It’s a summit meeting on Sunday afternoon as Canberra Croatia welcome Monaro Panthers to Deakin Stadium for a clash between two teams who are separated by mere goal difference on the early Capital Football National Premier League table.
The home of the red machine hadn’t been kind to the Panthers, in 13 games at Deakin Stadium, the Panthers have won two, Croatia nine, with two draws with the hosts loss to Tigers FC last weekend was Canberra Croatia’s first setback in their last eleven matches in all competitions.
Both teams come into the match off the back of losses, Panthers surprisingly defeated by near-neighbours Queanbeyan City in the Clear Waters Derby at High Street, while Croatia went down by the same score at the Australian Institute of Sport.
Goals haven’t been in short supply, both have scored twenty in their five league games, whilst conceding four for Croatia and five for Mathers respectively and, whilst the 4-0 Hahn Australia Cup Qualifying win might point to a Croatia victory, Monaro will point to key moments in that match not going their way.
Waiting for any slip-up and potentially heading to the top of the table twenty-four hours before the top two meet are Tigers FC who are hosting Yoogali SC at the AIS on Saturday afternoon.
A double from Archie McGregor helped Tigers to a vital win over Croatia in Round 5, a success that puts them on the coattails of the leaders, albeit having played one game more than them.
The teams have met four times in the NPL with Tigers having three victories so far and one draw, but it’s s resurgent Yoogali who will roll into town for this encounter following their hammering of Gungahlin United at Solar Mad Stadium.
Jayce Dotson has scored in five of the eight games Yoogali has played in 2025 for a total of six goals, while Darren Bailey has scored in four games and has six goals to his name in what has been a great turnaround for the men from NSW. They’ll seek to build on that momentum.
Queanbeyan City, fresh from bloodying the noses of their cross-town rivals in the Clear Waters derby will push for a second successive win at High Street when they welcome Tuggeranong United to their home.
The last time that United visited Queanbeyan they came away with a quite remarkable success. Trailing 0-2 they turned the match on its head and came away with a stunning 6-2 victory.
There’s not a lot to choose between the teams in the league table, Tuggeranong a point ahead of City, which equates to fourth playing sixth in a congested league table. Queanbeyan have managed two goals in 2025 to Tuggeranong’s six, but playing at High Street appears to be an increasingly tough task.
With the top two meeting, and Yoogali sitting fifth facing third-placed Tigers, there’s a chance that Tuggeranong could push themselves into a good position in the top four race. However, Queanbeyan will have similar ideas.
The final match of the weekend will be on Sunday afternoon at Gungahlin Enclosed as the bottom two lock horns with reigning League Champions Gungahlin United meeting 2024 Cup Winners O’Connor Knights.
Few would have predicted that five rounds into the new NPL season that clubs that won two of the three major pieces of silverware last season would be marooned near the foot of the standings, and even fewer might have had the Gunners dead-last and staring down the barrel.
It’s been a horror start to the new year for the men from the North, only one league goal in five matches, and that from the penalty spot, and coming off a crushing 5-1 away shellacking at the hands of Yoogali SC. They need a momentum shift and soon if the season isn’t to start becoming a worry.
The Knights might have thought they had one when they hammered Queanbeyan City 6-0 a fortnight ago, and a 1-1 draw at Tuggeranong United, never an easy place to go, will further enhance their confidence. Whoever wins this will feel they can push on to greater things.
