A rare opportunity for points is up for grabs in Round 14 of the National Premier League Women’s, as sixth-placed Majura FC take on bottom side Tuggeranong United, on an early afternoon kickoff at Ainslie Field 2.
The home side Majura enter the match off the back of another league defeat, their ninth in ten matches, after going down 7-1 to Belconnen United, despite an early fightback.
The goal for Davide Ruberto’s team that drew them level with a Blue Devils side who had conceded just once in their previous five NPLW matches will represent a positive, particularly after superb link-up play between their talismanic front two, Carmel Lynch, and the player she supplied to make it 1-1, Olivia Martiniello.
The forwards remain the solitary goal threats for Majura, making up two of three players in the squad to have found the net in 2025, for a team that has collectively managed just three since a five-goal victory in Round 1 against ANU WFC.
Tuggeranong on the other hand, have managed just six, and also have one victory from their ten NPLW games, a 1-0 Round 4 victory over ANU WFC.
Since then, Ian Toms’ side have scored just twice, and conceded 52 in their following six matches, and will be undoubtedly desperate for three points, having not faced a close competitor since the University side’s visit.
Over at Deakin Stadium, Canberra Croatia can go as far as four points clear of their fellow finals-chasing sides with a win, but face the side below in third place, Canberra Olympic, who themselves can claim that coveted second position.
Since the side’s 2-1 league defeat to Belconnen United, Croatia have put six and eight past West Canberra Wanderers and Tuggeranong respectively in performances that have underlined their quality in front of goal.
Brittany Palombi has been the crowning jewel of her team’s attacking brilliance of late, often the key contributor to her team’s goals, having scored seven in her last two, all the while setting up many of her teammates, making her an essential target for Olympic to shut down, if they want to walk away with three points.
While it’s a result that looks unlikely, given that Frank Cachia’s team won four of five meetings in 2024, the two sides are yet to meet this campaign, and having only lost to Belconnen United in 2025, Croatia are potentially the more likely victors.
Olympic, despite their proximity to second place, remain somewhat of an unpredictable outfit, having both beaten Gungahlin United, and lost to West Canberra Wanderers in their last four matches.
From six matches against the top five sides in the league vying for a finals place, the reigning Champions have won just two, making this weekend’s match against Croatia an opportunity to prove their place as the second-best team in the NPLW.
Melrose Synthetic will host the final match of the league weekend, as West Canberra Wanderers face the daunting task of beating table-toppers Belconnen United, in an attempt to move closer to securing a finals position.
Just two points separate second and fifth on the NPLW standings, making the margins extremely fine, and the stakes for collecting points all the higher as the latter part of the season approaches.
Despite a big win against Olympic last midweek, defeat to Gungahlin in Round 13 saw West Canberra displaced from the finals’ positions, despite another good showing, having come back from 3-0 down to go level, before ultimately losing the match. It was a position they were unable to improve after a 0-0 draw against the same opponents in midweek.
Their opponents Belconnen made light work of them in the Round 7 matchup between the two in a 6-1 win, however Steve Rohan-Jones’ outfit fielded three different goalkeepers in the match, to cap off a heavily-disrupted performance against the top side.
The Blue Devils remain perfect in the league however, winning 12 from 12 matches, and have rarely been troubled by opposing teams, making them an almost impossible adversary to overcome, as they stroll towards a first NPLW title since 2019.
FIXTURES
ROUND 15
Sunday 20 July
Canberra Croatia v Canberra Olympic (Deakin Stadium, 15:00)
Majura FC v Tuggeranong United (Ainslie Oval, 15:00)
West Canberra Wanderers v Belconnen United (Melrose Synthetic, 15:00)
TABLE
P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
1 | Belconnen United | 12 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 84 | 9 | +75 | 36 |
2 | Canberra Croatia | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 37 | 13 | +24 | 22 |
3 | Gungahlin United | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 45 | 19 | +26 | 21 |
4 | Canberra Olympic | 11 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 37 | 22 | +15 | 21 |
5 | West Canberra | 13 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 36 | 25 | +11 | 20 |
6 | Majura FC | 10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 48 | -40 | 3 |
7 | Tuggeranong United | 10 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 75 | -69 | 3 |
8 | ANU WFC | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 42 | -42 | 0 |
TOP SCORERS
