It’s time. The 2017 Playstation 4 Women’s National Premier League has arrived. Now with a national platform and looking as strong as ever, the 2017 season looks set to be a belter.
This week’s match of the round will see Canberra FC host Tuggeranong United at Woden Park, with last season’s Grand Finalists looking to set the tone early against a Tuggeranong side that look like they could challenge once more this season.
Tuggies signed Brisbane Roar W-League goalkeeper Georgina Worth during the off-season with Jill Scott out-going and will likely prove to be a strong presence in goals for this weekend against a dangerous Canberra FC attacking line.
Canberra FC will have the services of a fresh Grace Gill after the midfielder took Season 9 off from W-league football, and she will be raring to go when the whistle blows on Sunday.
Last season’s Champions and Premiers Belconnen United will be looking to set the pace once more this season as they come in off the back of two consecutive treble-winning campaigns.
Belconnen will kick things off against Gungahlin Enclosed at Gungahlin Enclosed on Sunday, as they take on last year’s semi-finalists Gungahlin United.
United have once more retained the services of arguably the best strike pairing in the league, with sisters Brittany and Ashleigh Palombi returning after a season which saw them combine for 35 goals during the regular season.
Belconnen may struggle following the loss of Amy Spence to a serious knee injury only two weeks ago, and with Caitlin Munoz still a number of weeks out from returning after sustaining the same injury during last season.
A first round fixture against an understrength Belconnen represents a big chance for Gungahlin to strike an early blow and make a statement in Season 2017.
Canberra Olympic and Monaro Panthers will both return to the Women’s top flight this season after not featuring in the 2016 WPL, and will look to gain first bragging rights when they meet at the Riverside Stadium.
As basically new sides, the two will come up as somewhat unknown opponents against each other, and the rest of the competition will likely have a keen eye kept on the Riverside Stadium to see how the newcomers fare.
The final clash of the round sees the Canberra United Academy outfit host Woden-Weston FC at Hawker Football Centre.
The Academy side finished on the bottom of the table in Season 2016 having scored only five goals, but look to be a different beast this year
Karly Roestbakken comes into the team off the back of a breakout season in the Westfield W-League with Canberra United, during which she scored the winning goal against reigning Premiers Melbourne City to hand them their first ever defeat.
Canberra United teammate Laura Hughes will join her and the Academy are sure to provide a stern test for a number of teams, including this weekend.
Diego Elmoudawar’s Woden-Weston will be primed and ready to go as they look to start 2017 off on the right foot at Hawker.
A host of squad changes has seen over half of last year’s outfit replaced, and Elmoudawar will hope that the new-look team can gel quickly and effectively for a competitive season.
Playstation 4 National Premier League Women’s Capital Football Round 1
Sunday 26th March, 2017
Gungahlin United v Belconnen United
Gungahlin Enclosed Oval
3pm Kickoff
Monaro Panthers v Canberra Olympic
Riverside Stadium
3pm Kickoff
Canberra FC v Tuggeranong United
Woden Park Enclosed
3pm Kickoff
Canberra United Academy v Woden-Weston FC
Hawker Football Centre
4pm Kickoff