The finish line is near as we hit the final fortnight of the 2019 NPL Tasmania season, as the seasons winds to its conclusion, the title race may well be done, but the individual awards are still being fought for and in particular the Golden Boot race comes into sharp focus.
The race for top scorer has gone right down to the wire this season, with Miles Barnard and Mathew Sanders currently locked on 27 goals apiece. Barnard memorably hit eight the last time the Reds met Clarence, so this is a great chance for him to pull away when the Strikers meet the Reds on the Sunday. Devonport will be warmly expected to win that one comfortably as they continue their preparation for the Maitland Magpies in the NPL National Finals series.
Sanders will have a tougher task as his side travels to Launceston City on the Saturday at 4:30pm in the Juventus derby between the two clubs of Italian heritage. With the Zebras locked into fourth spot on the table they can't go up or down at this point but City could still reach as high as fifth. That looks a tough task given recent results however and they must win this one to keep themselves in with a shot. Their form has been a little patchy of late, but Noah Mies clicked back into gear with a hat-trick last week and when he has fired this year, City have looked capable of getting results against the top four sides.
Earlier on the Saturday in Launceston, Riverside will play host to Olympia at Windsor Park, looking to add another scalp before their season ends. The club have improved steadily in their first season of NPL football and are looking to demonstrate that progression with a real signature win. 14 points is a solid enough return given they are just starting out in the competition, but there is no doubt they would like to add to it in the final fortnight. Olympia have looked a bit flat after falling out of the title race but snapped back to life with one of their better displays in a 3-0 win over Kingborough last weekend. If they can hit that level again this week, then they should be able to reach the 50 point mark.
Finally on the Sunday, it's South Hobart up against Glenorchy Knights at Darcy Street. Both sides have had major injury problems this season and probably not quite racked up as many wins as they might have hoped heading into the season. Yet South are still in play for second spot and the Knights for fifth, so they still have something to play for here. Knights are coming off one of their better wins of the year in a 2-1 win over the Zebras, whilst South will look to lift after a midweek draw with the Lions. The broken leg suffered by Nick Morton adds another to the South injury list and so they will have to rely on the youth if they are to account for the Knights and continue their push for second.