Finals football has hit the capital in the National Premier League Women’s, kicking off with Belconnen United and Canberra Croatia looking to secure a Grand Final position when they contest the Qualification Final on Sunday at McKellar Park.
The Blue Devils remain undefeated in 2025, winning every match throughout Charity Shield, Federation Cup and NPLW fixtures, all the while scoring 120 goals in 19 league games and conceding just 11, making Scott Conlon’s team the undisputed favourites to take home the final piece of silverware on offer.
26-goal Keira Bobbin is arguably the front-runner for the Player of the Season accolade, having also topped the assist charts across 19 league games, while fullback Bronte Pyke’s incredible 12-goal haul, alongside the defensive assuredness of Ailish McDonagh altogether paints an intimidating picture of a success-hungry squad of players.
Belconnen have faced Croatia on four occasions throughout 2025, and despite winning all four, the league champions have only managed victory by a solitary goal in each success against Musie Elongo’s team.
Sunday’s away side will feel this is a side they can beat, given this tightness of every contest between the top two this season, and the different nature of finals football.
A much improved season overall for Croatia saw them lose to only two out of the eight clubs who participated in the NPLW, in a year that fans will undoubtedly believe warrants a strong push for silverware, particularly given the quality of a star-studded attacking lineup, with the likes of Brittany Palombi, Bella Barac, and mid-season pickups Rachel Hill and Reilly Yuen.
The Elimination Final takes place just hours later at McKellar Park, as third-placed Canberra Olympic face fourth-placed Gungahlin United, as the two outfits look to remain in the race for a Grand Final spot.
Olympic concluded their 2025 campaign in impressive fashion, defeating Croatia 1-0 at O’Connor Enclosed, making that two wins from their last two attempts against the league’s runner-ups, across a spell of four wins from their last five matches.
With the one loss being against Belconnen, Olympic will still have fresh memories of securing the 2024 Grand Final trophy by defeating this campaign’s league champions at Deakin Stadium in comfortable fashion, and will undoubtedly use that as fuel for securing a fourth-straight success in the biggest match of the season.
Having started the season without a lot of their key players, Frank Cachia’s side now boast a fearsome squad of players, including Canberra United’s Janet King between the sticks and Tianah Miro, and coupled with the attacking brilliance of Tatum Mazis up front, they will back themselves to get over the line.
Their opponents Gungahlin have only won one of the four encounters with Olympic this campaign, defeating a poorly performing side in Round 2, before losing three-straight matches against the reigning champions.
That early-season success remains the only match in 2025 that Marcial Munoz’s team have beaten a top four side in, in a season that has seen plenty of flashes of quality, but an inability to step up in the big moments.
There’s plenty of quality across the squad to see them go through to a Preliminary Final clash with the loser of the Qualification Final, with the likes of Megan Castle, Darby Whiteley, Bonnie Young and Ginger Oliver in the frontline, as well as recent Newcastle Jets signing Georgia Ritchie in goal, with captain Maddie Perceval marshalling the defence.
FIXTURES
QUALIFICATION FINAL
Sunday 7 September
Belconnen United v Canberra Croatia
(McKellar Park, 16:00)
ELIMINATION FINAL
Sunday 7 September
Canberra Olympic v Gungahlin United
(McKellar Park, 19:00)
Matches screened live on Capital Football YouTube.
