The Match of the Round for Round 16 sees the Glenorchy Knights taking on Launceston City in what should be a stern test for the ladder leaders, with their closest title rivals South Hobart having recently fallen to the fifth-placed City. These two sides have the best record in the league over the past month, setting the stage for an intriguing encounter ahead of the Knights' Australia Cup Round of 32 clash against North West Sydney Spirit in NSW on Wednesday 7 August.
Knights coach James Sherman was pleased with how his side had played across recent weeks, having won four matches on the bounce and scored 23 goals in the process.
"Certainly from that 5 or 6-week period in the middle part of the season, it has been a pretty sharp turnaround to where we are at the moment," Sherman said, speaking at a Friday morning press conference.
Sherman put the recent uptick in goals down to winning the ball higher up the pitch, leading to more scoring chances.
"The amount of goals we have scored have certainly come from regains, especially coming higher up the pitch than in the first part of the season, so that is something that we have really started to get right," he said.
"We are also creating more chances as well, which helps and gives us more opportunity to score goals as well, so they go hand in hand, we look alright at the moment going forward.
"So it's just a matter of maintaining our focus and trying to be clinical."
Looking ahead to Saturday, Sherman felt City would present a tough challenge for his side.
"They're a real threat; I think Daniel has done a good job, especially since the middle part of the season with the transfer window," he said.
"They've now added some depth to the squad and have probably got a squad that's on par with the top 3 sides potentially. They're a good side, they play nice football and he's a smart coach, so we've got ourselves a real good game on Saturday and we are looking forward to it."
Sherman admitted City had been somewhat of a bogey side for the Knights across recent seasons and was expecting another close match this time around.
"Yeah, there is no getting away from that, they certainly have been and that's with no disrespect at all," he said.
"They've been a real difficult opponent for us over the years.
"Over the last few years, certainly since I've been in the league and under previous coaches before Sys, we've had a lot of really close games.
"So there is something about the clubs that leads to really tight encounters, and I am sure it will be the same sort of situation on Saturday."
When asked how his side would need to approach the game, Sherman went into detail, offering some interesting tactical insights.
"I think we need to be nice and aggressive without the ball, it's certainly something we have focussed on a lot in the last five weeks," he said.
"I think we will have to control the game; I expect they may sit off us a little bit and potentially be disciplined and take up spaces that we will try to get at them quickly in, so I anticipate having some difficulty there.
"I think it's a case of being patient at the right times and controlling the game at the right times.
"Making sure when we do give the ball away, we are in positions where we are looking after someone like Stone, Swaby and Kenneh.
"They've got some weapons there that they will try to use to transition, so it's our job to make sure we are close enough to those players that they can't affect the game too much."
His Launceston City counterpart Daniel Syson was similarly pleased with how his side was tracking, entering this game on a four-match unbeaten run.
"I think when it comes to points per game and the sort of run we are on, it's a good one," he said.
"Obviously we have played a couple of the sides below us in that time, but we had a good win against South Hobart and heading into the Derby, Riverside were in good form so it's been pleasing of late for sure.
Syson suggested winning 4 of his side's final 6 games was the bar he was setting for the remainder of the year.
"Internally, the aim for us is to win 4 of the final 6 games we've got, but we need to be consistent in what we do for that to happen, but if we do that then we will see where that puts us," he said.
"We are quite settled in our side and the attacking players that have come in have added some real goals to us too, so we will see where we end up after those next 6 games if we can do that."
Syson paid credit to his coaching counterpart for the job he had done with Knights this year, suggesting they were the competition benchmark.
"When you look at Knights this year, statistically they're averaging something like 4 goals per game over the season, so they are a side that is really set," he said.
"They're the best in goals for and goals conceded, so that's a credit to Shermo and what he has done this year and with his recruitment."
When asked what his side needed to do to continue their run of good form, Syson stressed defensive organisation and concentration as key factors.
"It's going to be a real test of our defensive organisation, but also our ability to find the minimal weaknesses that they have," he said.
"So it will be a real test, which I am looking forward to because they play great football, so it should be a great game as well.
"I think we have to be ourselves, we have to approach it in a way where we are being ourselves, but at the same time respecting the threats that Knights offer, being really disciplined in what we do within our work, just little details in terms of when we are pressing, and the gaps between blocks, the spacing, you really have to be on for the whole 90 minutes when you play a side like Knights."
City have produced upset victories on the road at KGV in previous seasons where it has proved a happy hunting ground, and Syson said his side enjoyed playing on the artificial pitch.
"I think the surface gives us confidence, because I like to think of our side as a good footballing team in possession, and this year we have some real players who can dribble," he said.
"Joel for one has got a really great first touch, so on surfaces like that there is nothing to slow you down when you are moving the ball, so we are excited to play on a good surface."
In the other games this weekend, the Kingborough Lions will head back to Windsor Park to play Riverside in a rematch in one of the wildest games of the season back in Round 9.
At Valley Road, the Devonport Strikers should be able to keep up the pressure on the top two as they host struggling Launceston United, whilst on Sunday South Hobart will be expecting to do likewise as they welcome the Clarence Zebras to D'arcy Street.
Round 16
Saturday 3 August
Riverside Olympic v Kingborough Lions, 4:30pm, Windsor Park
Devonport Strikers v Launceston United, 4:30pm, Valley Road
Glenorchy Knights v Launceston City, 4:45pm, KGV
Saturday 4 August
South Hobart v Clarence Zebras, 2:00pm, Darcy Street