With the back of the season fast approaching it's getting down to the business end now. 7 games remain, every result counts and the battle for finals / relegation is beginning to heat up.

What are your opinions on the table so far? Over-achievers / Under-achievers. Pretenders & contenders? Title hopefuls and relegation bound?

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1st: WPH - No surprises here based off the last 5-6 years. If you were a betting man you'd likely put your house on them to take out the league from here but it's still a long way to go and they have shown unusual cracks over the last 2 seasons so their ability to close out a season is questionable compared to previous years. Equal on points and only edging in front of STA on F/A. Most potent attack and 2nd least goals conceeded it will be tough to catch them but far from impossible. Ball is in their court.

2nd: STA - Always up there or abouts come the pointy end of the season. STA are a stalwart of finals football in the NWSFA and you'd expect nothing less this year. Only difference this season is they're poised to challenge for top spot as opposed to making a late charge to finals. Having survived the exodus of old players, the new team seems to have gel'd nicely and they are back to winning ways. That and their tiny, bouncy cow paddock of a home ground makes it a fortress for their play style. Any points taken at Eastwood are gold. Potentially dark horses for the double? Watch this space.

3rd: EPP - For their first time in the PL you'd assume the young lads at Epping would be stoked with being 1 point off top spot this far into the season. But having been top of the table and undefeated for so long, their recent poor patch of form has spoiled the party a bit over the last few weeks. Is it the yips? Is it inexperience in closing out a season? Have they overachieved and now are running out of steam? They have made no friends in their inagural PL season, rubbing teams up the wrong way and shaking the somewhat stagnant system of the usual dominant teams. Their skillful, youthful, aggressive play style and seemingly boundless confidence have arguably brought a breath of fresh air to the league. Do they have what it takes when the going gets tough or will they fold faster than granny on laundry day? Will they silence the haters with some end-of-season form or will the forum trolls be licking their lips on the final day?

4th: EEW - 7th in '22, 2nd in '23, 6th in '24. EEW can't seem to decide if they're title contenders or a mid table team. If the pattern is anything to go by this year should see them finish at least top 4 but their patchy form may come back to bite them. Could this season be their year? The loss to STA last weekend was actually the first loss they've sustained since April (last loss being against STA again) 7 games unbeaten is no mere feat so they must be doing something right down at Boronia. Their only losses coming at the hands of STA and WPH (1st and 2nd) means they are still within toucning distance of the top of the table but it will take some continued form and some results to go their way to get there.

5th: WRR - What a difference a year makes. Seems to be all going pear-shaped for the Meadowbank faithful in 2025. The double double must seem like a distant memory nowadays. But despite all this, believe it or not, they are actually the in-form team of the competition. A stellar last 5 games has netted them 13 of their 19 points. Going from 2W4L in round 6 to 6W1D4L by last weekend. This means they are well and truely back in touch with the top 4 and will be looking to continue to rise up the ranks. Anything short of a trophy this season will be seen by Rovers as a monumental fall from grace so the pressure is well and truely on. Do they still have what it takes or were they one season wonders that will go back to living in WPH's shadow?

6th: PEN - The fall of the Pennant Hills Empire seemingly ended last season with both their squads making finals but this year thay are back to losing ways. 4 points off the top 4 with an extra game played is not the spot they would like to see themselves in. Lots of chatter on the forum about dissent in the ranks, outsiders from Putney potentially causing some friction and rumours of the coach playing favourites have caused quite the show. Entertaining for the neutrals but clearly signs of big problems for the Green Machine. Will they languish as a mid table team simply there to make up the numbers again or will they dig in, grind out some results and push for that finals spot? In Habib we trust!

7th: MQD- If WRR are the in-form team then Dragons are the out-of-form team. Sitting undefeated after the first 4 games things looked positive for a potential rerun of season 2021. Then a run of 6 straight defeats and last weekends 2-2 draw with cellar-dwellers HFC puts MQD a fraction above the relegation scrap. Not sure what's in the water at Waterloo but something needs to change if they want to salvage their season. A few results puts them above the muck at the bottom of the table but even with results going their way it's a long way to the top 4 at this point of the season. I say grind it out, survive, enjoy the EoS trip and hit the drawing board in the off season!

8th: NMH - Possibly the underachievers of the season so far. Having pushed for finals in 22/23 but falling far short last season (7th) the slow slide to the bottom seems to be continuing this year. "Cantscoremanhurst" has been the nickname the forum has given them and it's hard to argue with the equal lowest goals scored in the league at 14 and only 3 points from dead stinkin' last, in fact, If it weren't for their heroic defeat of Epping FC last wekeend they would currently be sitting at rock bottom 10th. Was that victory a sign of life at Harris Road? Has that awoken the fire in the bellies of the once high flying Eagles? Or will we be witnessing the choke of the decade in real-time with a seemingly mainstay of the competition bowing out into SL? The typical "big engine, run until the 90th" play style of NMH may not be enough to save them this time.

9th: PUT - It's Ranger Danger time that's for sure folks! It seems as though the struggle of last season was too much for the players to handle with a seemingly epic exodus going on within the Putney roster. Most looking to the "Greener" pastures of Pennant HIlls by the looks of it (out of the fire and into the flames amirite?). What they left behind was the empty husk of the squad we saw dominant at the beginning of the '24 season. As a result we have what the pundits like to call the "punching bag" of the league. Frequently shipping 3, 4, 6 and even 10 goals per game it's not hard to see why they have the worst F/A in the league by almost double! Losing 7 of their first 8 games then showing signs of life with a win against MQD then miraculously defeating Epping only to get pumped by 5 in the next game by WPH. It's been a season to forget so far but it could get worse with the relegation threat a very real possiblity if things don't change.

10th: HFC - It's been a baptism of fire for the newbies. Seems like the jump to PL was just a bit too much and they have been exposed time and time again and shown that they're a little out of their depth. Almost a shoo-in for relegation, even from early on (currently to the delight of Putney and Normo). They can put up a decent fight on their day and have shown ,in glimpses, that they can score goals when needed, the only problem is they leak more at the back averaging 3 condeeded each game. Funnily enough they have managed to score agasint every team except WPH so have they just been a bit lacking at the back? Unlike Putney, HFC have not been spanked week in week out, they have narrowly lost on a number of occasions (4 of their losses were by only 1 goal) Turn them into draws or even wins and their season looks very different. Will they be able to snag some results in the final games and put the pressure on PUT, NMH & MQD? Or will they be one season wonders like North Ryde and go back to SL licking their wounds?

As for who may replace the unfortnately relegated squad. So far it's looking like a 2 horse race in SL between RAV and HWK. Both previously PL teams, both capitulating and dropping down, both "reborn" with almost completely new rosters and both itching to get back to prems to prove they're the real deal.

Final table prediction:

1- WPH

2- STA

3- WRR

4- EPP

5- EEW

6- MQD

7- PEN

8- NMH

9- HFC

10- PUT

Great read, good to see Simon Hill retiring from A-League to focus on NSWF Prems. 

Predictions:

Premiership- WPH

Relegation- MQD, these lot are pony - 7 games without a win it can't keep going on like this can it?

It can wrote:
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>Great read, good to see Simon Hill retiring from A-League to focus on NSWF Prems. 

>Predictions:

>Premiership- WPH

>Relegation- MQD, these lot are pony - 7 games without a win it can't keep going on like this can it?

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It can 

100% Dragons for the drop. 
Just look at their final 7 games: 5th-2nd-6th-4th-3rd-1st-1st