After a thrilling 2022 season, the National Premier Leagues (NPL) WA Men competition resumes next Friday for 2023.
See the season previews for each of the 12 clubs before Friday night’s opener at Frank Drago Reserve.
Armadale SC
John O’Reilly, in command of the Skeets for his fifth season, is looking to catapult his team into an ambitious top-four spot through a “illustrious style of play” as Armadale now enter their 19th season in the highest flight of WA football.
Armadale in particular will be hoping to avoid mid-table mediocrity after much of last season saw O’Reilly’s team languish in seventh place. Irish recruit Connor Walsh, former Sorrento ace Chris Jackson, and skillful winger Amir Ajan, who, mixed with the local talent they already possess, make a potent artillery of first-team players, should be able to support that ambition.
Armadale have shown their capacity to score by netting, on average, 2.8 goals in the group stage of the NPL WA Night Series 2023, which helped them progress to the semi-finals.
OPENING FIXTURES
Round 1: Armadale SC v Cockburn City SC
Round 2: Perth Glory FC v Armadale SC
Round 3: Armadale SC v Inglewood United FC
Balcatta Etna FC
Going into this campaign, Balcatta will try to swiftly forget about their failings last year as the 2023 season edges ever so close.
The men calling Grindleford Reserve their home finished in 11th place with only three wins in the entire season and sat just six points above relegation.
Alas for Glen Grostate’s team, their Night Series performance hasn’t dispelled any doubts after they’ve gone without a victory in five, which must change if they want to stay up.
OPENING FIXTURES
Round 1: Balcatta Etna FC v Perth Glory FC
Round 2: Inglewood United FC v Balcatta Etna FC
Round 3: Olympic Kingsway SC v Balcatta Etna FC
Baywater City SC
2022 was very nearly the year for Bayswater, as just one point separated them from snagging a top-four spot. Can head coach Gareth Naven go one better and restore honour to the Frank Drago Reserve despite a contentious Night Series and the senescence of a few important players?
A very limited amount of new signings over the off-season has Bayswater’s coaching staff seemingly implementing an identical playing style as last year, with the same personnel, and based upon recent games, with a lack of competition for places.
OPENING FIXTURES
Round 1: Bayswater City SC v Sorrento FC
Round 2: Cockburn City SC v Bayswater City SC
Round 3: Bayswater City SC v Perth Glory FC
Cockburn City SC
Cockburn City, the only club potentially representing Western Australia in Australia’s National Second Division, will be trying to prove they can match it with the best in both the coveted Australian Cup and the inaugural National Premier League.
Steve McDonald, who succeeded Mirko Jelicic as manager, has had a distinguished playing career both in Europe and in Western Australia, playing for the likes of Motherwell, and will unquestionably be hoping to replicate Cockburn’s bright start in 2022 after they kicked off last year’s campaign with a 4-0 thumping at home to Sorrento.
However, a few significant departures, including once-vital midfielder Daniel Robinson, have left the club as a result of a generally lacklustre league performance, placing tenth. Only making for an even more challenging season.
OPENING FIXTURES
Round 1: Armadale SC v Cockburn City SC
Round 2: Cockburn City SC v Bayswater City SC
Round 3: Perth SC v Cockburn City SC
Floreat Athena FC
Floreat had topped the standings in what had been a remarkable 2022, during which they had won the Night Series and League, but the well-deserved plaudits were rather brought to a halt by a last-second, heartbreaking goal at the arms of Perth Redstar in the Grand Final.
Nevertheless, Vas Vujacic’s blue battalion will want to maintain the tremendous momentum they have created over the last four seasons, finishing consecutively in the top three under his leadership.
In an important match between two likely challengers, Floreat Athena opens the season against Inglewood in front of their home crowd.
OPENING FIXTURES
Round 1: Floreat Athena FC v Inglewood United FC
Round 2: Olympic Kingsway SC v Floreat Athena FC
Round 3: Floreat Athena FC v Stirling Macedonia FC
Inglewood United FC
Inglewood is poised to bounce back in 2023 after a dismal conclusion to what was otherwise a good season. Reaching the finals of the Night Series, they have demonstrated a coherent ability to score, something they struggled with last year, and yet still keep their defense solid.
Coming into the season, they have a superb blend of experienced players and emerging youngsters working under the same tutelage of Andres Oliveira, along with important new acquisitions like Michael Domfeh.
