The wet weather claimed Round 11 of the Northern NSW NPL competition with only a handful of games played and with Newcastle Olympic FC occupying 1st place in Reserve Grade and equal 4th place in First Grade. Both scheduled games against Belmont-Swansea at Darling St Oval were washed out.
Despite not having played again since Round 9 at Edgeworth, Reserve Grade sit comfortably in 1st place on the ladder, 2 points ahead of Adamstown and 3 points ahead of Cooks Hill, with one game in hand from the former and two games in hand from the later! They achieved this with seven consecutive wins after losing their first two games of the season.
The Round 10 wash out against New Lambton has been re-scheduled for Wednesday 21st May 2025 while the Round 11 wash out against Belmont has yet to be decided.
The Newcastle Olympic FC Reserve Grade consists mainly of players aged between 18 and 20 and the fact they sit in 1st place indicates the depth and quality that the club can draw from for their First Grade. The club have amongst the best young players in Northern NSW NPL to draw upon for the future of their First Grade squad. Not only is this great news for these players but it’s also a testimony of the quality of the technical staff at the club who nurture these players through their junior years.
First Grade have had a satisfactory first half to the season with 4 wins, 3 losses and 2 draws but there have been games where they have played well without reward and other times reward without playing well. Consistency should therefore be the objective in the second half of the season.
They sit in equal 4th spot on 14 points, 9 below league leaders Edgeworth Eagles. They are well positioned to end up in the top 5 and be in the play-offs at the end of the season but with more consistency they could even challenge for the Premiership.
Source: Tom Tsamouras
George Tsamouras Football Journey 