Welcome to the Friday Forecast ahead of Round 3 of the NPL Tasmania. It’s still early days but we seem to have a tight season developing and the early indicators are that the defending champions Devonport may not have it all their own way this time around. This looks an interesting round on paper with some clashes that should be closely fought. The Strikers face the current leaders Launceston City in the game of the Round and they have the chance to reclaim top spot with a win. Both Riverside Olympic and Launceston United will look for their first points of the season as they play host two sides who won’t be happy with their final 10 minutes in last week’s games in Knights and South Hobart. Then we have a big clash on Sunday between the surprise packet of the opening two weeks in Clarence Zebras, up against a Kingborough Lions side who have likewise started the season in good touch.
Top Spot Up For Grabs As Ladder Leaders Meet The Champions
We will start at Valley Road, where the defending champion Devonport Strikers host Launceston City in what looms an early season blockbuster.
It’s been a perfect start to the Daniel Syson era for City, getting two wins from their opening two games to sit atop the table. Last week’s win away to Glenorchy Knights saw them snatching it late, but the performance in the 90 minutes leading up to the goal was very much worthy of the three points. They are yet to concede a goal, with new signings Will Humphrey and Alex Jacobs forging an immediate chemistry at the heart of their defence. With the best performing keeper of the past few seasons in Lachie Clark sitting behind them, this will be a tough side to score on this season. As the old adage goes, defence wins titles, so having this area of their game in good order bodes well for their 2023 prospects.
Even without the additional stakes of top spot being on the line, I would’ve expected a pretty fired up game between these two and there should be quite a bit of feeling in this one. Put simply, these are two sides that aren’t particularly fond of each other and have a history of fairly explosive games. Given the added stakes this time around, expect a physical game that the referee will need to be on top of early, lest things boil over.
The Strikers got back on track last weekend by shaking off their opening day stumble with a comfortable 6-1 win over Launceston United. They remain a talent laden squad with stars across every area of the pitch so that was no surprise. It’s rare this Strikers unit ever put in two down games in a row. The brilliant Roberto Fernandez Garrido scored two of those goals and he is looking as sharp as he did last season. He will be favourite for the Golden Boot this year and should provide the aforementioned City central defensive pairing with their toughest opponent yet.
The game will be Kieran Mulraney's 300th game for the Devonport Strikers, and the standards he has set in those 300 games have been of the highest level. A tough as nails defender who reads the game with intelligence, he exudes calm at the back. The Strikers skipper has been an absolute rock and a warrior for his side in this dnyasty period that Devonport have built. By the time he retires, he will surely go down as the greatest defender in the league's history. Congratulations Kieran!
Launceston United Make Their Home Bow
Competition newcomers Launceston United will play their first home game since their promotion to the top division as they welcome South Hobart to Floorworld Park.
It’s been a real baptism of fire in the NPL for United, having faced away trips to Knights and Devonport in the opening weeks. The opposition doesn’t get any easier here with South Hobart, but they will at least have home ground advantage for the first time this year and they will be hoping it can provide them with the spark to ignite their season after two losses in their first two games.
The big positive for United so far has been the form of goalkeeper Aidan Piper who has been superb through the opening two weeks. Having a goalkeeper who can steal a result is worth its weight in gold and Piper certainly seems someone who could do just that at some point this year.
South Hobart will be out to bounce back after they threw away two points last week against Clarence Zebras. They had the play and the chances in the second half to kill the contest off but they left the door ajar and were made to pay the price. They looked uncertain defending set pieces against the Zebras so that could be an area United look to focus on and is certainly something South need to tidy up.
They will fancy themselves to score some goals here though, as their attack is looking sharp with a particularly strong start to the year from Canadian livewire Isky Van Doorne. Bradley Lakoseljac has also began in strong form, showing he is more than capable of doing the hard yards to lead the line and present a strong target for his teammates to link with.
Roos Look to Open Account Against Knights
Riverside Olympic will also be looking to claim their first points of the season as they host the Glenorchy Knights at Windsor Park.
The Roos play the first month of their schedule entirely at home which means they will be doing plenty of travel later in the season and that they will be very eager to get something out of this and avoid a 0-0-3 home start.
Of concern for Riverside is that the five goals they conceded last week came in spite of an outstanding display in net from captain Daniel Nash. He pulled off a series of top drawer saves, backing up an impressive opening night performance but its clear he needs some more protection from the outfielders. It’s an extremely youthful Riverside XI, so some growing pains are to be expected but they will need to lift significantly if they are to down the Knights here.
That said, if Nash is to be tested in a similar manner to last week then the Knights attack will need to lift after a toothless display against City last week. They had plenty of possession but not enough in meaningful areas and they need to find a cutting edge or at least be a little more decisive in launching attacking moves. Jack Turner’s absence was certainly felt as he could well be the man to add that extra grunt in attack. They should have enough about themselves to get a win this week however.
Sunday Safari Derby
Sunday sees our first Safari Derby of the season with the Clarence Zebras entertaining the Kingborough Lions at Wentworth Park.
For the Zebras it’s been a mighty impressive opening to the season, with two highly credible results that suggest they will be the big improvers in the league this season. Drawn away to Devonport and South to start the season was an incredibly tough opening schedule and so to be undefeated through the first fortnight is a fine feat. Prior to the past fortnight they had never taken a point from either South Hobart or Devonport. Well now they have from both of them. Argentine striker Xuan Cappellino looks a very likely type up top and his hold up play and willingness to compete in the air has given them a dimension they lacked last season.
The Lions ran riot against Riverside last week to claim their first points of the season under new manager Freddy Hess and it was some familiar names in attack doing the damage. With Noah Mies leading the line and Kobe Kemp sitting just behind him in midfield, they have two genuine match winners who the Zebras will need to keep quiet. They both shone last week along with the lively Declan Taylor. That group should provide plenty of threat in attack to bring the goals here, but Huigsloot and Downes will need to be strong at the back to contain the Cappellino threat if they are to avoid the same fate as the Strikers and South.
Saturday 1 April
Riverside Olympic v Glenorchy Knights, Windsor Park, 2:30pm
Launceston United v South Hobart, Floorworld Park, 3:45pm
Devonport Strikers v Launceston City, Valley Road, 4:30pm
Sunday 2 April
Clarence Zebras v Kingborough Lions, Wenworth Park, 2:30pm