The players tell us who to watch and teams to beat in NPLW NNSW 2023

Round one kicks off on Sunday with these match-ups:

Newcastle Herald (NH): How is the team shaping up?

Olympic midfielder Laura Hall (LH): We're looking good. We have really good depth in the squad. We've got three young girls who have come up from reserve grade that are fitting in well - Sophie McDonald, Sophie Walmsley and Rosie Copus. We've got some girls who have come across from Warners Bay who are doing really well. The core group remains the same but there's the addition of some youth and new players and that's going to be a healthy thing. Everyone is fighting for positions and there's just a bit more depth.

NH: Who is an Olympic player to watch?

LH: Elodie Dagg is very exciting to watch and play with. I think that combination with Jemma House will be incredible. We have a new keeper from Canberra, Jayla Murphy. She's quite young but has had two incredible games for us in pre-season matches and is definitely one to keep an eye out for.

NH: Who is the team to watch this season?

LH: I'm really excited to see the team that New Lambton have put together. Same for Mid Coast. They're always really strong competitors. Every team looks very different this year.

NH: Which team is the biggest unknown?

LH: New Lambton, and Warners Bay. We don't really know who's there and who they've signed.

NH: What is the secret to Olympic success in 2023?

LH: The depth in the squad. We've got the same core group plus more talent that's come in. There was always a lot of pressure on the starting 11 to be fit and healthy and to get back if they were injured. But we have so many talented players who can fill each job this year. I think that will be the difference, and obviously losing a grand final adds a bit of extra motivation.

Newcastle Herald (NH): How is the team shaping up?

Warners Bay defensive midfielder Ayva Steel [AS]: It's going to be a big year. We've got a lot of young girls coming through. We've put in a lot of work in pre-season but we're still getting to know each other because there's not a lot of players who have played together. But we're getting there and I think it's going to be an exciting year.

NH: Who is a Warners Bay player to watch?

AS: We've got a very strong midfield. We've got Callie Thomas and Immy McInnes and I think they'll work really well together.

NH: Who is the team to watch this season?

AS: From what I've heard, New Lambton are probably going to be up there. Olympic and Charlestown also look strong.

NH: Which team is the biggest unknown?

AS: Other than us, we don't know much about Middies.

NH: What is the secret to Warners Bay success in 2023?

AS: The way that we're bonding. Not a lot of girls know each other but we've been really working on our team bonding. So just to connect together, communication, and as long as we stay strong for each other, we'll be fine.

Newcastle Herald (NH): How is the team shaping up?

Maitland defender Tahlia Gossner (TG): We're shaping up really good. Pre-season has gone really well. With [coach] Keelan [Hamilton] back on board, training has been good and we've done well in trial games. We've got a couple of fresh faces and we're really eager to get into the season.

NH: Who is a Maitland player to watch?

TG: Sawyer Hall, a centre-back from America.

NH: Who is the team to watch this season?

TG: Olympic are usually up there. They've got a couple of players from Warners Bay and are probably the one to watch.

NH: Which team is the biggest unknown?

TG: New Lambton.

NH: What is the secret to Maitland success in 2023?

TG: Just staying positive, staying switched on. It's a long year. We've had a good pre-season so it's just about staying as a group, cohesion. I also think our fitness will take us a long way against other teams.

Newcastle Herald (NH): How is the team shaping up?

Adamstown goalkeeper Olivia Sneddon (OS): We're looking good, much the same. We're really excited for the season.

NH: Who is an Adamstown player to watch?

OS: Courtney Anderson. She can bag a goal from anywhere and she looks physically like she's ready to run for days, which suits us and our style well. We get [No.6] Ellyse Lynch back from her ACL injury last year, and she's looking so fit already.

NH: Who is the team to watch this season?

OS: Olympic are such a strong team and by the sounds of it they're really well coached this year with Neil [Owens] coming in, and they've made some really good signings, such as Elodie Dagg. Magic is always a team to watch as well. It's a completely different round until we get the A-League players back in so those two teams should be strong from the get go.

NH: Which team is the biggest unknown?

OS: There's been so much player movement at New Lambton that you can't really write them in or write them out yet.

NH: What is the secret to Adamstown success in 2023?

OS: We just need to find consistency in our performance. Last year we were very hit and miss. We'd have some really strong games against some good teams and then we'd lose when we shouldn't have. So just finding that consistency to perform in every game. Our energy is always going to be something that will win us games, hopefully.

Newcastle Herald (NH): How is the team shaping up?