FIXTURES
ROUND 6
Saturday 17 May
Tigers FC v Yoogali SC (AIS Grass, 15:00)
Queanbeyan City v Tuggeranong United (High Street, 15:00)
Sunday 18 May
Gungahlin United v O’Connor Knights (Gungahlin Enclosed, 15:00)
Canberra Croatia v Monaro Panthers (Deakin Stadium, 15:00)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Canberra Croatia | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 4 | +16 | 12 |
| 2 | Monaro Panthers | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 20 | 5 | +15 | 12 |
| 3 | Tigers FC | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 8 | +8 | 11 |
| 4 | Tuggeranong United | 5 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 10 | -4 | 6 |
| 5 | Yoogali SC | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 15 | -5 | 5 |
| 6 | Queanbeyan City | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 13 | -10 | 5 |
| 7 | O’Connor Knights | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 | 14 | -6 | 4 |
| 8 | Gungahlin United | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 13 | -12 | 2 |
TOP SCORERS
6: Daniel BARAC (Monaro Panthers)
5: Jayce DOTSON (Yoogali SC)
4: Stephen DOMENICI (Monaro Panthers), Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Steve NEALON (Tuggeranong United), Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
3: William AKIO (Tigers FC), Darren BAILEY (Yoogali SC), Maxx GREEN (Canberra Croatia), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia)
2: Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), Nico ABOT (Queanbeyan City), Ben BASSER-SILK (Monaro Panthers), Jenno CERUTI (O’Connor Knights), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Michael PICCOLO (Monaro Panthers), Nik POPOVICH (Tigers FC), Danny REID (Yoogali SC), Robert TKATCHENKO (Monaro Panthers), Keegan VUCETIC (Canberra Croatia), Own GOALS
1: Lukman AHMED-SHAIBU (O’Connor Knights), Augustine BANGURA (Tigers FC), FERNANDO Jorquera (Monaro Panthers), Luca FLOREZ (Gungahlin United), Nikola JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Romeo JAMBREK (Tuggeranong United), Michael JOHN (O’Connor Knights), Jack LEVERETT (Queanbeyan City), Luca MACOR (Monaro Panthers), Phakedi MANDA (O’Connor Knights), Harry MARTIN (O’Connor Knights), Marko MILUTINOVIC (Tigers FC), Alessandro PENA (Tuggeranong United), Michael SOUTHAM (Tigers FC), Ryan STRAUB (Monaro Panthers), Nicholas SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Nim TANESKI (Tigers FC), Giuseppe TINE (Monaro Panthers), Sam WHITEHEAR (Tigers FC)
TOP ASSISTS
7: Thomas JAMES (Canberra Croatia)
4: Christian KRESKAS (Monaro Panthers)
3: Stephen DOMENICI (Monaro Panthers), Maxx GREEN (Canberra Croatia), Robert TKATCHENKO (Monaro Panthers), Nick PRATEZINA (Canberra Croatia)
2: Micheal ADAMS (O’Connor Knights), William AKIO (Tigers FC), Daniel BARAC (Monaro Panthers), Chaise DONETTO (Yoogali SC), Tomohiro OGAWA (Tigers FC), Michael PICCOLO (Monaro Panthers), Nik POPOVICH (Tigers FC), Nicholas SUBASIC (Canberra Croatia), Kobi YARIYARI (O’Connor Knights)
1: Angus BAILEY (Tigers FC), Darren BAILEY (Yoogali SC), Ben BASSER-SILK (Monaro Panthers), Thomas BLAZEVSKI (Queanbeyan City), Xabier DAVIES (Tuggeranong United), Josh DE ROSSI (Yoogali SC), Jacob DONADEL (Yoogali SC), Jayce DOTSON (Yoogali SC), James DRISCOLL (O’Connor Knights), Marko JADRIC (Canberra Croatia), Archie MCGREGOR (Tigers FC), Phakedi MANDA (O’Connor Knights), Max MELLICK (Monaro Panthers), Joe PREECE (Yoogali SC), Charlie RAE (Queanbeyan City), Danny REID (Yoogali SC), Daniel SPARROW (Canberra Croatia), Tony SPASESKI (Canberra Croatia), Noah STEINACKER (Tigers FC), Luke STEVENS (Tuggeranong United), Nik TANESKI (Tigers FC), Giuseppe TINE (Monaro Panthers), Keegan VUCETIC (Canberra Croatia), Shandon WHITEHEAD (Tigers FC), Sam WHITHEAR (Tigers FC)
