Budgewoi – Southern & Ettalong
The Round 11 MPL Match of the Round is headlined by our two most consistent teams in 2025, first place Southern & Ettalong will look to do the double over their competitors when they travel to Budgewoi for a top-of-the-table clash.
In their initial meeting this season these two teams did not disappoint as Budgewoi recorded their only loss of the year so far, going down 3-2 away from home against Southern.
The Lions established an early 2-0 on that occasion, but Budgewoi showed their championship mentality to find a way back into the game before levelling things at 2-2.
However, a trademark long throw from Southern captain Todd Balneaves was turned into the goal by Alfie Martin for the winner despite Budgewoi having the better of chances.
“Reflecting on our round one encounter, we knew it would be a tough fixture as both teams hadn’t lost in 2025 yet, Southern were critical with their set pieces,” spoke assistant coach Corey Atkinson.
Extremely unlucky to have nothing to show from that encounter, Budgewoi will be adamant on closing the gap between them and Southern in front of a home crowd this Sunday, a gap that is currently four points.
Since that loss in round 2, Budgewoi have looked like a team on a mission, scoring 30 goals in their past six games, whilst only conceding seven goals during this unbeaten run.
When questioned about this run where his side is averaging 5 goals a game, Atkinson stated, “The boys have been sharp all season so we’re hoping to continue this winning streak and put more pressure on Southern for the top spot.”
Despite being four points behind, Budgewoi have a game in hand over the table toppers so a win this weekend will have them primed to overtake this outfit on top of the MPL ladder.
Not only are these teams racing for League Champions, but the 2025 Golden Boot race is extremely competitive as Chris Lennon (9), Tahj Werner (8), Stuart Adams (7) and Charlie Entwistle (7) are all hunting down current leader Jacob Lepre who has 11 goals to his.
The similarities between these two sides are almost identical at this stage of the season. Both teams have only dropped points on one occasion, both teams have only conceded 10 goals heading into the weekend, and both teams have almost scored the same number of goals with Southern (36) just edging Budgewoi (34).
Atkinson also commented on what he is expecting this weekend as well as the key to victory for his side.
“We’re anticipating a good hit out on Sunday. Returning to budge will allow us to play our free-flowing football again.”
“For us to come away with the three points we will need to be at our best in front of goal and more organised with southern set pieces.”
It’s been quite an incredible start to the year for Southern who deserve to be sitting atop of the ladder as the only unbeaten team in 2025.
After a shaky opening three games, winning their first two games both 3-2 against Killarney and Budgewoi, round 3 saw Southern share the points with title contenders Kanwal in a great showcase of football that ended 1-1.
From round 4, Southern went on an incredible streak of games where they scored 25 goals in just four games, including a 7-2 victory over last year’s League Champions Woongarrah and a 7-1 win against rivals Terrigal.
Enjoying their last two games at home where they keep their six-game winning streak intact, Southern will now hit the road for their most important match of 2025.
When questioned if anything has surprised him about his side’s unbeaten run, Matt Page stated, “It’s not necessarily surprising, but the depth that we have added to our squad this year has been a real bonus.”
“I don’t think we’ve put out the same starting 11 two weeks in a row so far this season, mainly due to injuries and guys going away, but because of the quality of the replacements, we’ve managed to maintain a high-level week to week. It’ll be our aim to continue that this weekend.”
“The takeaways from that first match are that Budgewoi are a very good football side with some really talented players. They work hard, look to use the ball and play for the full 90 minutes. And their results so far show that they can do that consistently.”
Page also gave us an insight into how he thinks this weekend will play out, “I’m anticipating a tough, high-quality match.”
“The boys are excited to play on the good surface at Budge after a few weeks of playing on some of the deteriorating pitches around the coast, like ours.”
“Corey’s lads have won every game since dropping points to us, so they will be coming into the match full of confidence. It should be great viewing for the supporters of both sides.”
Page also added, “We must keep our concentration levels up defensively for the full 90 minutes and look to treasure possession, as the opposition have some very dangerous forward players who can hurt you if you make mistakes in these areas.”
Match Official – Preston Lorusso
All Round 11 Fixtures –
