- Essendon Royals are the most in-form team in NPL Victoria Women 2026 with four wins and one draw from their last five competitive matches.
- Spring Hills have won one, drawn one and lost three of their last five matches with narrow margins and late drama in several games.
- Essendon Royals have scored 19 and conceded three in their last five NPLW fixtures.
Royals are the red-hot favourites
Essendon Royals are the most in-form side in the NPL Victoria Women in 2026 with four wins and a draw from their last five games and they come into this fixture as heavy favourites at 1.26 to justify the bookmakers' opinion of them.
The Royals have 32 points and +28 goal difference from 15 games and that stat alone tells you all you need to know about their dominance of the division so far this season. Jaiden van der Heijden's team are a high-press, high-tempo side that always look to overload the central areas and get the ball wide at the earliest opportunity.
Their transition play is excellent and when they win the ball back high up the pitch they are a force to be reckoned with. Kendrah Smith and Mikaela Jurcic are superb defensive leaders who provide the backbone to this team, but the Royals' real strength is in their relentless forward play and free-scoring strike force.
Spring Hills can still show steel
Spring Hills will try to shut down their forward progress with a more compact defensive shape and patient possession play. Tom Markovski's men are long shots at 8.0 to upset the odds in Essendon on Saturday, but they are a structured and disciplined side that can come back to bite the opposition if given time. Markovski brings dynamism and goals into the final third. Captain Aleks Sinclair is an NPLW Gold Medal winner in 2025, so this fixture will be all the more interesting with her on the field. But there is a gulf in the league table and form between these two clubs. The Hills are 10th with 17 points from 15 matches and have yet to make a real move into the top half of the table. Their most recent win came courtesy of an 87th-minute winner from Chelsea De Silva.
Set pieces could be the key
The Hills' are a vertically direct side that can punch above their weight when they get it right and set pieces have been a real threat for them. The visitors have had some tough breaks this season and goalie Brooke Bennett has had to pull off big saves to keep games within reach.
Bennett recently saved a penalty and Chelsea De Silva has shown she can be a game winner, so Spring Hills may be able to make this game closer than the bookmakers expect. But we'll take the Royals to get the job done at 1.26 because we believe it will be a good day for an Essendon goal-fest.
Over 2.5 goals is a strong alternative bet at 1.31 because we can see Bennett and her defenders keeping the visitors in the contest until late on. This should be an open contest with no rain forecast in Essendon on the day. A 2-0 or 2-1 win for the home side is a likely outcome.
Head-to-head since mid-2025 - Spring Hills have won two of three competitive matches against Essendon, with the other one going to the Royals. Essendon won the most recent clash 1-0 in February 2026.
