Round 26 Review – NPL Women’s NSW

The National Premier Leagues Women’s NSW competition brought its regular season to a close in Round 26, with plenty of drama unfolding across the league as Bulls FC Academy celebrated securing the Premiership in a spectacular fashion.

Read on for our full wrap-up of the Round 26 action.

Match of the Round – APIA Leichhardt 1-2 Bulls FC Academy at Lambert Park

Bulls FC Academy were crowned 2025 National Premier Leagues NSW Women’s Premiers on Sunday night at Lambert Park as they defeated APIA Leichhardt 2-1 in thrilling circumstances.

A direct clash for the Premiership between the top two teams saw the Bulls sneak in front courtesy of Petria Phillips.

APIA clawed their way back into the with just over 10 minutes to go through substitute Gisella Pipino.

Phillips ensured that the Bulls will celebrate the Premiership at Lambert Park though, scoring her second of the evening to kick off celebrations.

Check out the full report here.

Northern Tigers 2-2 UNSW at North Turramurra Recreational Area

The final round of the regular season kicks off at the North Turramurra Recreational Area, with the Northern Tigers hosting UNSW on Saturday evening. With UNSW hoping to lock in their place in the top four, the Tigers will be aware of the challenge they have on their hands against a side determined to win at any cost.

Bo Burton got her side off to a brilliant start early on in the match, having played a ball into the channel for Charlotte Mortlock to run onto before strolling into the box unmarked and being found by Mortlock for an assured nutmeg finish underneath Sarah Langman in the UNSW goal. 1-0 to the Tigers in the 4^th minute.

With UNSW needing a response fast, the side would equalise soon after in the 13^th minute when a Tigers midfielder was dispossessed by Angelique Hristodoulou and the visitors raced forward with the ball. Allira Toby then slipped Chloe Smith in for a surefire opportunity to level the proceedings, which she did calmly by firing across goal. UNSW make it 1-1.

UNSW then took the lead just prior to halftime when Demi Koulizakis played a smart ball to meet the run of Smith, who notched a brace after rolling a low strike under Annaliese Glastonbury and into the goal. 2-1 to the visitors in the 43^rd minute.

Mortlock and Burton produced another successful combination in the lead up to the Tigers’ 52^nd minute, with the former again setting up the latter for a brilliantly taken first-time strike placed perfectly into the bottom right corner. 2-2.

However, as is always the case in football, the final round of the regular season delivered the drama as a UNSW corner opened up the chance for Aya Yamahata to head the ball toward goal. Although her header was blocked, Smith was able to steal in and tuck the ball in through a sea of Tigers defenders, bringing about emotional scenes as the hattrick hero raced toward the UNSW bench to celebrate. UNSW win it late on in the 90+4^th minute.

Sydney Olympic 0-3 Macarthur Rams at Peter Moore Field

Having broken an extended winless run last weekend, Sydney Olympic will have entered their clash against the Macarthur Rams proud of their recovery this season after a poor first half of the campaign left them rooted to the bottom of the ladder. Similarly, the Rams did well to undo the damage of their early form and showed their quality in the midst of a transition year for the side.

The Rams looked to stay on the front foot from the outset of the match, with a 3^rd minute goal giving them an early lead and forcing Olympic to adjust to the tempo fast. A superb sequence of play opened up the opportunity for the visitors to begin the scoring, with willing runners creating space in behind and ultimately leading to India Breier being setup to bury the ball for 1-0.

The visitors were eager to add a second and kept the pressure on Olympic’s defence, with Breier latching onto errant play from out the home side’s backline and whipping in a brilliant cross to an unmarked Tea Mucenski, who volleyed the ball in first-time with aplomb. 2-0 to the Rams in the 40^th minute.

A corner for the Rams gave them a third in the 67^th minute when the Olympic defence were caught out by an unmarked Maya Lobo shuffling in at the back post to meet the ball with a quality header that flung in via the underside of the crossbar. 3-0 to the Rams.

The Rams would ultimately hold onto their lead to win 3-0 in the end.

Sydney University 0-2 Manly United at Sydney Uni Football Ground

An improved second half of the season saw Sydney University step up in quality to upset a few of the sides sitting toward the top end of the ladder. They will need to find that same grit and determination when they face a Manly United side vying for finals football at the Sydney Uni Football Ground.

It was Manly who took the lead at Sydney Uni Football Ground in the 19^th minute, with Nicole Stuart shaping a wonderful cross into the box that was run onto by Sienna Dale and guided in with a sensational volley that even caught Sydney Uni goalkeeper Hannah Callaghan off guard. Manly make it 1-0.

