Round 17 Review – League Two Men’s
League leaders Mounties Wanderers FC continued to streak ahead and a new team rose into second following Round 17 of the 2026 Football NSW League Two Men’s season.
The Match of the Round this week saw the battle for second take yet another turn in the contest between Bankstown United FC and Fraser Park FC.
Match of the Round: Bankstown United FC 1-1 Fraser Park FC
A dramatic late goal saw the spoils shared between Bankstown United FC and Fraser Park FC in a match with plenty of action.
Fraser Park started strong and almost found the lead in the first ten minutes through Francis Mcalpine and Christian Dos Santos, but were unable to capitalise.
Bankstown broke the deadlock in the 26th minute from a Fraser Park corner, countering through Mitchell Cross, who finished the move off well at the near post to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
Bankstown continued to threaten before the break, hitting the crossbar in the 35th minute through Mitchell Edmunds, and went into half-time with a 1-0 lead.
Fraser Park came out holding possession well in the second half, while Bankstown once again hit the post, once more through Edmunds, who struck the woodwork from a free-kick in the 55th minute.
Fraser Park pressed for an equaliser from there, with Bankstown goalkeeper Mitchell Evans saving shots at point-blank range from Mcalpine and Dos Santos.
The visitors’ persistence paid off in the 89th minute through Mcalpine, who found the back of the net direct from a free-kick to earn a point for Fraser Park.
The point for Bankstown saw them stay in 12th, while the draw saw Fraser Park remain 3rd.
Bankstown United FC 1 (Mitchell Cross 35’)
Fraser Park FC 1 (Francis Mcalpine 89’)
Nepean FC 2-2 Inner West Hawks FC
Nepean FC came from behind twice to earn a 2-2 draw with Inner West Hawks FC in a tight affair.
The Hawks opened the scoring in the 9th minute from a corner taken by Peter Yannopoulos, headed home by Peter Phillips, before Nepean capitalised on a Hawks back pass in the 17th minute through Gabriel Gil to level proceedings.
Joshua Lazzaro regained the lead for the Hawks in the 32nd minute through a long-range strike, before Toby Witjes scored his 14th goal of the season in the 74th minute to earn a point for Nepean in the 2-2 draw.
The point for Nepean saw them stay in 5th, while the draw for Inner West saw them remain 10th.
Nepean FC 2 (Gabriel Gil 17’; Toby Witjes 74’)
Inner West Hawks FC 2 (Peter Phillips 9’; Joshua Lazzaro 32’)
South Coast Flame FC 2-3 Sydney University SFC
Sydney University SFC came from behind and took the lead late to secure a big 3-2 away win over South Coast Flame FC, their first win over the Flame since 2023.
The Flame had the perfect start after 5 minutes when Lawrence Claxton fired a half-volley home off the crossbar from outside the box to give the hosts the lead.
Uni fought back with goals to Joseph Roddy in the 17th minute and Isaac Folkes in the 36th minute, both from crosses — the first off a Folkes cross to the back post and the second headed home by Folkes off a Lachlan King cross.
Harry Lloyd capitalised on a goalkeeping error in the 67th minute to level the match for the Flame, but Uni found the winner in the 76th minute, with Folkes getting on the end of another cross to complete his brace and help Uni rise to 8th on the ladder.
South Coast Flame FC 2 (Lawrence Claxton 5’; Harry Lloyd 67’)
Sydney University SFC 3 (Joseph Roddy 17’; Isaac Folkes 36’, 76’)
Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC 0-7 Mounties Wanderers FC
Mounties made yet another statement, defeating their League One Men’s opponents from the 2025 season, Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC, in style in a 7-0 local derby win.
The influence of the experienced leaders in Mounties’ squad showed in the first half, with Mounties 3-0 up at half-time thanks to goals from Josh Symons, Johnathan Soares, and the league’s top scorer this season, Patrick Antelmi.
The sending-off of David Vrankovic in the 71st minute compounded the pain for Bonnyrigg, with Mounties adding a further four goals in the 17 minutes that followed — two to Kento Awano, one to Rickson Odisho, while Symons completed his brace.
The win saw Mounties extend their advantage atop the ladder to 16 points, while Antelmi continued his Golden Boot push with his 16th goal of the season.
Bonnyrigg White Eagles FC 0
Mounties Wanderers FC 7 (Josh Symons 10’, 75’; Johnathan Soares 17’; Patrick Antelmi 24’; Kento Awano 71’, 88’; Rickson Odisho 78’)
Camden Tigers FC 1-4 Central Coast United FC
A Jay Swadling hat-trick led Central Coast United FC to a big 4-1 away win over Camden Tigers FC, lifting them from the bottom of the ladder while Camden remain there, sitting in 13th.
Central Coast took the lead in the 31st minute when a free-kick from Jekaj Mead was saved by a Camden defender into the path of Jay Swadling, who finished the chance, before he grabbed a second four minutes later off a Cade Mapu cross.
Camden pulled one back four minutes before half-time, with Leandro Guzman not giving up on the play and scoring off the post.
Swadling, however, completed his hat-trick just eight minutes into the second half, finishing off team play from Matt Kairouz, Matt Hatch and Mead, before the 4-1 win was rounded off by Mapu off a Noah Block ball in behind.
Camden Tigers FC 1 (Leandro Guzman 41’)
Central Coast United FC 4 (Jay Swadling 31’, 35’, 53’; Cade Mapu 86’)
Parramatta FC 2-0 Dunbar Rovers FC
Parramatta FC rose to 2nd on the ladder after a 2-0 home win over Dunbar Rovers FC, their first win over Dunbar in four attempts.
The Eagles took the lead in the final minute of the first half when Dean O’Donnell found the back of the net.
Marco Sama doubled the hosts’ lead in the 55th minute when he turned and finished well in the box, with Parramatta going 2-0 up.
The Eagles were reduced to ten men in the 73rd minute when Alaa Chamsin was shown a second yellow card, but they saw out the 2-0 win.
Parramatta FC 2 (Dean O’Donnell 45’; Marco Sama 55’; Alaa Chamsin 73’ red card)
Hawkesbury City FC vs Gladesville Ryde Magic was washed out and will be played at a future date.
Granville Rage had a bye in Round 17 and dropped from 9th to 11th.
By Football NSW League Two Men’s Reporter, Dylan Costa
