halted Rockdale’s bid, and goals from Alex Denmead and Michael Kouta in stoppage time secured a memorable 4-1 win.

Meanwhile, APIA will take further confidence into the Grand Final from 2024, where they beat Rockdale 3-0 in the Waratah Cup Final at Jubilee Stadium – the same ground the two teams will face off this weekend.

With 12 goals in just two games between these sides this season, this promises to be a sensational fixture, full of excitement and enjoyable attacking football.

Key players

As expected, this match will be chock-full of quality, with both sides leading the way with the forward line, with only APIA (75) scoring more NPL Men’s NSW goals than Rockdale Ilinden (68) this season.

Up front, the league’s top two scorers will be aiming to decide the game, with Alec Uroesvski netting 23 so far this season, and Presley Ortiz scoring 18.

They won’t be short of supply, with the likes of Brendan Cholakian and Seiya Kambayashi looking to work their magic in tight spaces, and Ali Auglah and Jack Stewart promises to provide plenty of quality from wide.

Meanwhile, Isaac Danzo and Eddie Caspers will serve as the metronomes for either side in midfield, having both been so important to their respective teams this campaign.

Further back, Sean Symons and Hunter Elliott will be ones to watch when bombing forward from fullback positions, while Blake Ricciuto and Dredon Kelly have emerged as two of the most dominant central defenders in the league this season.

With Rockdale looking to amend their 2024 Grand Final defeat, and APIA back in the big dance for the first time since 2019, this promises to be an exhilarating match of football between two of the best sides New South Wales has to offer.

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.

Match details:

Teams: Rockdale Ilinden FC vs APIA Leichhardt FC

Date: Saturday 13 September

Venue: Jubilee Stadium

Time: 6:00pm