Azzurri striker Lori Depczynski (LD): We didn't lose a lot of players and we've gained a fair few quality ones. Niko's [coach Niko Papaspiropoulos] job is going to be a bit harder, picking who's in the starting line-up. But that's a good problem to have.

NH: Who is an Azzurri player to watch?

LD: Halvo [Sarah Halvorsen]. It will be nice to see her come back into the fold and link up with a couple of us who are left from that [Merewether] team. Emily Diaz has joined us from the Central Coast and she's a gun up top, so we expect her to score lots of goals.

NH: Who is the team to watch this season?

ND: It's hard to tell with so much player movement but, consistency-wise, the team to beat will be Olympic. They're consistently good. They're not subject to huge fluctuations and that stable state is certainly an edge in our comp.

NH: Which team is the biggest unknown?

LD: The biggest unknown is New Lambton.

NH: What is the secret to Azzurri success in 2023?

LD: We've got a huge squad this year. We've got a lot of players with a lot of different abilities, so we've got options to change how we want to play this year depending on our opposition.

Newcastle Herald (NH): How is the team shaping up?

Magic centre-back Kalista Hunter (KH): Good. Everyone is looking fit. We've got a few new players come in. Kobie [Ferguson] is back from injury and Keziah White. Gem Harrison is also back, which is amazing, and AJ [Adriana Konjarski].

NH: Who is a Magic player to watch?

KH: Always Kobie. She's always so solid, and the same with Gem. It's so good her coming back after having a child and those two working together will be very nice.

NH: Who is the team to watch this season?

KH: New Lambton. But everyone has signed so well and I think it's going to make for a really good season. So even.

NH: Which team is the biggest unknown?

KH: Charlestown. I have not heard anything about who they have.

NH: What is the secret to Magic success in 2023?

KH: We've got the same group, or people who have played with us before and we're pretty tight-knit. Also hard work.

Newcastle Herald (NH): How is the team shaping up?

New Lambton midfielder Cassidy Davis (CD): I haven't been around the group as much yet [due to A-League Women commitments with the Newcastle Jets], so it's a little bit hard to tell. But I went to watch their trial game on the weekend against the Jets Academy and there were some good signs against a tough opposition. You can already see a massive improvement from last year, so that's positive in itself. You can't improve everything in one go, so small steps is important for the club and group of players.

NH: Who is a New Lambton player to watch?

CD: Fullback Kate Heap. She's young, she's athletic and I can see some good signs there. Also Ameera Makunja. She's had a couple of years off so she's probably a bit rusty at the moment, but with some more training and games under her belt I think she could be a big threat up front for us.

NH: Who is the team to watch this season?

CD: I probably don't know enough about who's signed where. But from what I do know, I think Olympic will be solid. They obviously got a few of the Warners Bay girls, so adding those couple of players to the team they already had will make them really hard to beat. Maitland look like they've got some new signings so I think they'll also be very hard to beat, plus Broadmeadow are always solid.

NH: Which team is the biggest unknown?

CD: Maitland.

NH: What is the secret to Eagles success in 2023?

CD: Hard work, and playing for each and the club. The resilience that a lot of those girls developed last year will show this year and will help all of the new girls come in to push through those hard moments.

Newcastle Herald (NH): How is the team shaping up?

Mid Coast player-coach Emma Stanbury (ES): It's been a long pre-season but we're jelling together well now. We had a really good hit-out against the Buds last week and we've got them round one and I'm looking forward to it.

NH: Who is a Mid Coast player to watch?

ES: One of the biggest players to watch is Zora Bofkovski. She's only 14, a left winger and can kick both left and right. I've already been on the phone to [Football Australia Technical Director - women's football] Rae Dower about her. She's been in the boys' program and this is the first time in the women's and I think she's going to have a massive impact in the competition this year.

NH: Who is the team to watch this season?

ES: I'm still trying to get my bearings around the competition. I've heard that a lot of players have dispersed and it's going to be a lot tighter. Hopefully, Middies will be one of them.

NH: Which team is the biggest unknown?

ES: Us. It's a completely different looking squad compared to what people know. I don't think we have many of the same senior players as last season. We've promoted a lot of 17s and brought in new players so I think we're a bit of a dark horse this season and going to surprise a lot of people.

NH: What is the secret to Mid Coast success in 2023?

ES: The secret to success will be consistency. Based off previous seasons, we want the scorelines to be a lot tighter whether we're winning, drawing or losing. Then just keeping the core group together going on to next year would be success to me, and working on what we've established this season.

**Watch out for the Newcastle Herald's team-by-team preview coming next. All the player ins and outs and where we expect the teams to be positioned come season's end.

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