Football NSW League Two Men’s 2025 Season Preview
With plenty of player movement, two new teams and a renewed hope in the battle for promotion for many, the 2025 Football NSW League Two Men’s season promises to provide plenty of unexpected twists in the battle for the Premiership, as well as promotion.
The two newcomers this season are Nepean FC, who were relegated after one season in the League One Men’s competition, and Dunbar Rovers FC, who will have their first hit-out in this competition since the 2022 season.
With the competition’s winner gaining automatic promotion and a second-place finish giving a promotion-playoff chance, will they be able to make a swift return to the state’s second tier or will a new challenger rise above?
Here is how each team is looking ahead of the new season:
Bankstown United FC
Previous Season: 3rd place
Bankstown United FC will hope to go one better in 2025 after their 3rd-placed finish in 2024, where they finished behind the unbeaten Newcastle Jets and were pipped to 2nd place by three points by Mounties Wanderers FC.
Bankstown have lost their starting midfield from 2024 plus more with Jovan Blagojevic retiring, Jamie Dib moving to Prospect United SC, Matthew Cook taking time away from football and Corey Freeman gone on leave, but have made some signings with former MacArthur Ram and Canterbury-Bankstown Berries forward Nathan Manno, as well as former Ram Anthony Proia to strengthen their attack.
A short pre-season will see Bankstown work their way into the year and will focus on both fitness and results in the first few weeks – with their first five fixtures away from home, Bankstown will hope to weather the tough road trips and have results come their way.
Bankstown will hope to have a healthy, deep squad where the competition for places will help them also improve, with the signing of goalkeeper Sebastian Laluz also adding depth, and will hope to manage their squad throughout the year.
The goal for Bankstown will be to be in the top five or six spots near the end of the season in what could be a tight competition in 2025, where a bit of luck with games and injuries could play their part.
Camden Tigers FC
Previous Season: 10th place
Camden had a strong end to the 2024 season and with a refreshed squad of eight departures and plenty of new faces for 2025, will hope to have a season where young players will step up and make their mark.
Three new players have joined the club externally, all under 23, while a handful of the under-20s and under-18s will be given their chances in 2025 – however, they will be without Leandro Guzman this season after he picked up an ACL injury in pre-season.
Camden will look to play on the front foot in the opposition half in 2025, while when in their defensive end they will hope to be more positive in their approach in the hopes a new playing style will aid them at both ends of the field.
Another team which has had a shorter pre-season will hope to utilise the early rounds to improve their fitness and also show their hunger to hit the field and play.
The Tigers will hope to find consistency in 2025 to finish as high up the league as they can come the end of the season and will hope a new style of play, as well as a refreshed squad, will be the catalyst for that.
Central Coast United FC
Previous Season: 5th place
Central Coast United FC will hope 2025 is a positive year after a 5th-placed finish in 2024 and have invested in their young talent to help them have a positive 2025.
Cayleb Murray, Zayd Husain and Micheal Singh have re-signed ahead of the 2025 season, while they have also promoted Matt Kariouz, Jay Goodwin and Noah Hughes to the senior squad in a show of faith for their young talent coming through.
Alongside them, club stalwart Cade Mapu will head into his eighth season with the club and will hope to add goals and experience to a team hoping to make big inroads.
Coach Shannon Cole will hope to have another positive season where he can nurture players to help them grow as players and will bring that philosophy once against to the Pirates’ playing group.
Expect the Pirates to put together a positive 2025 season, where young players will step up and come through alongside a few familiar faces who will hope to lead them to glory.
Dunbar Rovers FC
Previous Season: 16th (Relegated, League One Men’s)
Dunbar Rovers FC will hope to bounce right back after their last-placed finish and relegation from the League One Men’s competition last season and will hope a new playing style and a refreshed group of players will lead them there.
Dunbar have lost Samuel Tzanakes to Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC, Christopher Nikola, and Alexander Nicolosi to Inner West Hawks FC, while their mid-season signings also left, but have gained young players such Dylan Bosnovic from St George FC, as well as Chilean ex-professional Bastian Monroy to solidify the backline.
They have also retained the likes of goalkeeper Benjamin Wrigley, while Paul Gautier is entering his third season with the club – they will hope to provide some stability to the side.
Dunbar will look to play possession-based football this season, with a Brazilian style brought by their Head Coach, Christian Soares, and will hope to test themselves in what will be a physical league.
The goal for Dunbar will be to be competitive in every match and earn promotion back to the League One Men’s competition come the end of the season.
Fraser Park FC
Previous Season: 13th place
Fraser Park FC will look to find consistency in 2025 after a 13th-placed finish in 2024 and have made personnel and philosophy changes to bring success.
