Programme Round 22 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 Silverware is sure to be lifted in the Lotto NRFL this weekend with teams in all four divisions on the verge of winning the title. A champion will definitely be found in the final round of the Women’s Premier on Sunday with Claudelands Rovers appearing likely to wrestle the crown off Forrest Hill-Milford United. The champions-in-waiting need just a point from the visit of relegated Fencibles United while Forrest Hill must make sure they beat Papatoetoe and pray for a miracle down in Hamilton. In the men’s action, a quirk of the draw has pitted the top two sides against each other in both the Premier League and Division One, creating what amounts to a pair of title deciders. Eastern Suburbs will claim the top-flight gong if they beat Hamilton Wanderers while Forrest Hill can do the same in their northern derby against North Shore United in the first division. Division Two title favourites Papakura City could also wrap things up in Sunday’s trip to AFC Fury but that would depend on Oratia United suffering an upset loss at home to Papatoetoe on Saturday. 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 Three Kings United’s 4-0 win over Western Springs in the Women’s Premier and Oratia’s triumph by the same scoreline against Albany United in Division Two. 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 22 Waitakere City vs Central United Fred Taylor Park | Saturday 22 August | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Mazhar Batoor Assistant Referees: Chris Wolken, Neil Tobin Waitakere remain rooted to the foot of the table but their previous performance was at least more encouraging vs than other recent showings. Jake Butler’s men made life difficult for defending champions Glenfield in a narrow 2-1 loss with the player-coach leading by example in getting on the scoresheet. Central put five past Melville but will have been alarmed to have conceded three at home to the relegation candidates and will want to tighten up while maintaining their offensive form. Melville United vs Western Springs Gower Park | Saturday 22 August | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: John Rowbury Assistant Referees: Gordon Campbell, Carl Watkins Melville would have been both pleased and frustrated with their efforts at Central last week – delighted to have vs scored three goals away from home but disappointed to have taken nothing home with them. They are on a hot scoring streak after scoring 12 in five matches but, on the flipside, have leaked 13 in the same period. If the hosts can be more resilient at the back, they will fancy their chances against a Springs side freshly thumped 4-0 by Onehunga. Three Kings United vs East Coast Bays Keith Hay Park | Saturday 22 August | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Simon Lount Assistant Referees: Aiden Moffatt, Allan Wilson Three Kings did not respond to their points deduction setback in the manner they would have liked, being outclassed 4-0 at Hamilton. Fortunately for them, relegation rivals Melville and Waitakere also both lost so their vs position on the table was not worsened. They are still in real need of points though and a home match against mid-table Bays offers an opportunity that they simply cannot afford to pass up, especially as Melville are capable of claiming a win against Springs. Bay Olympic vs Onehunga Sports Olympic Park | Saturday 22 August | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Mark Fisher Assistant Referees: Steven Black, Luke Agnew The Sports ranks have been boosted in recent weeks by the presence of Moses Dyer and Te Atawhai Hudson- Wihongi – both involved in the Junior All Whites’ ground-breaking campaign at the FIFA U-20 World Cup – and vs they have made a positive impact, Dyer scoring a double last week. But that pair, along with Harshae Raniga, will be unavailable for this weekend as they are taking part in the New Zealand A match against Wellington Phoenix in New Plymouth on Sunday. Birkenhead United vs Glenfield Rovers Shepherds Park | Saturday 22 August | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Nick Waldron Assistant Referees: Glen Lochrie, Ravinesh Kumar At the same time last season, this derby between two heavyweights of the northern region would have been virtually a title decider. But things have been very different in this campaign and they are both now fighting to finish vs in the top four rather than lift the trophy. Given the talent at their disposal, the coaching staffs of each side will be disappointed to not be in the title running and getting one over on a local rival will at least make the final weeks of the season a bit sweeter. Eastern Suburbs vs Hamilton Wanderers Madills Farm | Saturday 22 August | Kick-off: 3.00pm | Referee: Cory Mills Assistant Referees: Steve Merriman, James Ashford This is essentially a title shoot-out as a home win would mean Wanderers can kiss goodbye to their hopes of claiming the trophy and that honour would instead go to Suburbs. Even if the hosts fall to a loss, it’s hard to see vs them marking their return to the top flight without a championship win as Wanderers would still be six points behind with just nine left to play for. But that would at least give the visitors hope so earning maximum reward from this visit to Madills Farm is a must. 4 | Programme 2015 50 Years of Local Pride Lotto NRFL Women’s Premier Preview Round 19 Claudelands Rovers vs Fencibles United Galloway Park | Sunday 23 August | Kick-off: 1:00pm | Referee: Steve Bland Assistant Referees: Hubert Bakx, Yannic Bakx Champions-in-waiting Claudelands need just a point from this game to claim the title and it would take a brave vs person indeed to bet against that happening. Rovers have been beaten just twice all season while relegated Fencibles have won only once so there appears to be little hope for the only other side that can still win the league, defending champions Forrest Hill. The only uncertainty appears to be the size of the winning margin and that could be of significance to the golden boot race, in which Claudelands striker Helen Collins needs four goals to overhaul the tally of Glenfield’s Katie Rood. Norwest United vs Eastern Suburbs Huapai Reserve | Sunday 23 August | Kick-off: 1:00pm | Referee: Chris Farnell Assistant Referees: Mark Perry, Reza Al Rabea vs Newly-promoted to the league, Norwest have reason to feel satisfied with their efforts as they have competed well for the most part and only been truly outclassed by sides in the top five. They can finish no higher than their current position of eighth while Suburbs’ standing will be unaffected by this result so the outcome is not of great importance. The main goal for both sides will simply be to finish on a high, although Suburbs will also be keen to give departing coach Paul Marshall – who is heading overseas to take up a job opportunity – a good send off. Papatoetoe vs Forrest Hill-Milford United Murdoch Park | Sunday 23 August | Kick-off: 1:00pm | Referee: Jordan Morrow Assistant Referees: Tanvir Bhamji, Torres Chang vs Reigning champions Forrest Hill seem certain to relinquish their crown but there is still a mathematical chance of hanging onto it so they must make sure they don’t slip up here. Complacency would appear to be the only likely cause of an upset as Forrest Hill swept aside Papatoetoe with ease in the teams’ previous meeting, sticking six unanswered goals past the south Aucklanders. If they can pull off a major surprise, Papatoetoe would climb above Norwest on the ladder. Lynn-Avon United vs Western Springs Postponed due to ASB Women’s Knockout Cup vs | 5 Lotto NRFL Division 1 Preview Round 22 Metro vs Hibiscus Coast Phyllis Street | Friday 21 August | Kick-off: 7.30pm | Referee: Allan Wilson Assistant Referees: John Bennett, Kevin McMillan The confidence of Metro will be sky high after recording arguably the best result of their season last weekend, a 1-0 win on the road at promotion hopefuls Tauranga. They will be hoping for more of the same against a Hibiscus side with a similar record to Tauranga’s but will be wary of a backlash from the Coasters, who have just been vs humiliated 6-1 by Forrest Hill. Metro are destined for mid-table but the visitors need the points to hang on to their dreams of going up.