17: Keira BOBBIN (Belconnen United)
16: Tamara COCHRANE (West Canberra Wanderers)
13: Alyssa DI-CAMPLI (Belconnen United)
10: Megan CASTLE (Gungahlin United), Anneke CORRY (Belconnen United), Bonnie YOUNG (Gungahlin United)
9: Brittany PALOMBI (Canberra Croatia)
8: Jamie BERKELEY (Canberra Croatia), Ginger OLIVER (Gungahlin United)
7: Own GOALS
6: Liliana ALTAMORE (Belconnen United), Natalie DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Bronte PYKE (Belconnen United), Pearl TEIN (Belconnen United)
5: Ella BROWN (Canberra Olympic), Alexandra GIDIS (West Canberra Wanderers), Zoe HALPIN (West Canberra Wanderers), Alyse JENSEN (Canberra Olympic), Tatum MAZIS (Canberra Olympic), Alina ROBERTS (Belconnen United)
4: Talia BACKHOUSE (Belconnen United), Sharon CHAO (Gungahlin United), Carmel LYNCH (Majura FC), Perri NASH (West Canberra Wanderers)
3: Tehya ASPLAND (Canberra Olympic), Isabella BARAC (Canberra Croatia), Tia BURRIDGE (Canberra Olympic), Leah CARNEGIE (Canberra Olympic), Alex MARTENS (Belconnen United), Sofia MERKOUREAS (Canberra Croatia), Darby WHITELEY (Gungahlin United)
2: Acacia ARGENTO (Tuggeranong United), Leila BILLINGTON (Belconnen United), Madison CACHIA (Canberra Olympic), Arusha CHEW (Canberra Croatia), Sofia FURLANETTO (Majura FC), Isabella HINDMARSH (Belconnen United), Olivia MARTINIELO (Majura FC), Ailish MCDONAGH (Belconnen United), Riley MCQUEENIE (Canberra Croatia), Tianah MIRO (Canberra Olympic), Katrina PERIC (Canberra Olympic), Nikita PERRY (Canberra Olympic), Ellie RAYMOND (Canberra Croatia), Michaela THORNTON (Canberra Croatia)
1: Elke AITOLU (Canberra Olympic), Liana ALVES (Canberra Olympic), Angelina BABIC (Canberra Croatia), Sienna BIRNIE (Canberra Olympic), Hannah BOURLE (Canberra Croatia), Lisa CARY (Belconnen United), Stella DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), April HILL (Canberra Croatia), Elvein IBRAHIM (West Canberra Wanderers), Mollie JONSSON (Tuggeranong United), Claire KENNEDY-SPENCER (Tuggeranong United), Tarah MANTHONGSY (Tuggeranong United), Audrey MCLAREN (West Canberra Wanderers), Jessica MITCHELL (Tuggeranong United), Abigail MOSS (West Canberra Wanderers), Saskia NEWMAN (Canberra Croatia), Eliza-Jane NORRIS (Canberra Croatia), Madeliene PERCEVAL (Gungahlin United), Lauren PRESTON (Belconnen United), Maddison SAWKINS (Belconnen United), Maddie STEINACKER (Belconnen United), Rachel VAN AALST (Gungahlin United), Audrey WARD (West Canberra Wanderers), Reilly YUEN (Canberra Croatia)
TOP ASSISTS
10: Keira BOBBIN (Belconnen United)
8: Isabella BARAC (Canberra Croatia), Alina ROBERTS (Belconnen United)
7: Anneke CORRY (Belconnen United), Bonnie YOUNG (Gungahlin United)
6: Ella BROWN (Canberra Olympic), Brittany PALOMBI (Canberra Croatia), Audrey WARD (West Canberra Wanderers)
5: Natalie DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Alexandra GIDIS (West Canberra Wanderers), Isabella HINDMARSH (Belconnen United), Alex MARTENS (Belconnen United), TEIN (Belconnen United)
4: Stella DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Alyssa DI-CAMPLI (Belconnen United), Ginger OLIVER (Gungahlin United)
3: Talia BACKHOUSE (Belconnen United), Madison CACHIA (Canberra Olympic), Megan CASTLE (Gungahlin United), Tamara COCHRANE (West Canberra Wanderers), Zoe HALPIN (West Canberra Wanderers), Tatum MAZIS (Canberra Olympic), Tianah MIRO (Canberra Olympic), Perri NASH (West Canberra Wanderers), Bronte PYKE (Belconnen United), Madison SAWKINS (Belconnen United)
2: Tehya ASPLAND (Canberra Olympic), Tiana BOOTS (Canberra Croatia), Arusha CHEW (Canberra Croatia), Alyse JENSEN (Canberra Olympic), Chelsea HATELY (Gungahlin United), Olivia HICKS (West Canberra Wanderers), April HILL (Canberra Croatia), Jada LAMOND (Gungahlin United), Carmel LYNCH (Majura FC), Ailish MCDONAGH (Belconnen United), Amy MOORE (Gungahlin United), Abigail RICHARDS (Majura FC), Michaela THORNTON (Canberra Croatia), Rachel VAN AALST (Gungahlin United), Darby WHITELEY (Gungahlin United)
1: Elke AITOLU (Canberra Olympic), Esperance ANDERSON (Tuggeranong United), Eliza BAKER (Majura FC), Leila BILLINGTON (Belconnen United), Jamie BERKLEY (Canberra Croatia), Sienna BIRNIE (Canberra Olympic), Tia BURRIDGE (Canberra Olympic), Olivia BUYTEWEG (Gungahlin United), Lena CHRISTOPHERSON (Tuggeranong United), Lucy D’ARCY (Gungahlin United), Rhiannon DAVIS (Canberra Olympic), Annaliese GROVE (Gungahlin United), Ariana KASHAN (Majura FC), Claire KENNEDY-SPENCER (Tuggeranong United), Stefi LEJINS (Belconnen United), Tarah MANTHONGSY (Tuggeranong United), Olivia MARTINIELLO (Majura FC), Riley MCQUEENIE (Canberra Croatia), Demi NIKIAS (West Canberra Wanderers), Stephenie NIKIAS (West Canberra Wanderers), Madeliene PERCEVAL (Gungahlin United), Nikita PERRY (Canberra Olympic), Lauren PRESTON (Belconnen United), Ariana RATHOUSKI (Belconnen United), Juliana ROBERTSON (West Canberra Wanderers), Madeleine STEINACKER (Belconnen United), Allegra SENTI (West Canberra Wanderers), Ivy STEVENS (Gungahlin United), Sonja TOMANOVITS (West Canberra Wanderers), Jane VANZINO (Canberra Olympic)
Words: Sam Watson