Fraser Park have signed former UNSW FC midfielder Zac Ribeiro, while they have lost goalkeeper Patrick Ferreira, centre-half Paul Turrin, as well as Harry Skotadis.
New Head Coach Roberto Fausti will hope to bring some Italian resilience to the side with a revamped playing style and following a mixed pre-season results-wise will hope the experiences will help his players when the season proper kicks off.
With the majority of their matches away to start the season, Fraser Park will hope to win at least half of those to put themselves into a good spot for when their home matches come around as they figure out their strongest starting eleven.
Fraser Park will hope to be consistent with a young side and will aim for a top-six finish if they can find that consistency, with new players and a new coach at the helm.
Gladesville Ryde Magic
Previous Season: 15th place
Gladesville Ryde Magic will aim for a more positive season in 2025 following a hard one full of learnings in 2024, where they finished bottom of the league.
Gladesville have a new captain for 2025 in 20-year-old Stefan Baker, who made his debut for the club at 17 and will hope to lead the young Magic side well in the upcoming season, notable ins for 2025 see David Ustimenko return to the club from Fraser Park FC and Sid Malhotra join from Inner West Hawks FC, while notable outs include Aaron Khan and Christopher Guyot, with the latter heading to the U.S.
In the coaching ranks, Gladesville have a new Head Coach with former player Chris Gaitatzis taking the reins and he will hope to manage a competitive, young squad which will hope to challenge for the top half of the table come the end of the season.
Gladesville will hope to have a positive start to the season after a pre-season which they have seen as very positive and will hope to take that positivity through the season proper.
Expect the Magic to be fit and ready for the new season, with a new captain, new coach and new style of play which should suit them.
Granville Rage
Previous Season: 9th place
Granville Rage will hope to take a step further in 2025 after a mixed end to the 2024 season saw them finish in 9th place, just three points outside the top half of the table.
They will hope to take that step up this season and compete for a top-half finish and will hope their squad will have the strength to do so.
They have shown marked improvement over the past few seasons, finishing in 12th in 2023 before jumping up three places to 9th last season.
Scoring was no issue for the Rage last season so with that in their locker for this season, they will hope to lead from the front.
Expect the Rage to play with positive intents as they look to make the jump in 2025.
Hawkesbury City FC
Previous Season: 12th place
Hawkesbury City FC will hope to have a much more positive 2025 season after their 12th-placed finish in 2024 and will hope their experience and new signings will help them take a step up.
A lot of the Hawks’ squad from 2024 has been retained, with notable incomings including midfielder Ray Miller as a free agent, as well as young wingers and a young midfielder from Hills United under-20s.
The Hawks are implementing a longer-term plan, with all of their under-20s having played SAP and youth in the past, with 14 of those 20 youth players having been at the club for at least five years.
They will look to improve their style of play from last season in all areas of the field and despite a short pre-season will hope to build into the season as the matches come.
With a steady home ground this season unaffected by floods, the Hawks will hope to find all-round consistency as they chase a top-five finish in 2025.
Hurstville Zagreb FC
Last Season: 7th place
Hurstville Zagreb FC have made many changes from last season in a bid to be in the conversation for promotion come the end of the 2025 season after their 7th-placed finish in 2024.
New Head Coach Valerio Silvestro, formerly of the Western Sydney Wanderers and MacArthur Bulls academies among other coaching pedigrees, has brought a pragmatic, winning mentality to the club and will hope to lead his side to success.
Hurstville have also signed big with defenders Luke Vlastelica and Matteo Guerra from St George FC and Dean Efstathiou from Rydalmere Lions FC, Irish defender Derick Daly from Longford FC, as well as new attackers in former Olympic and Rockdale player Mickey Neill, Hesan Soufi from Dunbar Rovers FC and Nikola Todoroski from Mounties Wanderers FC.
Hurstville will hope to push for promotion in 2025, especially after retaining the likes of Jesse Gagro, Samuel Shainfeld and Jonathan Maras, and will hope their aggressiveness off the field is reflected on the field.
Expect Hurstville to want to start the season professionally as they look to use their mix of youth and experience to bring them success in 2025.
Inner West Hawks FC
Previous Season: 4th place
Inner West Hawks were the biggest improvers from last season, jumping from a last-placed finish in 2023 to a 4th-placed finish in 2024 and will hope 2025 will bring with it a promotion push.
The Hawks lost their top scorer in Takuma Hirano over the off-season, as well as captain Sid Malhotra who moved to Gladesville Ryde Magic, but have recruited well with Alexander Nicolosi joining from Fraser Park and Tony Lo returning to the team from Parramatta FC – they have also kept the core of their squad together, otherwise.
