Round 5 Preview – PS4 NPL 3 NSW Men’s

It is a congested schedule for some teams in the PlayStation®4 National Premier Leagues 3 NSW Men’s competition, a schedule that includes postponed league fixtures as well as Westfield FFA Cup matches.
Let’s hope fatigue, injury and wet weather all stay away and everything goes accordingly to plan so we are able to complete Round 5 in full this weekend.
We kick off proceedings with Fraser Park making the trek to Bathurst where they will take on the Western NSW Mariners at Proctor Park, the match kicking off at 6pm.
After two league defeats at home, the Mariners cracked it for a win midweek at Proctor Park, albeit in the Westfields FFA Cup, beating Pennant Hills SC 4-0 in Round 4, and will hope that home form continues on Saturday.
Fraser Park will be eager to make it 4 wins from 4 matches to keep the pressure on the other teams around them near the top of the ladder, but will have to heed the warning from other clubs, and prepare accordingly, as a match at the end of a long day of travelling has tended to take its toll on others.
Dulwich Hill are a team who also have maximum points, 9 in fact from 3 matches completed, and will be confident of continuing that form when they face a wounded Inter Lions at Arlington Oval on Saturday at 3pm.
Dully showed plenty of strengths in last week’s last gasp victory over Sydney University, including their customary flying start to matches, racing to a 3-0 first half lead.
Lapses and complacency saw that lead evaporate within half an hour of the restart, but persistence got them home in the end with a late, late winner. Henry Wells in particular showed his predatory scents yet again for Dully, netting a brace, giving the flanker 4 goals in 3 games in a positive start to the season.
After two solid wins to start their 2017 campaign, Inter Lions came unstuck last Sunday with a disappointing 1-4 reverse to SD Raiders. Inter felt the absence of captain-coach, Lachlan Wright, and will welcome him back to the fold in a must win game for them if they are to stay with the leading pack.
SD Raiders have shown they are a team to be reckoned with, especially in the front third, and now boast the league’s best attack, albeit having played their full quota of matches.
The Raiders have scored 12 goals in 4 matches at an average of 3 per game, meaning Granville Rage will have their hands full at Ernie Smith Reserve on Saturday night, especially facing the set pieces of John Fahmi, the penalty box experience of Mark Symington, and the trickery of Daniel Bittar on the flank.
In Saturday’s other matches, St George City FA will tackle Hawkesbury City at Fraser Park, with both teams needing a win to stay in touch with the top half of the table, whilst it will be a home coming of sorts for Lloyd Owusu at Rydalmere Park, given the undefeated Rydalmere Lions welcome the visit of his new club, the Stanmore Hawks. Owusu enjoyed some successful times at Rydalmere, and will be keen to get one over his old club, more so to reinvigorate Stanmore’s season after the club suffered back to back losses following their opening day victory.
Two matches on Sunday will complete Round Five.
Gladesville Ryde Magic meet a resurgent Dunbar Rovers at Magdala Park at 3-00pm, for whom Hayden O’Kelly has been in great form, scoring four goals to be joint leading marksmen, whilst Sydney University will once again look for the attacking experience of flanker, Domenic Di Mento, to lead them to victory and three points from their trip to Wentworth Park where they meet the Balmain Tigers.