After last season’s title race and relegation battle went down to the final day, plenty more drama is expected in the JD Cymru North this term – with three promotion spots up for grabs to add to the excitement.
Despite scoring 102 league goals throughout the campaign and only suffering two league defeats, Airbus UK Broughton lost out on the title on the final day of last season.
The Wingmakers, who lifted the Welsh Blood Service League Cup last term, will be one of the favourites for top spot again – spearheaded by frontman Danny Warren who won the 2024/25 Golden Boot in the JD Cymru North with 24 goals in 27 appearances.
Mark Allen has kept the core of his squad together while recruiting Mason Blackwell-Jones, who netted nine league goals for relegated Bangor 1876 last season, and six-time JD Cymru Premier title winner Blaine Hudson from The New Saints.
Holywell Town, JD Cymru North champions in 2023/24, have finished in the top three in each of the last three seasons and Johnny Haseldin’s team will aim to do so again as they seek a return to the top-flight for the first time in 27 years.
Talismanic captain Danny Andrews has retired this summer while fellow forwards Morgan Murray and Jake Roberts have also departed, but the Wellmen still have one of the most clinical forwards in the division in Jamie Breese who bagged 22 league goals last season.
Craig Lindfield wasn’t far behind him with 20 and he has been recruited after winning the title win Colwyn Bay, with Fabrizio Murtas and Jack Sconce adding further threat in attack. Veteran John Danby and the returning Tyler French will aim to fill the void left by departing goalkeeper Shaun Pearson.
After relegation from the JD Cymru Premier for the first time in their history, Newtown are preparing for an inaugural season in the second tier – with ambitions of bouncing straight back to the top-flight.
Ex-Guilsfield boss Nathan Leonard – a former assistant manager of the Robins – has taken the reins at Latham Park but has seen key names such as Zeli Ismail, Jason Oswell, Aaron Williams, George Hughes and Dominic Smith all depart after relegation.
However, Jamie Hyne has been poached from Guilsfield after netting 17 goals in the JD Cymru North last season, while Charley Edge adds further quality following his move from Gresford Athletic.
Newtown’s neighbours Caersws have appointed Robins legend Craig Williams as their new manager this summer, with the 37-year-old previously spending 18 months as a player at the Recreation Ground.
His task is to improve upon a 12th-place finish last season, with the Bluebirds flirting with relegation throughout the campaign before three wins from their final five games kept them up.
Crucial to that run was Rhys Hesden as he bagged five goals in four games, while this season he will be complemented by new signing CJ Page who has been recruited after bagging 28 league goals in the third tier last season for Bow Street.
Completing the trio of Powys clubs in the JD Cymru North is Guilsfield, who ended last season on a run of five consecutive wins to claim a sixth-place finish.
Gavin Allen, who has managed in the JD Cymru Premier with Aberystwyth Town and Pontypridd United, has been in charge at Clos Mytton since November last year and will hope to keep building momentum.
The departures of Jamie Hyne and Joe Haycock, who scored 28 league goals between them last season (almost half of Guilsfield’s overall tally), are a blow. New signing Sam Flory from Whitchurch Alport is the man tasked with filling the void and he scored on his debut in the Nathaniel MG Cup last weekend.
Llandudno also enjoyed an impressive end to last season, losing only three league games from the middle of November onwards to secure a fourth-place finish.
Jordan Hadaway remains the youngest manager in the JD Cymru North at just 24 years old and he has built a squad with a blend of youth and experience. 37-year-old Mark Cadwallader was the club’s top scorer last season with 22 league goals, but teenager Harvey Bennett also chipped in with 12.
Somali international centre-back Mo Ali has been the only major departure, with 2023/24 JD Cymru North title-winning goalkeeper Shaun Pearson arriving, along with Bala Town legend Kieran Smith and former Wrexham centre-back Ryan Austin.
Fireworks are never far away from Buckley Town and player-manager Asa Hamilton’s brutally honest post-match interviews, but the 33-year-old guided the Flintshire outfit to an impressive fifth-place finish last season.
Full-back Adam Smith is crucial to the side and made the 2024/25 JD Cymru North Team of the Season, while Max Moore and Connor Littler are key threats in attack.
Callum Humphries and Liam Driscoll have both been regulars under Hamilton but have departed this summer. Youth has been the key theme in recruitment as teenagers Oli Blayney, Hugh Holland and Luke Mariette have all arrived, along with Liam Ellis and Harvey Ellis – no relation – from Ruthin Town and Llay Miners Welfare respectively.
Brickfield Rangers are preparing for their debut campaign in the JD Cymru North after clinching the Ardal North East title on the final day of last season.
Gareth Wilson’s side scored 84 goals in 30 games on the way to securing top spot, of which over half were netted by strike duo Tom Freeman (23 goals) and Andrew Vale (22 goals).
Freeman has departed to Chirk AAA this summer, placing the pressure on Vale – and perhaps new signing Alex Darlington, now 36 years old, a six-time JD Cymru Premier title winner with The New Saints. Brothers Ryan Williams and Matty Williams have arrived from Ruthin Town to bolster the defence.
