Canberra Olympic will get the chance to claim back a top four position when they welcome Gungahlin United to O’Connor Enclosed, to kick off Round 17 of the National Premier League Women’s.
The two sides have produced some memorable clashes throughout the 2025 campaign, with Olympic particularly coming away with wins from their last two encounters, despite being outplayed in the early season home loss.
Frank Cachia’s team come into the match having slipped into fifth place on the table, following a Round 14 Canberra Classico defeat, and a mid-week loss to West Canberra Wanderers, and will undoubtedly be desperate to end their winless run and recapture their positive mid-season form.
The Gunners aren’t coming into the clash in particularly good form either, having managed a nervy win and point in two matches against the Wanderers, followed by two weeks without football, however they will back their ability in the final third to shine through against a struggling Olympic.
Marcial Munoz’s outfit have two games in hand on third place West Canberra, while their opponents on Sunday have three, making a victory this weekend essential for either side to cement their place in the finals.
Tuggeranong United will be understandably dreading the visit of league leaders Belconnen United when the two meet at Kambah 2, given the 20-0 scoreline in the reverse fixture at McKellar, and the fact that Scott Conlon’s team are on the cusp of scoring 100 in just 15 matches.
The Blue Devils are strolling towards a first league title since 2019, and will be relishing another opportunity to showcase their relentless hunger for goals as they look to maintain their consistency and quality with finals football in mind.
On the other side of the table Ian Toms’ team have had a difficult campaign, and will be desperate to find some positives from their remaining performances to surge ahead of relegation rivals Majura FC, who sit three points above them in sixth.
Tuggeranong have made things difficult for the likes of Croatia and Olympic this campaign, and will be hoping to recapture some of those performances and disrupt the well-oiled machine of Belconnen, however an 11-0 hammering to West Canberra would have dampened their spirits.
The final match of the round sees Majura FC play host to West Canberra Wanderers at Ainslie Field 2 for the later kickoff on Sunday afternoon.
The hosts were another victim of Belconnen’s relentless pursuit of goals in their last match in the NPLW, going down 10-0 in a midweek Round 20 catch-up game, which saw the league newcomers pose a minimal threat across the 90.
Majura return home having won the last time they played at Ainslie however, and will surely take positives from what was a gritty 3-2 victory, having won the match with eight minutes left of the contest.
Despite this, their opponents have made light work of them in the two’s league meetings, winning 4-1 and 3-0 in the NPLW this campaign.
For this reason, and West Canberra’s recent 11-0 thrashing of Tuggeranong, paired with positive showings against Gungahlin and a win against reigning champions Olympic, Steve Rohan-Jones’ side remain the favourites, and will be craving three points to hold onto third place.
FIXTURES
ROUND 17
Sunday 3 August
Canberra Olympic v Gungahlin United (O’Connor Enclosed, 14:00)
Tuggeranong United v Belconnen United (Kambah 201, 14:00)
Majura FC v West Canberra Wanderers (Ainslie Field 2, 15:00)
TABLE
| P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | ||
| 1 | Belconnen United | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 98 | 9 | +89 | 42 |
| 2 | Canberra Croatia | 12 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 50 | 14 | +36 | 28 |
| 3 | West Canberra | 15 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 47 | 29 | +18 | 23 |
| 4 | Gungahlin United | 13 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 45 | 19 | +26 | 21 |
| 5 | Canberra Olympic | 12 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 38 | 24 | +14 | 21 |
| 6 | Majura FC | 12 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 11 | 60 | -49 | 6 |
| 7 | Tuggeranong United | 13 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 8 | 100 | -92 | 3 |
