WESTON have come to the aid of fellow NNSW NPL finals contenders Edgeworth and agreed to move their game to Saturday to help the Eagles prepare for their round of 16 FFA Cup clash with Newcastle Jets.
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Edgeworth and the Bears were to meet on Sunday at Jack McLaughlan Oval in round 21 but the Eagles asked to bring the game forward because of next Wednesday's knockout at the ground.
"We can now do a recovery on Sunday and do a light session on Monday and prepare," Edgeworth coach Damian Zane said.
"It's what I believe should be expected, but it doesn't have to be that way, so we are appreciative of what they have done. We know as a club how important the cup is, so it would never be a problem for us."
The match will be the first time a local club have faced the Jets in the cup. More than 600 tickets were sold Monday night when the window opened. They are available at www.stickytickets.com.au.
** The Bears came through their 4-0 friendly loss to Central Coast last Friday night at Weston Park unscathed.
The hosts conceded a penalty and an own goal in the first half but held their own against the A-League club.
"You can tell they train five days a week by how sharp they were, but our boys definitely competed," Weston assistant Craig Stoker said. "They weren't out of it."
Zac Sneddon is suspended but Scott Carter and Liam Wilson will be back from bans against Edgeworth.
** It appears the switch of Anthony Richards from assistant to boss at Magic next season in place of Ruben Zadkovich will be the only change among head coaches next season.
The Newcastle Herald understands all other head coaches have committed to next season, have secured a re-appointment or are likely to remain in charge.
** Adamstown coach Shane Cansdell-Sherriff said his team had plenty to play for in their final match of the season on Sunday.
Rosebud, who lead Valentine and Lake Macquarie on goals at the bottom of the table, can effectively avoid the wooden spoon with a win over leaders Maitland at home before having the last-round bye.
Maitland will seal a finals spot and move closer to the premiership with a victory.
"We want to get points," Cansdell-Sherriff said.
"We're equal at the bottom of the table with two other teams and they have a game in hand on us, so it's important. We're certainly not going to make it easy for the team at the top of the table."
Cansdell-Sherriff said he was keen to continue the work at Rosebud next season after a frustrating 2019.
"We lost a hell of a lot of games by one goal and we've not been able to take our chances at the right time and it's cost us all year," he said.
"Last year we had issues keeping people on the pitch, with send offs and injuries. This year we've had more on the pitch and we've got no injuries, so I suppose there's a step in the right direction there somewhere, but, more importantly, we still need to win games."
** Charlestown coach David Tanchevski expects to get Peter McPherson (hip flexor) back for the clash with top-four rivals Lambton Jaffas on Sunday at Lisle Carr Oval.
The third-placed Blues also had Kane Goodchild (hamstring), Scott Smith (groin) and Adam Hughes missing in the 2-0 win over the Jets Youth on Sunday and they all remain in doubt for the crunch match against Jaffas.