Womens State League Round 11 Preview

With the season nearing the halfway point, several teams in the Womens State League face a big few weeks ahead.
Mt Druitt Town Rangers and Southern Districts will be looking to upset their more fancied opponents, while Western NSW Mariners and UNSW face off in a crunch match in Bathurst.

APIA Leichhardt Tigers v St George Saints. St George Stadium, 3pm.

APIA are technically the home team this Sunday, but with Lambert Park undergoing renovations, the game will be held at Saints’ home ground. Tarek Madani’s APIA side have done it tough with injuries so far this season, but you can never underestimate a team with their backs against the wall. That said, St George are coming off last week’s win, where they put six past Gladesville Ravens.

Southern Branch v Nepean FC. South Nowra Football Complex, 3pm.

Nepean make the trip out to Nowra this week in need of at least a point to begin to turn their season around. Southern Branch haven’t won a game since Round 5, but they’ve scored plenty of goals along the way. With the home ground advantage, they’ll want to get all three points before a mammoth three weeks against Bankstown, Sydney Olympic and Western NSW Mariners.

Mt Druitt Town Rangers v Bankstown City Lions. Poppondetta Park, 3pm.

The first of three big weeks for Rangers. If they can beat Bankstown at home, it will give them plenty of confidence going into their crunch matches with Sydney Olympic and Western NSW Mariners. Sitting just off the pace, Mt Druitt have a great chance to knock off Bankstown, who will be missing several key players including Maniso Michael and Mel Palarto.

Southern Districts Emeralds v Sydney Olympic. Ernie Smith Reserve, 3pm.

After suffering their first loss of the season last week against UNSW, Olympic will be determined to bounce back. However, they face another difficult challenge against Southern Districts, who are always tricky at their home ground. Expect a close game in Moorebank.

Western NSW Mariners v UNSW Lions. Proctor Park, 3pm.

This looms as one of the matches of the round. Both sides have their eyes firmly set on top spot, and possess some of the best attacking talent in the competition. UNSW haven’t lost since Round 4, and after Gabrielle Marzano stole the show last week in Belmore, will be looking to steal all three points. Western NSW will be no easybeats though, with a strong record at home.

Gladesville Ravens v Parramatta Ladyhawks. Peel Park, 3pm.

The time is right for Gladesville to turn their season around. Over the next four weeks, they’ll play three on home turf. Fixing a leaky defence will be priority number one for the Gladesville coaching staff. The Ladyhawks have faltered a little since their flying start, but have all the right ingredients to beat any side in the competition.
-By Joe Gorman