Programme Round 23 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 Several pieces of silverware were handed out last weekend in the Lotto NRFL as Eastern Suburbs claimed the Premier League crown, Forrest Hill-Milford United did likewise in Division One and Claudelands Rovers became queens of the Women’s Premier. The only league with the title still up for grabs is Division Two and that could well be settled this weekend with the only sides in contention – favourites Papakura City and dark horses Oratia United – meeting each other at Parrs Park. Both have already secured promotion but will want to put the icing on the cake by lifting the Pascoe Shield. The only matter to be settled at the sharp end of Division One is who will join Forrest Hill in stepping up to the top flight. North Shore United are very much in the box seat to do so and a win over Metro at Allen Hill Stadium would be enough to finish the job. But the likes of Ellerslie, Hibiscus Coast and Tauranga City United are all waiting in the wings if Paul Temple’s men slip up. In the battle to avoid the dreaded drop, Three Kings United and Melville United are scrapping it out to make sure they don’t join Waitakere City in giving up their Premier League status but both have testing fixtures this weekend. Three Kings must go to last year’s champions Glenfield Rovers while Melville face a trip to second-placed Onehunga Sports. There’s a genuine six-pointer in Division One as Waiuku host relegation rivals Takapuna while Papatoetoe, Albany United and Lynn-Avon United are all fighting for their NRFL lives in Division Two. In the programme this week, we preview the above games and all others, as well as featuring photos from Phototek of a pair of recent matches. In focus were Claudelands’ 12-1 triumph against Fencibles United in the Women’s Premier and Forrest Hill-Milford’s 2-1 win over North Shore in Division One – both results that secured their respective titles for the victors. 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 Lotto NRFL Premier Preview Round 23 Glenfield Rovers vs Three Kings United McFetridge Park | Saturday 29 August | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Anna-Marie Keighley Assistant Referees: Torres Chang, Ravi Prasad Due to a fixture rescheduled from earlier in the season, Glenfield are in the unusual situation of facing Three Kings vs in both of their remaining games. It will be a far more pleasing scenario for Glenfield than Three Kings, who must claim all six points in their bid to climb above Melville and stave off relegation. Glenfield still have a slim chance of finishing as runners-up though so will be in no mood to do the visitors a favour. Hamilton Wanderers vs Bay Olympic Porritt Stadium | Saturday 29 August | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Mark Owens Assistant Referees: Bruce Horrox, Hubert Bakx This will not have been an enjoyable week for Wanderers after they squandered the chance to disrupt Eastern Suburbs’ title procession last weekend. Mark Cossey’s side took the lead in that must-win game but eventually fell vs to a 3-1 loss, meaning the best they can now hope for is second place. They will face strong competition to secure that spot from Onehunga Sports and Central so need to make sure they beat lower mid-table Bay, who are playing their last match. Onehunga Sports vs Melville United Waikaraka Park | Saturday 29 August | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Allan Wilson Assistant Referees: James Ashford, Vaughan Couillault Both these sides will be delighted with their recent efforts after putting together a string of good results. Sports have shown title-winning form in the second half of the campaign – winning nine and drawing one of their last vs 10 matches – and are now in the box seat to collect the runners-up medals. Melville meanwhile have turned their season around, losing just one of their last five games and benefitting from Three Kings’ loss of points to give themselves a great chance of avoiding the drop. Western Springs vs Waitakere City Seddon Fields | Saturday 29 August | Kick-off: 5.00pm | Referee: Mazhar Batoor Assistant Referees: Mark Fleming, Faiyaz Ali It’s been a funny old season for Neil Emblen’s youthful Springs squad, who have shown glimpses of their potential with some eye-catching performances but have struggled to find a satisfying level of consistency. Their most recent vs results are a perfect example, thumping Bay Olympic 11-1 before stumbling to losses against Onehunga and Melville, shipping nine goals in the process. Waitakere’s relegation has now been confirmed so their only aim is to salvage some pride. Central United vs Birkenhead United Postponed due to ASB Chatham Cup East Coast Bays vs Eastern Suburbs Postponed due to ASB Chatham Cup 4 | Programme 2015 50 Years of Local Pride Lotto NRFL Women’s Premier Preview Round 20 Lynn-Avon United vs Western Springs Seddon Fields | Friday 28 August | Kick-off: 7.30pm | Referee: Eric Yu Assistant Referees: Charlie Tseng, Robin Van Niekerk With all other Women’s Premier games having been completed, this is the grand finale of 2015 for the female vs component of the NRFL. It’s a fairly non-descript way to sign off as both these sides are in mid-table and cannot improve their lot with a win, unless Springs can somehow win by seven or more goals to lift themselves above Three Kings. Rico Wilson’s side had at least a mathematical chance of completing a league and cup double until recently so will be disappointed at how their season has petered out. Defeat in the ASB Women’s Knockout Cup semi-finals coincided with a damaging league loss to Three Kings, leaving any hopes of glory to be put on hold until next season. Still, a top-five position and good cup run represents significant progress from last year’s second-to-bottom finish so the club will be satisfied with the efforts of Wilson and his charges. Lynn-Avon will be less pleased as they have gone backwards from their 2014 position of fifth. | 5 Lotto NRFL Division 1 Preview Round 23 North Shore United vs Metro Allen Hill Stadium | Saturday 29 August | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Avnit Maharaj Assistant Referees: Sam Woo, Trevor Middleton The major prize is now gone for North Shore after defeat to champions Forrest Hill in last weekend’s title decider vs so the focus will now turn to making sure they finish the job of going up. A win here will be enough to secure promotion regardless of what happens elsewhere, meaning motivation shouldn’t be a problem for Paul Temple and his charges. The powers that be at Metro have been pleased enough with the team’s progress this season that they have offered coach Mike Taylor an extended deal. Mt Albert-Ponsonby vs Forrest Hill-Milford United Anderson Park | Saturday 29 August | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Tom Woo Assistant Referees: Kristian Klette, Pat Barrett The shackles are now off for Forrest Hill after wrapping up the title against local rivals North Shore. Player-coach vs David Mulligan may therefore elect to give the less-experienced members of his squad plenty of game time in the remaining two matches to help prepare them for next season’s rise in quality. Mt Albert have little to play for as the season winds down and that showed in last weekend’s uninspired 1-0 loss at struggling Takapuna. Waiuku vs Takapuna Massey Park | Saturday 29 August | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Carl Watkins Assistant Referees: John Keen, Bruce McGrath This is a massive game for both sides and, in Takapuna’s case, is likely to determine the outcome of their season. They vs did their chances of remaining in the division a world of good by beating Mt Albert last weekend while Waiuku will be disappointed to have taken just a point from their 3-all draw at cellar dwellers Ngaruawahia. They can’t afford to slip up against another relegation rival while this is the last chance saloon for Takapuna, who have no further matches remaining. Hibiscus Coast vs Manurewa Stanmore Bay Park | Saturday 29 August | Kick-off: 2.45pm | Referee: Rajesh Kumar Assistant Referees: Kevin Turnock, Jordan Morrow The Coasters will be wondering what went wrong on their trip to Metro last Friday, which resulted in an vs uncharacteristically meek 4-0 loss. Promotion is now only a very small possibility and the main driving force will instead be to finish strongly and send a message to next season’s contenders that they plan on being amongst the front-runners.