Launceston City will be seeking to extend a remarkable record in Northern derbies when they host Riverside in the McDonald's NPL Tasmania on Friday night.
In their last dozen encounters against cross-town rivals Olympic and Launceston United, Daniel Syson’s men have won all 12 with an aggregate scoreline of 51-5.
Furthermore, City have triumphed in three-quarters of their 20 derbies against Olympic, including 14 of the last 16.
Syson said the club were proud of those stats.
“I was aware we had a great record there but for us it’s just about performance levels and when we play these games we always know that Riverside especially are going to give us a great game in terms of intensity and the way they press,” he said.
“There’s a lot of local pride and the boys that have been at the club for a while understand that.”
Riverside won three of their first four derbies after joining the Statewide competition in 2019, but have picked up just one victory since then.
Coach Helder Dos Santos Silva admitted City’s derby record is formidable.
“They have a great coach to begin with - a guy that knows what he's doing,” he said. “And then they have a great team as well. When they recruit boys, they already know what they come into, and they always overperform us, so it's up to us to lift the standard and try to get something out of it.
“I don't like to go talk about stats, because I'm not a stats guy, but we have to perform and try to get the three points.”
Both squads have undergone considerable turnover during the off-season but the teams are coming off impressive home wins last Saturday with City putting league newcomers Ulverstone to the sword while Olympic were ensuring a second successive pointless trip north for Glenorchy.
City are one of four sides on maximum points after two rounds but something has to give with South Hobart and Kingborough putting their 100 per cent records on the line at D’Arcy Street.
Conversely, four teams have a chance to get off the mark with Glenorchy hosting South East United and Ulverstone set to stage their first Statewide fixture at Westside Park where Launceston United are the visitors.
Meanwhile in the McDonald's Women's Super League, two teams fresh off opening-round 5-0 routs square up at KGV.
Champions Devonport were at their imperious best with the familiar names of Whitney Knight, Asuka Doi and Jaz White on the scoresheet against Taroona.
Coach Tom Ballantyne admitted the trio present an enviable embarrassment of riches.
“We’ve got the best and fairest from last year (Doi), best and fairest from the year before (Knight) and Jaz was dual best and fairest the previous two seasons and I think that’s also the top four golden boot winners over the past four years, if not longer, all in one team for probably the first time in Tassie football history,” he said.
“So it’s a hell of a headache to have, but it’s been really challenging in a good way how we solve problems and create little ecosystems for them to work in.
“With Whitney in the team it changes slightly how Asuka has to play and now we’ve got Jaz, where does that create space for the other players? We’ve just been trying to move players around to find out where they’re best suited.”
Glenorchy had to be patient before second-half doubles from Jemima Brown and Charlotte Butler set up their victory at Riverside but captain Sarah Bolonja is confident they have what it takes to challenge a side that has won 34 of 36 matches across two unbeaten league campaigns.
“As a team we do need to work on our finishing,” she said. “We had, I think, 36 shots to one and won 5-0 so that does tell you a lot about our composure up front, but we’re creating scoring opportunities and that’s a massive thing going into Devonport because if we keep creating those opportunities we’ll get rewarded for it.
“We definitely want to take it to Devonport. They are an incredible side. They are the benchmark and have been for the last few years, but this season we’re looking incredible. We are a young side and the way we’re gelling is very good to see.
“I think we just need to play our brand of football. They’re very good but I think it just comes down to effort, and if everyone has their best game I think we have a very good chance of potentially beating them.”
Elsewhere, Taroona, Riverside and Launceston United will be chasing their first points of the campaign when they travel to South Hobart, Launceston City and Kingborough respectively.
McDonald's NPL Tasmania, Round 3
Friday, March 20
8.15pm Launceston City v Riverside Olympic, Prospect Vale Park Community Bank Deloraine & Districts Park
Saturday, March 21
1.15pm South Hobart v Kingborough, D’Arcy Street
2.30pm Clarence v Devonport, Wentworth Park
4.45pm Glenorchy v South East United, KGV
Sunday, March 22
2.30 Ulverstone v Launceston United, Westside Park
McDonald's Women's Super League
Saturday, March 21
12.15pm Glenorchy v Devonport, KGV
3.30pm South Hobart v Taroona, D’Arcy Street
4.45pm Launceston City v Riverside Olympic, Prospect Vale Park Community Bank Deloraine & Districts Park
Sunday, March 22
2.30pm Kingborough v Launceston United, Lightwood Park Kitchen Centre Park