Rangers kick off the 2025/26 campaign by travelling to fellow newly-promoted side Rhyl 1879, who won the Ardal North West title by a 10-point margin in 2024/25.
Manager Paul Moore has been busy in the transfer market preparing for life in the second tier, with Morgan Murray a statement signing from Holywell Town along with former Flint Mountain duo Rocco Hewitt and Jack Parry – the latter scored 15 goals in the JD Cymru North last season.
But perhaps the Lilywhites’ best piece of business has been keeping hold of striker Dylan Proctor, who scored a league-high 28 goals in the Ardal North West last season but expressed his desire to leave the club this summer before performing a U-turn and staying put.
Holyhead Hotspur finished as runners-up to Rhyl in the Ardal North West last season, but ended their two-year absence from the JD Cymru North with a convincing 3-0 win over Llanuwchllyn in the promotion play-off.
Former Caernarfon Town striker Cory Williams scored twice in that game and will be the key threat for Darren Garmey’s side, but legendary captain Alex Jones has retired after an incredible 25-year association with Hotspur.
Nathan Williams and Jamie Jones have both been signed from last season’s promotion rivals Porthmadog, while Callum Graves joins after finishing as Menai Bridge Tigers’ top scorer last season with 12 goals from full-back.
Ruthin Town survived relegation from the JD Cymru North in the most dramatic of circumstances last season, as Jamie Reed’s late bicycle kick on the final day of the campaign kept them up at the expense of opponents Bangor 1876.
In the latest twist, Reed has since left to join Bangor – one of a number of key departures from Dave Evans’ squad alongside Ryan Williams, Matty Williams, Gwion Owen and Liam Ellis.
However, the return of Alex Webster from Corwen has been warmly welcomed, while defender Izaack Lambert is also back at the club after being a near ever-present for Flint Town United in the JD Cymru Premier last season. 17-year-old Will Cooke also looks a promising addition, as he bagged 12 goals for Llangollen in the third tier last term.
Flint Mountain finished seventh in their debut campaign in the JD Cymru North last term, but it has been all change at the club this summer as they have been forced to relocate and their home matches will now be played at Bastion Gardens in Prestatyn.
After three years in charge, Aden Shannon resigned as manager in June and his successor is yet to be announced, while the majority of last season’s first team squad is all gone – only full-back Dom McHugh and striker Ben Richards remain.
Among the new arrivals are former Bala, Connah’s Quay Nomads and Wrexham defender Kyle Parle and ex-Mold Alexandra teenage midfielder Harvey Drazdaukas.
Last season was a memorable one for Denbigh Town as they reached the JD Welsh Cup quarter-finals for the first time in their history.
Dewi Llion will aim to improve upon his side’s ninth-place finish in the league, but he will have to do so without the division’s Young Player of the Season nominee Owen Davies, who has joined Colwyn Bay in the top-flight after bagging 16 league goals last season. Former Liverpool youngster Iwan Roberts has also moved on to Gresford Athletic.
However, the prolific Matthew Worrall is back at Central Park for a third spell and got off the mark in the Nathaniel MG Cup last weekend, while Tom Weir has also returned. Dan Flanders has made last season’s loan spell permanent from Connah’s Quay Nomads and fellow teenager Luke Johnston arrives from The New Saints.
Mold Alexandra won three of their final four games of last season to secure a top half finish for the second consecutive campaign, a significant achievement after a hefty squad overhaul 12 months ago.
This time around, manager Barry Owen has kept the bulk of his team together – Fabrizio Murtas’ move to Holywell is the only key departure. Owen Cordiner has stepped up to the second tier seamlessly and leads the line in attack, while Henry Nash impressively captains the side at just 22 years old.
Veteran Dave Forbes has arrived to add support and experience in attack and Lucas Gregson’s loan move from Connah’s Quay Nomads has been made permanent. Following in his footsteps on loan from the Nomads is teenage forward Tyler Berry, who showed plenty of promise in 12 top-flight appearances last term.
Remarkably, Gresford Athletic have finished either 10th or 11th in every season since the JD Cymru North’s inception six years ago, but the Colliers will hope to push on up the table this time around.
The departure of last season’s top scorer Charley Edge to Newtown is certainly a blow to manager Eddie Maurice-Jones, but the signing of Jake Roberts could prove crucial – the forward has bagged 42 goals in the JD Cymru North across the last four seasons.
Mark Winslade replaces Dave Forbes as the experienced name in attack and has already scored in the Nathaniel MG Cup, while Iwan Roberts and Mitchell Williams inject youth into the midfield.
Penrhyncoch comfortably survived in their first season back in the JD Cymru North last term and there has been very little change to Gari Lewis’ squad over the summer as they aim to hold their own again.
Kieran Booker starred in defence last season but has moved on to Caerau Ely, while goalkeeper Steffan Jones and teenage midfielder Iestyn Duggan have been recruited from neighbours Ffostrasol and Aberystwyth Town respectively.
Only five clubs in the JD Cymru North conceded fewer league goals than Penrhyncoch last term, while Dan Owen is the key man in attack supported by the iconic Geoff Kellaway who will turn 40 years old in the spring.
