Programme Round 19 CONTENTS Lotto NRFL 2015 3 Lotto NRFL Premier Preview 4 Lotto NRFL Women’s Premier Preview 5 Lotto NRFL Division 1 Preview 6 Lotto NRFL Division 2 Preview 7 Lotto NRFL Premier Squad Lists 6 Lotto NRFL Women’s Premier Squad Lists 8 Lotto NRFL Division 1 Squad Lists 10 Lotto NRFL Division 2 Squad Lists 12 Lotto NRFL Premier Tables 14 Lotto NRFL Division Tables 15 Lotto NRFL Premier Golden Boot 16 Lotto NRFL Division Golden Boot 17 Lotto NRFL Premier Team Progress 18 Lotto NRFL Division Team Progress 19 Lotto NRFL 2015 Welcome Another jam-packed schedule is in store in the Lotto NRFL this weekend with full rounds of action taking place in all three men’s divisions and sole focus in the Women’s Premier being on Keith Hay Park, where Three Kings United are set to host title-chasing Glenfield Rovers. That’s the only female match scheduled for Sunday due to the weekend earlier being set aside for the ASB Women’s Knockout Cup and it’s a fitting encounter to take centre stage. Glenfield are one of four sides in the hunt for the title and a win would put them top on goal difference. In the men’s Premier League, Eastern Suburbs can take another step towards the title with a victory over Birkenhead United while North Shore United’s hosting of Ellerslie is the highlight of Division One. The game of greatest consequence in Division Two is the southern derby between Papatoetoe and Papakura City, who both need the points for contrasting reasons – Papatoetoe to boost their fight against relegation and Papakura to strengthen their title charge. In the programme this week, we preview these games and all others, as well as featuring photos from Phototek of a pair of recent matches. In focus were Melville United’s 2-1 upset win at Bay Olympic in the Premier League and Three Kings’ comprehensive 7-0 triumph over Fencibles United in the Women’s Premier. As always, we also have all the up-to-date tables, team progress graphs, golden boot charts and squads so there is a wealth of info at your fingertips! Our Lotto NRFL social media platforms continue to be the place to go for all score updates, results, goal details and other news – be sure to tag us @LottoNRFL with your updates from the sideline! Good luck for your game! All photos by Phototek Lotto NRFL Gallery available at: www.phototek.co.nz/aff_picture_gallery.html Social @LottoNRFL Lotto NRFL Governing Federations Lotto NRFL Premier Preview Round 19 East Coast Bays vs Melville United Bay City Park | Saturday 1 August | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Nick Waldron Assistant Referees: Michael Dickason, Khalid El Gana vs The Melville camp will be in great spirits this week after recording just their second win of the season with a 2-1 upset at Bay Olympic. They are still deep in relegation trouble though and need to embark on a remarkable run to pull themselves to safety. East Coast Bays will feel they have enough quality to secure the points but have a similar record to Bay Olympic, who would have thought the same prior to their shock loss. Central United vs Western Springs Kiwitea Street | Saturday 1 August | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Simon Lount Assistant Referees: Pat Barrett, Ravi Prasad Central were below par in losing the Mt Roskill derby 3-1 to Three Kings last weekend and will be kicking vs themselves as that was an excellent opportunity to force their way into title contention. They are now seven points off the pace and have played one game more than the leading pair so the trophy may now be out of reach, especially if they are upset again by another local rival here. Eastern Suburbs vs Birkenhead United Madills Farm | Saturday 1 August | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Cory Mills Assistant Referees: Ravinesh Kumar, Rajesh Kumar Suburbs are facing their second northern heavyweight in quick succession after taking a massive step towards the vs title with a 3-1 win at defending champions Glenfield last weekend. Their talismanic duo of Nathaniel Bowen and Brandon Barnes were both on target in that success and remain the players for any opposing defence to keep an eye on. Second-placed Hamilton will be hoping Birkenhead can do them a massive favour here Glenfield Rovers vs Onehunga Sports McFetridge Park | Saturday 1 August | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Chris Kerr Assistant Referees: John McCoskrie, Martin Huang The chances of Glenfield successfully defending their title now appear all but gone and they are even in danger of vs missing out on the top four - an unacceptable outcome for such a talented squad. Sports are one of the sides that could force them out of the higher placings and a win to the visitors would do just