The 2025 NPLW Match of the Round Preview
Round 13: FC Bulleen Lions v Spring Hills
Venue: Veneto Club, Bulleen
Date/Time: Saturday 21 June 2025, 4:00pm
The return of Maja Markovski to the Veneto Club may be the key talking point of this week’s NPLW Match of the Round, but this match promises to be a tense affair between two teams that have struggled to assert themselves in their respective campaigns thus far.
The 2024 NPLW premiers haven’t had it their own way this season. A run of three consecutive losses was followed by three successive wins, but they have only claimed 5 points from a possible 12 in their past four matches and were unable to protect an early lead at Wembley Park in their previous outing.
The reigning VPLW Champions have also found the step up in class tough in 2025, though their form since May has been encouraging with a somewhat surprising defeat to Brunswick Juventus their only blemish in their past six encounters. Wins over Box Hill United and Preston Lions in the past three rounds have been just reward for Tom Markovski.
Bulleen have enjoyed a busy transfer period, bringing in an even dozen players to one of the thinnest rosters which began the NPLW season in March. The Lions will be hoping the addition of Ninja A-League players and club stalwarts with significant NPLW experience can elevate their form to new levels. Paige Zois, Lia Privitelli, Claudia Mihocic and Tiffany Eliadis have collectively played over 400 matches in this competition and will add backbone to one of Victoria’s proudest NPLW clubs.
Spring Hills have been nowhere near as busy, but all three of their additions add class to a squad bristling with emerging talent and a sprinkling of unparalleled experience. New acquisition Mami Ambo has scored 3 goals in 8 matches for South Melbourne this season, while Eri Narita makes the move from Preston having scored 2 goals in 9 appearances. Narita added to her tally against her former club in her Hills debut last weekend, along with final recruit Maja Markovski.
More on her remarkable story below.
Head-to-Head Record
Played: 3
FC Bulleen Lions: 2
Spring Hills: 0
Draws: 1
Last Time They Met
Round 2, Friday 21 March 2025, 8:30pm @ Springside Recreational Reserve.
Spring Hills 0;
FC Bulleen Lions 1 (Salleh 90+1).
Referee: Courtney Van Diesen.
Spring Hills: Jenna Ibrahim, Cristina Sousa (Emily Gerolemou 46), Mona Ensor, Olivia Anderson, Natasha Dakic, Sophie Papalia (Jacinta Tanarte-Crook 81), Julia Budiongo, Isabella Stringfellow (Holly Sposato 90), Aleksandra Sinclair, Erii Yamashita, Yukina Tamamura ; Coach: Tom Markovski; Cautions: Sousa 16, Gerolemou 52, Dakic 64.
FC Bulleen Lions: Emily Shields, Caitlin O'Bryan, Catherine Renehan, Mila Bulic, Danella Butrus (Mary Brown 90+4), Sarah Cain, Taylor Golden (Nia Salleh 69), Anais Josefski, Kristen Molloy (Grace Cagnina 89), Rosie Rodger, Hollie Massey; Coach: Caitlin Friend; Cautions: Nil.
Watch the last time they me
Key Matchup: Markovski returns to her old haunt
The story of Maja Markovski focused on a return to a favourite home, but in more ways than one.
This was in full effect last week, with her senior debut for Spring Hills coming some sixteen years after she first played with the club as an 8-year-old junior. She couldn’t have made a more significant impact, nabbing the winner with a classic striker’s goal in the first minute of stoppage time.
Having developed her craft at both Heidelberg United and Box Hill United, alongside stints with Melbourne Victory and Blacktown Spartans in the NPL NSW, Markovski made her biggest splash at the Veneto Club, culminating in the Gold Medal and Golden Boot last season which proved key in sealing a move to Canberra United in the Ninja A-League, where she starred in the 2024-25 campaign.
Her talent is unquestioned, but her consistency in recent seasons makes her a constant threat to any defence and she returns to the Veneto Club knowing exactly what to expect against one of the competition’s most feared rivals.
Can Markovski get one over her former club, or will Caitlin Friend bring all that recently acquired talent together in time to give the Lions a much-needed win?
The 2025 NPLW Round 13 Match of the Round will be broadcast live and free on the NPL Victoria YouTube Channel.
Commentator:
Joey Lynch.
NPLW Round 13 Matches
- Friday 20 June, 8:30pm: Preston Lions vs Alamein @ Genis Steel Stadium
- Saturday 21 June, 3:00pm: Essendon Royals vs Box Hill United @ Cross Keys Reserve
- Saturday 21 June, 4:00pm: Bulleen Lions vs Spring Hills @ Veneto Club
- Saturday 21 June, 4:15pm: FV Academy vs South Melbourne @ Home of the Matildas
- Saturday 21 June, 4:15pm: Heidelberg United vs Bentleigh Greens @ Olympic Village
- Saturday 21 June, 8:30pm: Boroondara Eagles vs Brunswick Juventus @ Veneto Club