Canberra Olympic v Monaro Panthers | 7pm Friday | Woden Park Enclosed

Friday night football will make its debut for the season this week when Canberra Olympic host Monaro Panthers at Woden Park. Both sides will make their first outing of the season after not playing in Round one, and there will be plenty of new faces on the park. Olympic showed their skill and brushed off some pre-season rust in the Charity Shield win over Tuggeranong a number of weeks back, and have been gearing up for the season with trial games since. Roko Strika is away and will be unavailable, but aside from him and the injured Phil Yarnold, Frank Cachia will have a full-strength side to pick from. A fast start to the season will be ideal for Olympic, beginning three points behind the top of the table.

This will be the league’s first look at a new look Monaro side, that has seen plenty of changes over the summer under Zoran Glavinic. Bottom of the table last season, this is a campaign in which they will want to improve and the Panthers can do that with a strong showing first up. They will undoubtedly be underdogs heading into this match but they showed last season in the FFA Cup that they are not shy to cause an upset, and will be out to prove themselves early. Keeping Olympic out will be as big a job as creating chances up the other end; a tough task considering the 6-1 aggregate across their two meetings in 2017.

 

Woden-Weston v Belconnen United | 3pm Saturday | Woden Park Enclosed

Two of Round One’s winning sides meet in the Saturday afternoon clash in Round Two as Woden-Weston host Belconnen United at Woden Park. The Wanderers picked up something of a surprise win away to Tigers in Rey Castro’s first NPL game in charge and will want to use momentum from that clash as they head into a meeting with 2017’s Grand Final winners. Castro’s young side stood up under pressure as Tigers chased them down at the end of that meeting, but against United it will be a different task. Peter Mazis has a young squad too, but it has plenty of experience still in it, and they will be used to a pressure environment.

Mazis was missing a few key names early on, but has had time to regather the troops over the Easter break. The 1-0 win to begin was a perfect start considering that Belconnen were on the back foot for much of the outing, and this match will give them to play the match on their terms. Daniel Barac got off to a good start with the only goal of the match, and both he and Jason Ugrinic will be out to cause problems for Woden-Weston in this meeting. Fatigue will play a part with Saturday slated to reach 29 degrees, and man management will be important for both coaches,

 

Riverina Rhinos v Gungahlin United | 5pm Saturday | EW Moore Oval

The Riverina Rhinos and Gungahlin United will both look to get off the mark this weekend as they face off in Griffith. The Rhinos will be at home once more after their Round one loss to Tuggeranong United, where they took the lead in the second half before falling behind late on. That performance overall seemed to indicate an improvement though, and that the Rhinos will not be easy-beats in 2018. They face a different test this weekend though in a Gungahlin United side also coming off a loss.

Marcial Munoz’s men controlled large parts of the Round one clash with Belconnen United, but went behind to an early goal and struggled to convert chances to get back into the match. United should be favourites heading into this one, but the trip to Griffith is a tough one and they will need to ensure they are at their best. Munoz will be without Mikey Katsoulis, David Jenkins, Ben Basser-Silk and Nick Rathjen through injury, meaning there will be some reshuffling across the park. This match will be a big test for United early in the season, and a match that will be important to win to avoid potentially falling six up to six points behind the ladder leader’s dependent on other results.

             

Tuggeranong United v Tigers FC | 3pm Sunday | Greenway Enclosed (LIVE on BarTV Sports)

Tuggeranong United will host Tigers FC in the Match of the Round on Sunday afternoon, streamed live thanks to BarTV Sports. Tuggeranong will come in to this match with the form after their come from behind win in Round One over the Riverina Rhinos, where they were down a man for a large part of the second half. Marco Gayer will be unavailable due to suspension but otherwise Tuggeranong should be at full strength for this clash. The last time Tuggeranong were live on BarTV Sports, talented forward Fernando Jorquera produced this gem, and Mitch Stevens would be right to hope that he can produce more of the same this weekend.

For Tigers, their loss to Woden-Weston came as something of a shock in the first week, but there were still good signs as Gaby Wilk’s men almost fought their way back in to steal a point. Alex Oloriegbe showed that he still has his knack for scoring goals, while Jared Tonini and Mark Shields both got on the board. Both forwards scoring is a positive, and Wilk will hope for more of the same this weekend. Both sides have genuine top four aspirations and this game will serve as something of a barometer as to where they are at a couple of rounds in.