Canberra Olympic host Majura FC in the early National Premier League Women’s match of Round 11, having recaptured some positive form in recent weeks, after two wins on the bounce.
With the top four race likely to come down to fine margins, Olympic moving into second place off the back of an 8-0 thumping of Tuggeranong United will undoubtedly enthuse the squad, having had a difficult overall start to 2025.
The reigning Champions only narrowly defeated Majura in their most recent encounter, needing two long-range strikes from Elke Aitolu and Alyse Jensen to come from behind to win on a tough afternoon away from home.
While a win for Olympic would maintain their place in second, three points for Majura would make it their first since a Round 1 success against ANU WFC, having lost all seven of their following matches.
Davide Ruberto’s outfit can take encouragement from their Round 4 performance against Sunday’s opponents, where an Olivia Martiniello finish put the home side in front on 56 minutes, which paired with an overall performance that kept out Olympic for the majority of the encounter.
Coming off a one-sided meeting against Gungahlin in the previous round won’t offer much encouragement for another difficult assignment, meaning a big performance will be needed to collect any points and progress up from their enduring position of 6th in the NPLW.
The second game of the round is an entertaining prospect, as the two highest scorers in the league go head to head, when Gungahlin United host Belconnen United at Gungahlin Enclosed.
The Gunners would have had their confidence boosted following a dominant Round 10 victory against Majura, having entered the match after two without a win.
Marcial Munoz has overseen plenty of superb displays at the helm of Gungahlin, however his side’s inability to win against their finals rivals has been a notable theme throughout the first ten rounds of the campaign, having only beaten Olympic, early in the season.
Despite this, the Gunners put in a good display against Belconnen in the Round 4 meeting between these two, clawing back from a 3-0 deficit to go close to drawing level, brought about by the quality of Bonnie Young.
Belconnen hung on for the three points by making it 4-2 to end the contest however, and will undoubtedly take this victory as encouragement for the meeting between the two this Sunday in Gungahlin territory.
Scott Conlon’s team remain undefeated, scoring goals for fun, and on an incredible winning streak, having won every match played in 2025, including a nervy 2-1 success over Canberra Croatia last week.
Even against their title rivals, the Blue Devils have looked dominant throughout their matches this season, and unless Gungahlin can produce a five-star showing at Gungahlin Enclosed, the odds of another three points for the table-toppers looks the more likely outcome.
The final contest of Round 11 will see West Canberra Wanderers host Canberra Croatia in another intriguing proposition at Melrose Synthetic.
The two last met in an incredible Federation Cup Semi-Final, where a resolute West Canberra, fielding an outfield player in goal, eventually fell to the quality of Croatia’s penalty kicks in a shootout to eliminate Steve Rohan-Jones’ team from the competition.
Since then the Wanderers have lost just once in their last four, an unfortunate defeat to Belconnen, alongside victories over Tuggeranong and Majura, and a quality performance in a stalemate with Gungahlin.
For Croatia, partly due to their lesser amount of games played, a win will be crucial in ensuring Musie Elongo’s team make their way back into the top four, having fallen into 5th with a defeat to Belconnen last week.
The match saw Croatia turn their performance around in the second half and cap this off with a late goal from debutant Reilly Yuen, however their inability to create frequently clear opportunities in the final third cost the Deakin-based outfit.
With two games in hand a win would put them right back in a good position to make finals, and with new additions in Yuen and English striker April Hill, the squad will back themselves to achieve three points away at West Canberra.