Chris Phillips will lead the side from centre-half this season and Head Coach Jim Patikas will have the Hawks playing a similar style of attacking football in 2025 as they did in 2024 in their hunt for promotion.
Following a good pre-season for the Hawks, they will hope to start strongly in the first few rounds of the season to set the tone.
Expect the Hawks to prioritise their attack, their fitness and utilise their squad as they look to be one of the top two teams come the end of the season.
Nepean FC
Previous Season: 15th place (Relegated, League One Men’s)
Nepean FC were relegated in the promotion-relegation play-off last season and will hope a squad rebuild can bring with it success in a longer-term plan.
Only eight players remain from Nepean’s 2024 squad, with a rebuild coming with a two-three year plan for the club – they have brought in a few players from League One Men’s to give them first-grade experience every week, while they will also give their young players opportunities.
Among those new players are 22-year-old Jeff McFadden from Blacktown Spartans and Alexander Purves from Northern Tigers, while key players they have kept include Jack Hoban and Mason Ingram.
New Head Coach Harry Tsironis will hope to bring an attacking ‘score more than the other team’ approach to a young squad which is still learning, and he will hope that will bring Nepean success.
Expect Nepean to prioritise principles over results this season as they look to build for the future and secure a top-half finish in 2025.
Parramatta FC
Previous Season: 8th place
Parramatta FC will hope to continue their improvement season-on-season when they take to the field for the 2025 season with renewed hope.
The Eagles had a strong end to the season in 2024, where wins pushed them towards the top half of the table and they will hope to carry on that momentum in 2025.
Parramatta will trust youth in the seasons to come, shown by their strong results in the youth competitions, including their under-15s winning the Youth 3 Grand Final.
Parramatta will hope to continue their high scoring rate from 2024 and tighten up on the defensive end as they look to hunt down a top-half finish.
Expect Parramatta to continue to trust in youth as they look to have another improved season in 2025, following their improvement from 2024.
Prospect United SC
Previous Season: 11th place
Prospect United SC will hope to have learned from past mistakes and have made big moves to ensure they have a smooth operation in 2025 after their 11th-placed finish in 2024.
The club have brought in many new players, including former Nepean FC players Andre Cavallaro and Ritchie Stewart, former Prospect player returning to the club in Praneet Singh, as well as Jamie Dib from Bankstown United SC.
Prospect have promoted four players from their Grand Final and Premiership-winning under-18s squad in Jakob Petterson, Christian Kim, Gabriel Vulcik and Caleb Kirkegard.
Prospect will hope to have a culture shift with the players brought in, sticking also to their homegrown players to help fill the squad with depth.
Expect Prospect to show high standards in 2025 as they chase not only success on the field, but also off it.
South Coast Flame FC
Previous Season: 6th place
South Coast Flame FC will hope to have a successful season after their 6th-placed finish in 2024 and despite losing a core group of players, will hope their recruitment and quality will serve them well in 2025.
Part of the core group that moved on include Jacob Poscoliero, James Baldacchino, Yianni Fragogianis, Yianni Perkatis and Michael Trajkovski, with the latter moving to Mounties Wanderers FC.
The Flame have had some big incomings, however, with Head Coach Andrew Payne recruiting goalkeeper Nenad Vekic from Sutherland Sharks FC, centre-half Takayuki Kayano from MacArthur Rams, former Sydney FC midfielder Dylan Caton, three strikers in Liam Yunakim, Cade Visela and William Perino from MacArthur, while Adam Voloder returns to the squad to lead the line after time away at Coniston FC.
The Flame have retained the Alston brothers of Samuel and Alexander, while Matthew Mazevski has been made club captain.
Expect the Flame to play a more direct style of football utilising all areas of the pitch and after a strong pre-season, will be hopeful of securing if not a top-two finish, a top-four finish.
Sydney University SFC
Previous Season: 14th place
Sydney University SFC have had a steady pre-season and will hope squad stability will bring them a higher finish in 2025 than what 2024 brought for the young side.
Head Coach Chris Williams will want his squad to create overloads, progress the ball and press high up the field to lead him team to success.
Jacob Weaver has joined as a new assistant coach having worked with QPR and Auckland City in the past and the coaching staff will hope to refine the team’s playing style to suit the players they have coming up through the under-20s, also.
The aim for Uni this season will be to establish themselves in the upper part of the mid-table with a squad which has a year of playing first-grade under their belt from last season – Uni will hope what they have worked on in pre-season will bring consistent, good results in the regular season.
Expect Uni to want to score more than they did last season in what is a two-forked approach integrating the under-20s team players into the first team throughout the season to bring success.
By Football NSW League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa
