Newcastle Olympic take on Weston Bears at Darling St Oval in Round 12 of the 2026 Northern NSW NPL Men’s competition. Reserve Grade kick off at 1:00pm on Sunday 17th May 2026 while First Grade kick off at 3:00pm.
Reserve Grade go into the second half of the season having won 7 games, drawn 1 and lost 3 and sitting in second spot on the table, 2 points behind Valentine FC. Although this is an envious position to be, given they have lost their past three games in succession, they could have been in a lot better position!
Although they have no problem in attack, having scored 26 goals in 11 matches, their otherwise rock-solid defence has leaked in 7 goals in the past three matches for a total of 13 for the season!
The team seamed to be going from strength to strength having won all their games and dropping only two points in a midweek catch up game to Adamstown Rosebud in a match during which the match officials dished out 10 yellow cards and 1 red!
The momentum of the team appeared to change when first grade players were sent to “play down” in reserve grade to gain some playing minutes. This sometimes created a situation where the players on the bench were stronger than those in the starting the line-up!
The three losses were by 1 goal difference and while it’s not the end of the world, particularly at the halfway mark of the season, a return to their winning ways will be a welcomed sight on Sunday.
Weston is in 6th place on the table with 5 wins, 1 draw and 5 losses. They didn’t begin the season well losing 1-0 to Olympic but managed 4 wins in their past 5 games. They were completely dominated by league leaders Valentine FC by 3-0 and will not be coming to Darling St to repeat their loss.
Given that Olympic also are coming from 3 consecutive losses both teams will have something to prove on Sunday afternoon.
Newcastle Olympic First Grade have not had a good first half of the season having won only 3 matches, drawn 4 and lost 4! They are in 7th spot on the table 2 points outside the top five but also 3 points from second last spot!
Apart from a 6-1 triumph at Valentine FC two weeks ago they have had little to be happy about for some time! Inconsistency and better finishing in front of goal are the ingredients required in the second half of the season.
A few consecutive wins could turn an ordinary season to a promising season with the team within reach of making the finals. Alternatively, if they continue being unable to win for a little longer, they could find themselves battling at the wrong end of the points table.
Weston arrive at Darling St Oval in second place on the points table after leading the competition for most of the season! A 2-2 home draw at the hands of Edgeworth and a shock 2-0 loss at the hands of Valentine have knocked them off their perch and they will want to secure the 3 points on Sunday to return to their winning ways.
Will Olympic find a way to score against Weston and record their first win in the second half of the season and fourth overall or will Weston put the disappointing results of the past two weeks behind them by Olympic to the sword?
Source: Tom Tsamouras
George Tsamouras Football Journey 