Manly continued to dominate the remainder of the first half as Sydney Uni were kept on the back foot and looked to counterattack whenever they could.

The visitors remained determined to add another goal and would have to wait until late on in the second half for it to happen. Substitute Siahn Bozanic caused trouble for Sydney Uni when she placed a looping cross into the box, leading to a Sydney Uni defender unwittingly setting up Emily Minett in her attempt to clear the ball, leaving the Manly No. 9 with the easy job of burying a trademark header in over the goalkeeper. Manly make it 2-0 in the 87^th minute, and would go on to secure the three points.

Mt Druitt Town Rangers 2-0 NWS Spirit at Popondetta Park

It’s a do-or-die clash for the Mt Druitt Town Rangers, who enter the last round of the regular season in 4^th place and in need of the three points to stay in the finals. Having led the league for much of the season, the Rangers will want to demonstrate their quality against an NWS Spirit side who are unbeaten in their last three matches.

Although Mt Druitt dominated much of the first half against their opponents, Spirit were able to craft a few chances of their own on target and showed plenty of resilience in defence to remain sturdy through the Rangers’ attacking forays.

The Rangers were able to break the deadlock in the 57^th minute when Leena Khamis received a ball from the right wing and dinked it over the Spirit defence for Roukayah Al Fararjeh, who stormed into the box and put her body on the line to chip the outrushing Tiahna Robertson and make it 1-0 for her side.

A smart one-two link-up on the right wing allowed the Rangers space to launch a terrific cross into the box, which was met with sheer class by Khamis guiding a thumping header in off the post to give her side a 2-0 lead in the 75^th minute. Ultimately, the Rangers would hold onto their 2-0 lead to take the all-important three points.

Newcastle Jets 1-3 Western Sydney Wanderers at Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility

Having ended the season in last place, the Newcastle Jets will want to put in a strong showing in front of their home fans at the Lake Macquarie Regional Football Facility. Despite the fact they have not won since June 1, the Western Sydney Wanderers have improved of late and will be focused on finishing their season with a victory.

After a closely-fought first half, the Wanderers were able to jump into the lead soon after the two sides returned to the field from half-time, with some excellent play on the wing leading to a cross for Alyssa McKenzie to put the ball into the goal. 1-0 to the Wanderers in the 47^th minute.

The Wanderers doubled their lead in the 70^th minute after Lauren Nada played a dangerous cross into the box that was run onto by Nikkita Fazzari for a quality finish at the near post.

McKenzie almost had a brace in the 77^th minute after unleashing a lethal strike across goal that was palmed away by Ally Boertje, with the ball falling to Ava D’Costa in the right place at the right time to smash the ball into the roof of the net for 3-0.

Alexis Collins ensured her side would at least get a consolation goal from the match in the 90+4^th minute after smashing a strong penalty into the back of the net. However, the Wanderers would ultimately take away a 3-1 win over their opponents.

Gladesville Ravens 5-1 Illawarra Stingrays at Christie Park

The Gladesville Ravens will be hoping to put a rollercoaster campaign behind them as they host the Illawarra Stingrays at Christie Park on Sunday. It’s a very different story for the Stingrays however, with the South Coast side battling against three other sides for a place in the finals, each of whom have a better goal difference than the Stingrays.

The Ravens opened the scoring in the 18^th minute when Harriet Johnson deep cross into the box was touched on by the Stingrays defence and tucked away by a well-placed Miku Sunaga. 1-0 to the Ravens.

Allyssa Ng Saad doubled her side’s lead in the 26^th minute after racing onto a chipped ball in behind and speeding past her defenders to confidently dispatch a bobbling finish across goal. 2-0 to the home side.

Superb dribbling by Lexie Moreno opened up the chance for Ng Saad to notch herself a brace, which she promptly did after picking up the ball just outside of the 18-yard box and dragging her defender to one side before cutting in to fire a sensational finish into the bottom right corner. 3-0 to the Ravens in the 51^st minute.

A quick Stingrays counterattack gave the visitors a way back into the match in the 63^rd minute as Lucy Baggio strode forward with the ball on the right wing before confidently placing her strike beyond the reach of the keeper. The Stingrays make it 3-1.

However, the Ravens refused to let Illawarra back into the match any further, with Ng Saad sealing a brilliant hattrick in the 67^th minute after receiving the ball in a dangerous area and calmly slotting her strike into the opposite corner. 4-1 to the Ravens.

Morgan Roberts then made it 5-1 to her side late on after stealing in behind the Stingrays defence to chip goalkeeper Brianna Edwards, who was unable to keep the ball out despite getting a hand to it. The Ravens secure a 5-1 lead in the 83^rd minute before seeing out the match as victors.