FIXTURES
ROUND 11
Sunday 29 June
Canberra Olympic vs Majura FC (O’Connor Enclosed, 14:00)
Gungahlin United vs Belconnen United (Gungahlin Enclosed, 15:00)
West Canberra Wanderers vs Canberra Croatia (Melrose Synthetic, 15:00)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Belconnen United | 10 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 75 | 8 | +67 | 30 |
| 2 | Canberra Olympic | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 29 | 19 | +10 | 18 |
| 5 | Gungahlin United | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 41 | 14 | +27 | 17 |
| 3 | West Canberra | 9 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 29 | 14 | +15 | 16 |
| 4 | Canberra Croatia | 8 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 23 | 12 | +11 | 16 |
| 6 | Majura FC | 8 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 34 | -27 | 3 |
| 7 | Tuggeranong United | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 67 | -61 | 3 |
| 8 | ANU WFC | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 42 | -42 | 0 |
TOP SCORERS
14: Keira BOBBIN (Belconnen United)
13: Tamara COCHRANE (West Canberra Wanderers)
11: Alyssa DI-CAMPLI (Belconnen United)
10: Bonnie YOUNG (Gungahlin United)
9: Megan CASTLE (Gungahlin United), Anneke CORRY (Belconnen United)
7: Ginger OLIVER (Gungahlin United)
6: Liliana ALTAMORE (Belconnen United), Jamie BERKELEY (Canberra Croatia), Natalie DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Pearl TEIN (Belconnen United), Own GOALS
5: Zoe HALPIN (West Canberra Wanderers), Tatum MAZIS (Canberra Olympic), Bronte PYKE (Belconnen United), Alina ROBERTS (Belconnen United)
4: Ella BROWN (Canberra Olympic), Sharon CHAO (Gungahlin United), Alexandra GIDIS (West Canberra Wanderers), Carmel LYNCH (Majura FC)
3: Tia BURRIDGE (Canberra Olympic), Leah CARNEGIE (Canberra Olympic), Alyse JENSEN (Canberra Olympic), Alex MARTENS (Belconnen United), Perri NASH (West Canberra Wanderers)
2: Acacia ARGENTO (Tuggeranong United), Talia BACKHOUSE (Belconnen United), Isabella BARAC (Canberra Croatia), Leila BILLINGTON (Belconnen United), Madison CACHIA (Canberra Olympic), Arusha CHEW (Canberra Croatia), Sofia FURLANETTO (Majura FC), Isabella HINDMARSH (Belconnen United), Ailish MCDONAGH (Belconnen United), Riley MCQUEENIE (Canberra Croatia), Sofia MERKOUREAS (Canberra Croatia), Brittany PALOMBI (Canberra Croatia), Katrina PERIC (Canberra Olympic), Nikita PERRY (Canberra Olympic), Ellie RAYMOND (Canberra Croatia), Michaela THORNTON (Canberra Croatia)
1: Elke AITOLU (Canberra Olympic), Tehya ASPLAND (Canberra Olympic), Angelina BABIC (Canberra Croatia), Sienna BIRNIE (Canberra Olympic), Lisa CARY (Belconnen United), Stella DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Elvein IBRAHIM (West Canberra Wanderers), Mollie JONSSON (Tuggeranong United), Claire KENNEDY-SPENCER (Tuggeranong United), Tarah MANTHONGSY (Tuggeranong United), Sofia MARTINIELO (Majura FC), Audrey MCLAREN (West Canberra Wanderers), Tianah MIRO (Canberra Olympic), Jessica MITCHELL (Tuggeranong United), Abigail MOSS (West Canberra Wanderers), 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), Darby WHITELEY (Gungahlin United), Reilly YUEN (Canberra Croatia)
TOP ASSISTS
10: Keira BOBBIN (Belconnen United)
8: Isabella BARAC (Canberra Croatia)
7: Anneke CORRY (Belconnen United), Alina ROBERTS (Belconnen United), Bonnie YOUNG (Gungahlin United)
6: Audrey WARD (West Canberra Wanderers)
5: Ella BROWN (Canberra Olympic), Isabella HINDMARSH (Belconnen United), Alex MARTENS (Belconnen United)
4: Natalie DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Stella DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Alyssa DI-CAMPLI (Belconnen United), Ginger OLIVER (Gungahlin United), Pearl TEIN (Belconnen United)
3: Madison CACHIA (Canberra Olympic), Megan CASTLE (Gungahlin United), Tamara COCHRANE (West Canberra Wanderers), Zoe HALPIN (West Canberra Wanderers), Perri NASH (West Canberra Wanderers), Bronte PYKE (Belconnen United)
2: Talia BACKHOUSE (Belconnen United), Arusha CHEW (Canberra Croatia), Alyse JENSEN (Canberra Olympic), Alexandra GIDIS (West Canberra Wanderers), Chelsea HATELY (Gungahlin United), Jada LAMOND (Gungahlin United), Tatum MAZIS (Canberra Olympic), Tianah MIRO (Canberra Olympic), Amy MOORE (Gungahlin United), Abigail RICHARDS (Majura FC), Madison SAWKINS (Belconnen United), Rachel VAN AALST (Gungahlin United), Darby WHITELEY (Gungahlin United)
1: Elke AITOLU (Canberra Olympic), Esperance ANDERSON (Tuggeranong United), Tehya ASPLAND (Canberra Olympic), Eliza BAKER (Majura FC), Leila BILLINGTON (Belconnen United), Jamie BERKLEY (Canberra Croatia), Sienna BIRNIE (Canberra Olympic), Tiana BOOTS (Canberra Croatia), 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), Olivia HICKS (West Canberra Wanderers, Ariana KASHAN (Majura FC), Claire KENNEDY-SPENCER (Tuggeranong United), Stefi LEJINS (Belconnen United), Tarah MANTHONGSY (Tuggeranong United), Olivia MARTINIELLO (Majura FC), Ailish MCDONAGH (Belconnen United), Demi NIKIAS (West Canberra Wanderers), Stephenie NIKIAS (West Canberra Wanderers), Brittany PALOMBI (Canberra Croatia), 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), Michaela THORNTON (Canberra Croatia), Sonja TOMANOVITS (West Canberra Wanderers)
Words: Sam Watson
