In an unusual twist, the first match of the new National Premier League season will take place a week prior to the official opening of Round 1 as Tigers FC head to Griffith to take on Yoogali SC at Solar Mad Stadium.
This standalone fixture is the by-product of a fixture calendar that sees midweek matches at a couple of points in the 2025 season and, with the knowledge of the difficulty of making the extensive interstate trip in either direction, this game has been brought forward.
That allows supporters of the NPL to fixate their eyes on this match, and this one alone, as the new season draws the attention with the eight premier clubs setting their stall out and pushing for Championship glory and finals football in September.
The teams have met three times in the NPL with Tigers having a clean sweep on victories so far with ten goals scored in the three PL matches with Tigers getting most of them, outscoring Yoogali by nine goals to one.
In the two matches played at Solar Mad Stadium the Tigers did not concede a goal, winning 4-0 in Round 6, Archie Macgregor grabbing all four goals, the last Tigers FC player to score a hat-trick, and 3-0 in Round 12.
Tigers have only lost two of their last five matches in the NPL, including the disappointment of last year’s Grand Final when they were beaten by Canberra Croatia, whilst Yoogali have only lost one of their last four NPL matches in the NPL, scoring six and conceding four in the process.
Both teams have been busy in the transfer marker over the off-season, the most eye-catching signing for the visiting team being that of South Sudan international William Akio. However, Yoogali have a goal-getter of their own, US import Jayce Dotson having netted successive hat-tricks in big Riverina Cup wins over Tolland United and Lake Albert.
Dotson is one of three overseas players who will be donning the yellow jersey this season, the native of Pensacola, Florida, joined in Griffith by Canadian Joey Seo and Danny Reid from Vietnam.
Tigers meanwhile have recruited goalkeeper Willem Lejeune, a custodian who is no stranger to the ACT top-flight, the combative and experienced Nathen Megic who returns to one of his former clubs, and the highly-talented full- back Shandon Whitehead who is deadly on a set-piece.
With new players comes new hopes and expectations, and the very first match of the new campaign means those dreams are very much at the forefront of each imagination.
Following a new deal with Football Australia centralising the rights for streaming of National Premier League matches in the 2025 season, NPL Capital Football fans, in association with streaming partners DoubleTake, can watch all NPL matches on the Capital Football YouTube channel produced by LIGR.