that as they are only two points behind Glenfield, as well as having a game up their sleeve. Bay Olympic vs Three Kings United Olympic Park | Saturday 1 August | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Mark Owens Assistant Referees: Ben Norman, Dmitriy Sabitov These sides experienced contrasting fortunes last weekend with each being on opposite ends of an upset. Three Kings were on the right side with their unexpected win over Central while Bay Olympic will have been bitterly vs disappointed to lose at home to struggling Melville, who had won only once all season. Three Kings coach Neil Sykes will be hoping for more of the same from his charges while Bay Olympic counterpart Carl Jorgensen needs to see a positive reaction to last week’s setback. Hamilton Wanderers vs Waitakere City Porritt Stadium | Saturday 1 August | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Martin Neale Assistant Referees: Carl Watkins, Hubert Bakx Sitting rock bottom with just one win to their name, the last thing Waitakere needed at the moment was a vs lengthy road trip to face one of the title contenders. Their last defeat saw them ship three goals at Onehunga and they have now conceded over 50 times, an alarming statistic considering they have taken the field on just 16 occasions. The points will be vital for a Wanderers side looking to keep the pressure on leaders Suburbs so it’s hard to envisage anything other than a home win. 4 | Programme 2015 50 Years of Local Pride Lotto NRFL Women’s Premier Preview Round 16 Three Kings United vs Glenfield Rovers Keith Hay Park | Sunday 2 August | Kick-off: 1pm | Referee: Morgan Archer Assistant Referees: Eric Yu, Kieran Withers vs After losing a vital local derby to defending champions Forrest Hill three rounds ago, Glenfield’s chances of lifting the trophy appeared slim but they have since bounced back with a pair of wins to put themselves firmly back in contention. Their 2-1 triumph over previous title favourites Claudelands Rovers last week has blown the race wide open again and, with no other Women’s Premier matches taking place this weekend, Glenfield have an excellent chance to steal a march on their rivals. It will not be easy though as Three Kings are undefeated in five games and went goal crazy in a 7-0 win over Fencibles last week. Please note: There are no other Women’s Premier matches taking place this weekend due to the ASB Women’s Knockout Cup. | 5 Lotto NRFL Division 1 Preview Round 19 Mt Albert-Ponsonby vs Waiuku Anderson Park | Saturday 1 August | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Vaughan Couillault Assistant Referees: Peter Caffell, Luke Agnew vs Waiuku put in a herculean effort last weekend in very nearly beating title contenders North Shore – a late equaliser denied them all three points – and the only potential concern after that will be whether they have enough left in the tank to go again. At least the odds won’t be stacked as much against them this time against a Mt Albert side who have just been outclassed 6-1 by Mangere. Manurewa vs Forrest Hill-Milford United Memorial Park | Saturday 1 August | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Steven Black Assistant Referees: Kevin McMillan, Robert Swiney Forrest Hill took full advantage of North Shore’s blip with a 2-0 win over Metro and are now in the box seat for the vs title. They have a five-point buffer over their local rivals but have played one game more so must keep winning. This trip to a Manurewa side which lost to relegation candidates Takapuna last week offers a good opportunity to do just that but the boggy Memorial Park surface is sure to act as a leveller. Hibiscus Coast vs Ngaruawahia United Stanmore Bay Park | Saturday 1 August | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Mark Fisher Assistant Referees: Morgan Breuer, Faiyaz Ali After last week’s vital victory over Ellerslie, Hibiscus Coast are in reach of the promotion places. But with Forrest Hill, vs North Shore and Tauranga all still showing good form, the Coasters are very much the dark horses to go up and have plenty of work to do. Three points against the worst-performed team in the league are therefore a must and a significant boost in the goal difference stakes would also help the promotion cause. Tauranga City United vs Takapuna Links Avenue | Sunday 2 August | Kick-off: 2.30pm | Referee: Bruce Horrox Assistant Referees: Brett Willis, Ashley Wilson With games in hand on both, third-placed Tauranga is the side best placed to spoil the promotion party of northern vs duo Forrest Hill and North Shore. All three hopefuls have lost only twice all season so it appears there is little between them and the race is therefore likely to go right down to the wire.