Round 10 Preview – PS4 NPL 3 NSW Men’s
Round Ten of the 2016 PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition this weekend has five games scheduled to be played on Saturday, and the one solitary match on Sunday.
Western NSW Mariners welcome the visit of the league leaders, Hills Brumbies, to Glen Willow Stadium on Saturday afternoon, the game due to kick off at 5-00pm.
The Mariners climbed off the bottom of the ladder last weekend with a home triumph over Balmain, and will be keen to build on that, having scored the bulk of their goals at home this season. But Hills Brumbies are a different proposition, with seven wins and a draw from their nine league matches thus far. The Brumbies would’ve learned a lesson last week, dropping two points against lowly Hawkesbury in a match they were expected to win, so there is no way that they will be taking this away trip too lightly.
Arlington Oval will play host to a game on Saturday night at 7-00pm between two teams who have struggled to get going this season when Dulwich Hill meet Balmain Tigers.
Sitting uncharacteristically ninth and eleventh respectively on the competition ladder, the two sides are separated by a solitary point and will see this match as an opportunity to get the jump on the few clubs struggling towards the bottom. The Dulwich Hill players will have an additional incentive to play well, having appointed Dean Savetta as their new coach, so look out for an improved showing in front of their home fans.
It’ll be the battle of the Hawks at David Bertenshaw Field on Saturday evening, with Hawkesbury City taking on Stanmore Hawks at 7-00pm.
Both sets of Hawks are in a rich vein of form at the moment, with City picking up four points from their last two matches – including a 2-2 draw against top of the ladder, Hills Brumbies – whilst Stanmore are the form team of the competition, winning their last five matches on the trot. Both defensively strong, this game will be a battle probably decided by a lone goal, so expect an arm wrestle come Saturday night.
Granville Rage will face the Dunbar Rovers at Garside Park on Saturday night in what will be a clash between two teams coming off the back of wins in their most recent outings.
The Rage held off the challenge of Inter Lions last week in a seven goal thriller, recording their second win on the bounce and bridging them closer to the middle of the competition ladder. The Rovers themselves have had three wins on the trot and sit in equal second spot on the ladder, and will provide a formidable obstacle for the home side right from the get go.
The battle of the Lions will take place at Rydalmere Park on Saturday night at 7-00pm, with Rydalmere facing Inter.
Rydalmere bounced back to winning ways last week with a 3-0 victory over Sydney Uni, and are one of three sides on 21 points, one point adrift of Hills Brumbies.
Inter gave it all they had against the Rage last week, losing 3-4 with ten men, but showed an enormous amount of determination to drag themselves back in to the match by equalising on no less than three occasions. A six pointer looms for Inter if they are to stay close to the top pack, whilst Rydalmere will settle for nothing less than a win to take advantage of any slip up from Hills.
Two teams who have suffered a couple of successive defeats will meet on Sunday afternoon at Magdala Park, with Gladesville Ryde Magic meeting Sydney University at 4-30pm.
Three points separate the two sides, with the ‘students’ currently on 15 points in 5th spot, whilst Magic are on 12 in 7th position. The top four sides have pulled six points away from Sydney Uni, so they will be desperate to win and stay in touch, whilst Gladesville have semi final aspirations of their own, knowing a home triumph will close the gap and pull them level with their match day opponents.
