What teams will qualify for the NPL and NPLW finals in Canberra?

There are two front-runners vying for the premiership in each competition, with five weeks to go in the top ACT men's and women's leagues.

The clear front-runners for the NPLW premiership include Canberra Croatia FC - who lead by three points - and Belconnen United FC, who are both 18 and 15 points ahead of third respectfully.

Tigers FC and Croatia are leading the charge in the men's premiership race. However, there is a narrower deficit for the remaining sides to chase, as 11 points separate Cooma from third and Deakin lead third by seven points.

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West Canberra Wanderers FC - who sit sixth heading into round 17 - NPL goalkeeper Mason Interlandi said ahead of their match with Croatia on Sunday, it had been a wild season.

"With the exception of a couple of spots, everything is so tight on the ladder," he said.

"It's really been a great one of the purists, but for us I mean even when we were on top, we knew we couldn't be comfortable and on any day, any team can beat anyone. I think that's the great thing about this competition.

"So that gives us a lot of confidence for this weekend, as last time we lost 5-0 to Croatia which was painful, and painful for me personally as it's never nice picking the ball out of the net five times. But we beat them in the first game of the season we played them, and so we know we can do it again."

Five teams are in the race for third and fourth in the NPL, with six points separating third and seventh. Gungahlin United FC, Belconnen, Monaro Panthers FC, Wanderers and Canberra Olympic FC all are in with a shot at the top four.

Based on recent form, Monaro and Gungahlin seem poised to scrap ahead and secure their spot in the top four.

In the women's competition, four teams are in the race for the final two spots in the top four. Only three points separates third and seventh, meaning Olympic, Gungahlin, Canberra United Academy and Wanderers are all in contention to battle it out for a finals spot.

With the inclusion of Michelle Heyman boosting Gungahlin's score lines and the depth of experience in Olympic, they have the best shot at finals. However, if Academy can get back to their winning ways, by pairing together their technical ability with their match fitness over other sides, they have a shot.