Melina Ayres is set to tear apart the NPLW Northern NSW after Charlestown Azzurri confirmed on Wednesday they had signed the A-League sharpshooter and her Newcastle Jets teammate Gema Simon.
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Azzurri coach Heath Whyte told the Newcastle Herald the pair were registered in the NPLW transfer window last week and hoped to have both available for their round-13 game against Mid Coast on June 1.
"It's something we've been planning since February because Jess Gentle will have building football commitments towards the back end of the season and we've also got Sarah Halvorsen who's got football commitments, and we knew they'd be ramping up," Whyte said.
"We've got a few girls off at the moment so it seems like we're bolstering ... but we're filling some potential outs.
"They want to enjoy their football. They want to re-engage with having some fun. That's the main thing I've taken from the conversations with them."
"She definitely wants to use this as prep for the A-League season and we're working with her and her training plans for that," Whyte said of the 25-year-old dual A-League championship-winner.
"She's feeling in good shape at the moment. It's nice to get those injuries behind her and, towards the back end of the A-League season, she was really coming into form and physically feeling quite good."
The left-sided defender, who only featured in four games for the Jets in 2023-24 due to injury, is likely to be deployed in a more advanced role with Azzurri.
"Gema has achieved a lot in her career," Whyte said.
"She's been capped, she's played internationally and she's got 150 games up in the A-League. She's looking forward to reigniting with the love and passion of football and where it all began for her.
"Her experience and presence around training and on the pitch will be great for the younger girls because we do have quite a young squad across the park.
"We've got a lot of depth but a lot of players who are on the cusp and maybe not quite ready, so injecting a bit of experience into the squad will be good to see what next level looks like."
The pair join a host of high-profile signings for NPLW.
"A lot of youth players follow these A-League girls, admire them, respect them, see themselves playing in that jersey one day, so it's fantastic for the local league," Whyte said.
"It adds another layer of depth, which I think we can well do with."
The influx of A-League talent is set to open up the finals race.
As teams near their season midpoint, Broadmeadow (23 points) are setting the pace ahead of League Cup winners Maitland (21), Azzurri (19) and Olympic (18) with New Lambton fifth on 10 points.
Magic and Olympic were set to battle in a rescheduled fixture at Magic Park on Wednesday night.
