The W-League teams have seen a fair bit of change in the off-season, with Stop Out dropping out of the league completely and defending champions Upper Hutt City losing their coach Wendi Henderson.

Suburbs have stepped into the breach at late notice to take Stop Out’s place in the league and were holding open trials and trainings as late as Monday at the Ole Football Academy as they looked to complete their team.

Wairarapa United also have a new coach in the form of Wellington Phoenix legend Paul Ifill, so deciding on the contenders this year might be quite tough.

Wellington United remain a strong proposition under coach Guillermo Schiltenwolf. Their first-round clash against Upper Hutt at Newtown Park should tell us a lot about the relative strength of both teams.

Last year’s contenders, Palmerston North Marist travel down to Wellington’s south coast to take on Seatoun, while Wests will play their first competitive W-League match against Wairarapa over in Masterton.

In the Ultra Football Central League, early-season pretenders can stake their claim as genuine contenders in round two.

Wellington United, Napier City Rovers, Wellington Olympic, and Stop Out all scored impressive first-round wins on Easter Monday and will be looking to continue their momentum against teams who failed to win on opening day.

United looked very good in their 6-1 win over rivals Miramar Rangers, with teenage striker Calvin Harris netting four goals in the second half. They welcome newcomers Havelock North Wanderers to Newtown Park, who could be in for another tough afternoon after having to contend with Stop Out in a 2-0 loss on Monday.

Stop Out won that match thanks to two goals in two minutes from Jerram Tuck in the first half and have a Hutt Valley derby to worry about against Lower Hutt City at the Fraser Park Turf. Lower Hutt acquitted themselves very well against defending champions Western Suburbs on Monday, coming back from 2-0 down at halftime to earn a point with a 2-2 draw.

It was a surprising result for Wests, who dominated much of the match. They face another tough test of their new-season credentials when they travel to Masterton to play last year’s runner-up Wairarapa United, who lost their opener against Wellington Olympic 2-1.

That was a top result for Olympic, the 2016 champions, and they will fancy their chances of going two-from-two when they head into the western hills to face newly-promoted Waterside Karori. The hosts would have spent a fair chunk of the week licking their wounds after a 7-3 pasting from Napier City Rovers on Monday, but will need to put that behind them as quickly as possible.

Napier ran away with things in that wild Easter Monday win, but will need to take that home form on the road when they meet a Miramar team still smarting from their first-up hammering by a traditional rival.

In the men's Capital Premier division, two first-round winners in North Wellington and Tawa meet at Alex Moore Park. North Wellington have recruited some experienced players in the off-season, including opening-day goalscorers Chas Lawrence and Martin Packer, while Tawa scored a 3-2 win over newcomers Kapiti Coast United first up.

Upper Hutt City should really have joined those teams on three points after round one, but gave up a 90th-minute equaliser against Olympic’s reserves. They host Kapiti Coast on Saturday as both teams search for their first win.

Elsewhere, Olympic’s reserves play Wests’ reserves, Lower Hutt’s reserves host Island Bay United and Petone travel to Newtown Park 2 to play Miramar’s reserves on Sunday.

Also starting this weekend is the Women's Premier competition where last season's most dominant team, the Wellington United Sapphires, will find new competition in the Stop Out side which withdrew from the W-League. Those teams meet in Round 1 to provide a good gauge of where both teams are at from the outset.

Wakefield Park hosts a Sunday afternoon double-header while Kapiti Coast United welcome Victoria University to Weka Park.

W-League first round fixtures

Saturday
Wellington United v Upper Hutt, Newtown Park at 11am
Seatoun v Palmerston North Marist, Seatoun Park at 12pm
Wairarapa United v Western Suburbs, Masterton Memorial at 1pm

Central League second round fixtures

Saturday
Wellington United v Havelock North Wanderers, Newtown Park at 1.30pm
Waterside Karori v Wellington Olympic, Karori Park at 2.30pm
Lower Hutt City v Stop Out, Fraser Park at 3.30pm
Wairarapa United v Western Suburbs, Masterton Memorial at 3.30pm

Sunday
Miramar Rangers v Napier City Rovers, David Farrington Park at 2.30pm

Capital Premier second round fixtures

Saturday
North Wellington v Tawa, Alex Moore Park at 2.30pm
Western Suburbs v Wellington Olympic, Endeavour Park at 2.30pm
Upper Hutt City v Kapiti Coast United, Maidstone Park at 3pm
Lower Hutt City v Island Bay United, Fraser Park at 5.30pm

Sunday
Miramar Rangers v Petone, Newtown Park 2 at 1pm

Women's Premier first round fixtures

Sunday
Stop Out v Wellington United Sapphires, Hutt Park at 1pm
Island Bay United Flames v Brooklyn Northern United, Wakefield Park at 1pm
Kapiti Coast United v Victoria University, Weka Park at 1pm
Waterside Karori v Petone, Wakefield Park at 3pm