A rematch of the 2017 decider will pit two traditional rivals in Glenorchy Knights and the Olympia Warriors up against each other in Saturday's Lakoseljac Cup Final.
The Knights were the only real challenger to Devonport in the NPL Tasmania title race and whilst they ultimately fell short, they will enter this one as the favourites after finishing three places, and 11 points ahead of the Warriors in the final NPL TAS standings.
The Knights also had the better of the Warriors in their two league clashes, including a comfortable 3-0 win as recently as October 17th.
But both camps have played down the impact of previous meetings at the pre game press conference.
Warriors Striker Ben Hamlett said the Warriors were peaking just in time for the final and after a tough season were feeling confident about the direction of the side.
“We’ve left our run just perfectly because over the past month or so we’ve really started to gel and I’ve noticed in the past few weeks that we’re more of a team than ever.” Hamlett said.
We’re looking sharp and cup final football comes down the performance on the day.
“When we’ve played them in the past, we weren’t much of a team.
“The vibes at training indicate we’re very confident.
Knights coach James Sherman suggested he was expecting a tougher opposition this time around but was confident in his side.“Neither side was at full strength in those games and this will be different," said Shernan
“They’ll have a couple of boys that didn’t play in those previous games, and so will we.
“We come into the Lakjoseljac Cup Final full of confidence and in a good position. “To be in cup finals is really important. The culture of football clubs should be about getting into cup finals and winning cup finals and being close to winning the league or finishing as high up the league table as possible." Whilst the Warriors had a disappointing NPL campaign, they have saved their best performances for the Cup, scoring 19 goals across their 3 Lakoseljac Cup games and their crushing 7-0 win over Launceston City in last week’s Semi Final suggests they are indeed coming into form at the right time to potentially turn the tables on their rivals. The Warriors have struggled to put out their best XI for much of the year but should have a full squad to pick from on Saturday. In attack a pacey front three of the Brown twins along with Ben Hamlett leading the line should be enough to cause problems for the Knights defensive unit that will boast Oscar Thomas and Tyler Harrison in the middle with Jack Bowman and Connor Schmidt occupying the full back slots. At the other end of the park, Lucas Hill and Jake Vandermey will likely be flanked by a pair of attacking full backs in Adam Gorrie and Lachlan O'Connor, but they will have their hands full to not maraud too far forward, or Knights have the weapons to hurt them in behind. Former Warrior Joffrey Nkoso was absolutely unstoppable for much of the Semi Final and will line up with Alex Walter and Nick Naden in the most free scoring attack in the State this year. With Thomas Young and Alex Bellini providing support from behind them in midfield, this is a side with many avenues to goal that can be incredibly difficult to try and stifle. The midfield battle should be a fantastic duel, and it was where the game was won in 2017 as Nick Mearns produced a glistening midfield performance. He will likely be joined by the more defensive minded presence of veteran Loic Feral and Joseph Mwarabu this time around as they look to counter Young, Bellini and the metronomic Jordan Muller who will sit the deepest of the Knights midfield and do much of the grunt work for his side. In net, Lachie Hart has had a fine breakout season for the Knights and looks to be their keeper of the future, having played strongly in big games this year. The Warriors have largely used Darby Randall in net, but a stunning performance in the Semi Final from Elliot Hoystead will surely see him retaining his place. As ever, the keepers may just be the most important men on the park as not many teams win cup finals if they let in a soft goal. This game has the potential for plenty of goals, with these two sides the highest scoring teams in the NPL TAS this season and both boas a glut of attacking talent capable of breaking open games. Expect an attacking, open encounter with chances for both sides. Whoever can take them more efficiently, will be the ones hoisting the Lakoseljac Cup.