On Saturday, March 18, Inglewood will begin the 2023 season on the road against the defending champions Floreat Athena in an exciting match-up before travelling back to Inglewood Stadium for an intriguing contest against Balcatta Etna.
OPENING FIXTURES
Round 1: Floreat Athena FC v Inglewood United FC
Round 2: Inglewood United FC SC v Balcatta Etna FC
Round 3: Armadale SC v Inglewood United FC
Olympic Kingsway
Following a record breaking State League 1 championship win, David Tough and Ross Edwards will be looking to make a statement in the NPL with the Green Machine.
New signings like Daniel Walsh, who has made the move to Olympic Kingsway after stints with Perth Redstar and Perth Glory, as well as 23-year-old midfielder Ollie Annis, who also joins the club following stints with Sorrento and Perth Glory, underline their lofty but realistic ambitions in a club reborn and redefined.
In 2023, Olympic Kingsway wants to be known as a resilient and expansive team, but it is going to be a tough ask against Stirling Macedonia in the first round.
OPENING FIXTURES
Round 1: Stirling Macedonia FC v Olympic Kingsway SC
Round 2: Olympic Kingsway SC v Floreat Athena FC
Round 3: Olympic Kingsway SC v Balcatta Etna FC
Perth SC
In order to maximize both new and old personnel at hand and maintain defensive compactness—similar to last year, when they conceded the second fewest goals—while still attempting to “play free-flowing football with the ball,” a change in formation has been made by Marc Wingell to three at the back.
Perth has brought in a wide range of players ahead of the new year with an emphasis on acquiring local talent with real potential, subsequently casting uncertainty about their ability to contend in the present for a top-four spot.
The Azzurri kick off their campaign at home against RedStar in the first of a trio of home games at Dorrien Gardens, followed by clashes against Sorrento and Cockburn City.
OPENING FIXTURES
Round 1: Perth SC v Perth RedStar FC
Round 2: Perth SC v Sorrento FC
Round 3: Perth SC v Cockburn City SC
Perth Glory
After a disappointing 2022, optimism is high at Hartfield Park. With first-teamers now being incorporated into the NPL setup, including the likes of Stefan Colakovski, Luke Ivanovic, and a few others.
To start the season, Glory once again hit the road, this time to take on Balcatta, whom when they faced in the same fixture last season, they suffered a 3-0 defeat.
OPENING FIXTURES
Round 1: Balcatta Etna FC v Perth Glory FC
Round 2: Perth Glory FC v Armadale SC
Round 3: Bayswater City SC v Perth Glory FC
Perth Redstar
Following a thrilling Grand Final where they came out winners in 2022, Redstar will want to once again make a big impact in the NPL, the next step seemingly being winning their first league title as a new club.
In 2022, Perth Redstar finished second in the league, two points below fellow grand finalist; Floreat Athena.
Their hopes of making history however may be significantly impacted following a recent series of injuries, including those to star player and captain Ellis Healing.
They begin their season away at Dorrien Gardens against Marc Wingell’s Perth.
OPENING FIXTURES
Round 1: Perth SC v Perth RedStar FC
Round 2: Perth RedStar FC v Stirling Macedonia FC
Round 3: Sorrento FC v Perth RedStar FC
Stirling Macedonia
Stirling had a fantastic season in 2022, solidifying their status again as an established NPL club by placing third in the league, just four points behind league champions Floreat Athena. This came after only clinching promotion in the 2021 season.
First-team coach Ian Ferguson, who had a stellar playing career in Scotland, will be hoping his team takes up where they left off and once more makes a serious bid at the elusive NPL WA League title.
The Macedonians’ 2023 season will launch on Saturday night with twilight football at Macedonia Park against league newcomers Olympic Kingsway.
OPENING FIXTURES
Round 1: Stirling Macedonia FC v Olympic Kingsway SC
Round 2: Perth RedStar FC v Stirling Macedonia FC
Round 3: Floreat Athena FC v Stirling Macedonia FC
Sorrento
Sorrento are prepared for another assault on the top of the table after the Sky Blues were just one goal away from a spot in the grand final last year.
The gulls will want to carry on in the same vein as last year, although with a few adjustments under new management and a new president.
The greatest hurdle, according to manager Steven McGarry, is that “the transfer window is closed, so I can’t add to the squad.”
OPENING FIXTURES
Round 1: Bayswater City SC v Sorrento FC
Round 2: Perth SC v Sorrento FC
Round 3: Sorrento FC v Perth RedStar FC