| 8 | ANU WFC | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 42 | -42 | 0 |
TOP SCORERS
21: Tamara COCHRANE (West Canberra Wanderers)
19: Keira BOBBIN (Belconnen United)
14: Alyssa DI-CAMPLI (Belconnen United)
12: Brittany PALOMBI (Canberra Croatia)
10: Jamie BERKELEY (Canberra Croatia), Megan CASTLE (Gungahlin United), Anneke CORRY (Belconnen United), Zoe HALPIN (West Canberra Wanderers), Bonnie YOUNG (Gungahlin United)
9: Bronte PYKE (Belconnen United),
8: Talia BACKHOUSE (Belconnen United), Ginger OLIVER (Gungahlin United)
6: Liliana ALTAMORE (Belconnen United), Natalie DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Alexandra GIDIS (West Canberra Wanderers), Tatum MAZIS (Canberra Olympic), Alina ROBERTS (Belconnen United), Pearl TEIN (Belconnen United), Own GOALS
5: Isabella BARAC (Canberra Croatia), Ella BROWN (Canberra Olympic), Alyse JENSEN (Canberra Olympic), Carmel LYNCH (Majura FC), Alex MARTENS (Belconnen United)
4: Sharon CHAO (Gungahlin United), April HILL (Canberra Croatia), Perri NASH (West Canberra Wanderers)
3: Tehya ASPLAND (Canberra Olympic), Tia BURRIDGE (Canberra Olympic), Leah CARNEGIE (Canberra Olympic), Sofia FURLANETTO (Majura FC), Isabella HINDMARSH (Belconnen United), Sofia MERKOUREAS (Canberra Croatia), Darby WHITELEY (Gungahlin United)
2: Acacia ARGENTO (Tuggeranong United), Leila BILLINGTON (Belconnen United), Hannah BOURKE (Canberra Croatia), Madison CACHIA (Canberra Olympic), Arusha CHEW (Canberra Croatia), Olivia HICKS (West Canberra Wanderers), Olivia MARTINIELO (Majura FC), Ailish MCDONAGH (Belconnen United), Pia MCGHIE (Canberra Croatia), 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), 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), 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), Lauren WATT (Tuggeranong United), Maggie WRIGHT (Majura FC), Reilly YUEN (Canberra Croatia)
TOP ASSISTS
12: Keira BOBBIN (Belconnen United)
10: Isabella BARAC (Canberra Croatia)
9: Alina ROBERTS (Belconnen United)
8: Anneke CORRY (Belconnen United)
7: Alexandra GIDIS (West Canberra Wanderers), Brittany PALOMBI (Canberra Croatia), Bonnie YOUNG (Gungahlin United)
6: Ella BROWN (Canberra Olympic), Tamara COCHRANE (West Canberra Wanderers), Isabella HINDMARSH (Belconnen United), Alex MARTENS (Belconnen United), Audrey WARD (West Canberra Wanderers)
5: Natalie DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Pearl TEIN (Belconnen United)
4: Talia BACKHOUSE (Belconnen United), Stella DE MARCO (Gungahlin United), Alyssa DI-CAMPLI (Belconnen United), Zoe HALPIN (West Canberra Wanderers), Ailish MCDONAGH (Belconnen United), Riley MCQUEENIE (Canberra Croatia), Ginger OLIVER (Gungahlin United), Bronte PYKE (Belconnen United)
3: Tiana BOOTS (Canberra Croatia), Madison CACHIA (Canberra Olympic), Megan CASTLE (Gungahlin United), Tatum MAZIS (Canberra Olympic), Tianah MIRO (Canberra Olympic), Perri NASH (West Canberra Wanderers), Madison SAWKINS (Belconnen United)
2: Tehya ASPLAND (Canberra Olympic), Jamie BERKELEY (Canberra Croatia), Lisa CARY (Belconnen United), Arusha CHEW (Canberra Croatia), Alyse JENSEN (Canberra Olympic), Chelsea HATELY (Gungahlin United), Olivia HICKS (West Canberra Wanderers), April HILL (Canberra Croatia), Claire KENNEDY-SPENCER (Tuggeranong United), Jada LAMOND (Gungahlin United), Carmel LYNCH (Majura FC), Tarah MANTHONGSY (Tuggeranong United), Amy MOORE (Gungahlin United), Abigail RICHARDS (Majura FC), Juliana ROBERTSON (West Canberra Wanderers), Madeleine STEINACKER (Belconnen United), 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), Layla BARBOUR (Majura FC), Leila BILLINGTON (Belconnen United), 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), Tayla HAMPSON (Canberra Olympic), Annaliese GROVE (Gungahlin United), Ariana KASHAN (Majura FC), Stefi LEJINS (Belconnen United), Olivia MARTINIELLO (Majura FC), Pia MCGHIE (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), Allegra SENTI (West Canberra Wanderers), Caitlyn SKILLICORN (West Canberra Wanderers), Ivy STEVENS (Gungahlin United), Sonja TOMANOVITS (West Canberra Wanderers), Jane VANZINO (Canberra Olympic), Maggie WRIGHT (Majura FC)
Words: Sam Watson
