‘More to come': Testing start to 2025 as Napier City Rovers chase National League dream

NZ Herald

06-05-2025

Fifth and sixth are respectively held by Waterside Karori – who are locked on 10 competition points with Napier City Rovers but are a place behind on goals for and against – and fellow Wellington club Western Suburbs who have nine points.
Napier City Rovers – the only non-Wellington team in the Central League – proved to be the story of last year's National League, defying the odds and the budgets of several cashed-up Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch clubs to finish fourth.
Given how tight the Central League is after the first six rounds, a run of victories is needed to keep themselves safe from the chasing pack hunting the top four.
'It is natural for everyone after a really good season for the expectations to go up,' Robertson said.
'It is just the nature of it; it comes with the territory.
'But we've got to stay grounded, and remember that it's a difficult challenge we face, playing and qualifying for the National League.
'We go on about being the only regional team to qualify for the last three years and there's a reason for that. It's not easy; we bat well above our average, and we need to get back to our processes, concentrate on each game and then I'm sure we'll start to pick up some wins.'
On Sunday, they host Miramar Rangers; the storied Wellington club who were active in the player market during the off-season after they failed to make last year's National League.
Napier City Rovers lost an evenly fought game to Waterside Karori in the capital last Saturday 2-1.
Christian Leopard was Napier City Rovers' goal scorer, slotting home one of his side's 32 shots at goal.
Ihaia Delaney scored a double for Waterside Karori; with both goals coming after he managed to break free of the defence near the far post.
'We had a significant amount of opportunities,' Robertson said. 'But you have to put them in the net.
'We're certainty not panicking. But given the high standards we demand of each other, and what we expect, then there have certainly been [some competition] points dropped.
'We had periods where we dominated the game, and we've got to capitalise on those moments and just be a little bit more clinical.
'Equally, defensively, we didn't really deal with their threats and two goals they've scored were soft from our point of view.'
Standings 📊 @BUAFC_NZ, @WgtnOlympic and @ChristchurchUtd are leading the way 👊 #DettolNationalLeague pic.twitter.com/AS1mBWtKED
— NZ National League 🏆🇳🇿 (@nzleagues) May 4, 2025
Napier City Rovers will have to be tight on defence this weekend, with Miramar Rangers featuring the Central League's golden boot leader; Uruguayan import Martin Bueno who has slotted home 11 goals in just six games.
In contrast, Robertson's side has scored just one more goal than Bueno across the opening third of the season.
And five of those 12 goals came in the 5-1 win over Island Bay seven days before the loss to Waterside Karori.
The players are well aware that unleashing their potential in front of goal is what will be required if Napier City Rovers are to remain true National League contenders in 2025.
With the halfway mark of the Central League less than a month away, Robertson said he just wanted his squad to 'live in the moment'.
'We almost need to just go week to week and concentrate on performances; forget what's gone before us, forget about league tables,' he said.
'Just concentrate on our processes and our performances and having high standards in the moment, rather than be focused on results. If we do that, I think we'll win more games than we lose.'
Robertson said the opening third of the season had provided numerous positives.
They include how several players who spent a lot of time on the reserves bench last year had 'stood up' when given their chance so far in 2025.
He said it was also impressive how well locally developed young talent had contributed, including the league debut by talented teen Alex Biju at just age 17 last month, and fellow 17-year-old Ethan Spencer's first senior league goal.
Robertson added that considering his side had yet to reach the consistent form shown in 2024, it was a positive that they are still very much in contention for the National League.
'We're in the top four at the moment,' he said.
'We're challenging and we feel that we're certainly not our best yet. There's a lot more to come from us as a squad.
'So that's a positive that we're still competing and we know we can improve moving forward.'
>> Inside the Rovers video series:
Episode 1: Match Fit
Episode 2: Teen's Dream
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Episode 3: New Beginnings
Episode 4: For Keeps
Episode 5: Kiwi Steve