Olympic coach Harmonie Attwill is keen to see how her charges respond after they were the subjects of a 5-1 demolition at the hands of now competition leaders Broadmeadow last Friday night.
The win put Magic on 40 points and returned them to top of the table after an eight-round period in which they trailed Olympic by two points in the race for the 2021 Newcastle Herald Women's Premier League premiership.
They now have a one-point buffer over Olympic (39) and the premiership is theirs to lose. Both have six games left before finals.
Magic play Charlestown (18) this Friday night then New Lambton (3), Adamstown (25), Mid Coast (4), and Warners Bay (22) twice.
Olympic have New Lambton, Mid Coast, Maitland (24), Charlestown, and Adamstown twice. Until round 16 last weekend, Olympic had only dropped points in a 2-0 loss to Magic in round two.
"There's no way we thought we'd cop that result," Attwill told the Herald. "But we'll move on. You can't win every game and it's always interesting to see how players respond to challenges like that. It will either make us or break us in a way.
"I'm interested to see how they respond. It's a big loss and it's demoralising in a way. So, what they do from here will be critical for the rest of our season."
Olympic are still without key midfielder Jade McAtamney for an unknown period as she lives on the Central Coast and is subject to Greater Sydney lockdown orders.
The defending champions and premiers were also missing experienced and tireless player Laura Hall against Magic after she was a last-minute withdrawal due to illness.
Magic coach Jake Curley and centre-back Kirstyn Antoni also remain locked down on the Central Coast.
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