The 2023 season of the Women’s NPL kicks off this weekend as the eight teams approach the first of 21 rounds full of hopes and ambitions, ready to battle for a top four spot, and the Premiership.
The competition’s very first whistle will be blown at Melrose Synthetic, on Friday, where the West Canberra Wanderers host Tuggeranong United at 7.45pm. The home team wants to start 2023 on a positive note, after finally making the Finals series last year.
Rey Castro has seen some of his best players off to new challenges in the off-season but compensated with some smart signings. The Wanderers are on a mission to confirm competing with the best in 2022 was not a one-off, but the new norm for the club. A couple of players in their ranks were wearing Tuggeranong’s yellow and green only a few months back, and round 1 will have bittersweet taste for them.
Coach Paulo Romero still managed to keep his core group at Kambah, and we should expect a similar brand of football from Tuggeranong. After a season and a half at the helm, Romero has built a real identity in the South, and we should witness more of that intensity and solidarity on Friday night.
Canberra Olympic had managed to win not one but two trophies in a 2022 season where they were branded serious contenders from the start. The reigning champions now have the daunting task to defend their Championship title, while contending for a first ever Premiership.
Nicole Begg and her troops could have been expected to “win it all”, but a first misstep in the Charity Shield reminded everyone how tight the competition will be. In a rematch of this Charity Shield, the blues of Olympic will face Canberra Croatia in game 1, on Sunday at Woden Park.
Without newly retired Grace Gill and Krista Hagen, Zoran Glavinic’s squad will be looking for leadership in the likes of Rhiannon Fensom and Brittany Palombi. The first success and trophy of the season, early this month, showcased the young talent that arrived at Deakin.
It might as well have poked the Olympic bear. The duel at Woden promises to be epic, before a third showdown in the Federation Cup in just ten days.
Two other teams tipped to fight for trophies are meeting at Gungahlin Enclosed Oval on Sunday at 3pm. Andrew Woodman is ending his first pre-season on the bench at Gungahlin United, after adding some promising talent in the summer.
The Gunners finished last season well, but three points short of the Finals series. 2023 looks like the perfect time for the Northernmost club to get back to the top four. Facing Belconnen United at home to start is as hard a task as it gets.
Scott Conlon led his team to two finals and a well deserved third spot on the table in the last exercise. His young group approaches this year with a different mindset. They now have the experience of high intensity, hard fought games against the best in the competition, and are expected to confirm after a superb 2022 season.
In the last game of the weekend, the newest team in the competition, ANU WFC, will “host” their first game at Hawker. Rob Illingworth’s team is itching to compete in the National Premier League after dominating the State League in recent years. His group has talent and depth and could be one of the surprises of 2023.
They kick off the season against Canberra United Academy on their training ground. The appointment of Matthew Moore on the bench was one of many changes at the Academy this summer. Moore is no stranger to the competition and will have readied his young players to a long season where they are always expected to contend with more experienced outfits. Starting against the new team in the NPL will be a real test for CUA.
FIXTURES
Friday 31 March
West Canberra Wanderers v Tuggeranong United (Melrose Synthetic, 19:45)
Sunday 2 April
Canberra Olympic v Canberra Croatia (Woden Park, 14:30)
ANU WFC v Canberra United Academy (Hawker football Centre, 15:00)
Gungahlin United v Belconnen United (Gungahlin Enclosed, 15:00)
WORDS: Jeremy Magan