- Cooks Hill United Reserves are on a hot streak in the reserve league, racking up an 11-1 win over Kahibah and 3-2 victories over Belmont Swansea and Edgeworth.
- Newcastle Olympic Reserves have been in mixed form overall, but have looked better in June, bouncing back with a 2-0 win at Maitland and a 0-0 draw with Adamstown.
- Cooks Hill have had more success in recent H2Hs, winning two of the last three - a 3-0 win and a 3-2 win.
A top-of-the-table scrap at No.2
The top of the ladder remains tightly congested for Round 17 of the NPL NNSW Reserves 2026, with Newcastle Olympic sitting around the top spot and Cooks Hill United hovering close behind, with just a few points separating them.
There is no doubting that both squads have been in contention for the top spot, with Olympic sitting on around 32 points from around 15 matches and Cooks Hill on about 28 points from about 14 matches. So there is plenty at stake in this Saturday's clash, which is a proper six-pointer where either side could see a swing in the ladder picture or even finals seedings.
The clash of styles should also make for an exciting matchup. Newcastle Olympic are an organised, pragmatic outfit that build from the back in either a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-4 shape, where they try to control the game and dictate possession. They tend not to overpress but will do it selectively and get numbers forward in transition. They have the experience of Dominik Brymora and Marcus Duncan in the spine to hold it all together, but they have the firepower of veteran Kale Bradbery to hurt Cooks Hill.
Opposing styles should lead to a lively game
Cooks Hill have a different philosophy under Jamie Dunning, who has developed youth, possession-based football that is played with an attacking edge. The squad is a high-tempo, high-energy unit with a little less structure, but that style has won them some big games recently.
Zaik Luck, Jye Bailey and Cameron Howard bring plenty of pace and bite at the edges of Cooks Hill's squad while the youthful rotations have given them a surge of goals in the second half of the season. Daniel Clements brings some experience and leadership to a young squad that is built for a fast-paced game.
Newcastle Olympic are a narrow home favorite at 2.12, ahead of Cooks Hill at 2.77 and the draw at 3.72. We are taking Olympic to nick this in a goal-laden contest, but the odds are tight and the correct score bet on a 2-1 win for Olympic makes more sense.
Cooks Hill have Olympic’s number
A 2-2 draw is the main upset route here because Cooks Hill have the attack to crash the party if they can get the transitions right. Over 2.5 goals at 1.38 and BTTS Yes at 1.36 are also in the play, but the BTTS option looks a much cleaner alternative to the goal line that is getting squeezed by the short odds.
Newcastle Olympic have been a solid 2-0 team in June, but the shutout at Maitland shows they can lock it up when needed and Will Southcombe is a good young player who brings some energy and control to the midfield. So we are going with a 2-1 home win in this one.
The H2H record in reserve grade since 2023 is fairly even, but Cooks Hill have had more joy with one 3-0 win and a 3-2 win in the last 12 months. The latest full match-up results were spicy, with Olympic winning 3-0 away on 28 March 2026, Cooks Hill answering with a 3-0 victory at home on 31 August 2025 and then edging a 3-2 thriller on 30 July 2025.
