Feature Match of the Round: Devonport Strikers v Clarence Zebras
Baptism of Fire Awaiting New NPL Boss as Zebras Travel to the Portress
It doesn’t get any tougher than a road trip to Valley Road to take on the defending champion Devonport Strikers, but that is the test awaiting new Clarence Zebras boss Mark Astley as he readies his side for the “toughest trip in Tasmanian Football” in Round 1 NPL Tasmania action.
Speaking at a Friday morning press conference, Astley admitted it was a daunting first test but felt his side was well prepared for the challenge.
“It’s the toughest trip in Tasmania and that’s a credit to Devonport, they’ve been so successful and consistent for so long, that everyone knows they’re the team to beat.
“We’ve been doing our research, we’ve been training hard and we’ve got a game plan, whether that comes off we will see but I like to think we are prepared as can be for tomorrow’s game.”
With some major departures from the 2023 squad that achieved a fifth-place finish, the Zebras appear set to be a more youthful squad in 2024 with Astley suggesting a reset switch needed to be hit to help the culture of the club.
“We’ve moved on a lot of players from last year, we felt like we needed a fresh take on things. The squad was underperforming, so we have brought in some hungry players. A lot of the Under 21’s have stepped up and we’ve brought in some players from the Championship who really want to have a crack at NPL level.”
“This year we want to bring along the kids, develop them, play some good football, and get results. We will go into every game believing we can win and hopefully showing that improvement over the course of the season.
Awaiting them will be the defending Champions Devonport, who completed their flawless pre-season by taking out the Summer Cup with a 3-2 victory over the Kingborough Lions last Saturday. Any notion that the departure of the prolific Roberto Fernandez Garrido might blunt the Strikers attack was quickly knocked on the head, with new signings Riku Ichimura, Declan Zasadny and Masi Benjamin looking a potent mix in the final third. They're once again the team to beat as we head into the new season, with the rest of the league chasing them. It’s an extremely familiar position for the Strikers heading into the season having now won 6 of the past 8 NPL title.
Coach Tom Ballantyne said he was pleased with where his squad sits heading into the new season. Speaking at Friday's media conference he expressed confidence that his side was good enough to claim a third consecutive title despite some playing personnel changes.
“That’s the plan (to win silverware) and we think we’ve recruited really well."
“We’ve had a lot of turnover ourselves, which is something we are quite used to being a regional town, but we’ve sustained over the years that incredible culture that the club has built.”
“We’ve brought in six new players in total, so we’re just trying to bed some of those guys in still and there will be some teething issues as there always are with new players, just adjusting to systems but I think we are in a pretty good spot at the moment.”
The English boss was pleased with what he saw in the Summer Cup Final and felt the squad was well prepared for the Zebras on Saturday.
“We had our first good hit out against Kingborough on Saturday and we thought we did well in that game, though we’ve still got bits to work on, we’re trying to improve all the time.”
“We’re as prepared as we can be. Obviously it’s very hard to know exactly where you are, we haven’t seen Clarence play. We’ve heard bits and pieces, but till you actually see a team play it’s hard to judge where they are at.”
Intrigue Abound Across Opening Round
In other action to kick off the 2024 NPL Tasmania season, things will get underway at Windsor Park on Friday night with a Derby clash between Riverside and Launceston City. Both sides will be eager to climb the table this season and push toward the top four, and there has been plenty of turnover within both these squads with a sea of new faces set to grace the league.
Among those new signings are a pair of highly touted import strikers in Riverside’s Emmanuel Ponce, hailing from Chilie and Launceston City’s Englishmen Thierry Swarby, both of whom are being tipped to turn heads by their respective coaches.
Riverside claimed a 1-0 win in the Summer Cup when the two clashed last month and also won their most recent NPL TAS meeting by the same scoreline. City still shaded the head-to-head record in 2023 though with 4-0 and 2-0 victories in their first two meetings, including last year’s season opener.
Elsewhere in Launceston, on the Saturday Launceston United will be playing host to the Glenorchy Knights as both sides look to start their seasons on the right foot.
Launceston United will be looking for improvements in their second season in the league after a tough miaden campaign that failed to yield a victory. Now under the stewardship of the experienced Lino Sciulli, they will be eager to find that breakthrough result that eluded them in 2023.
The Knights will again be looking to push for the league title this season and they’re the only side to have denied the Strikers the trophy over the past 6 seasons with their 2021 triumph. A 2-0 loss to Kingborough in the Summer Cup saw them miss out on the final, but they looked very sharp in a 3-0 win over South Hobart the week prior and they should be expected to be firmly in the title fight once again.
The final game of the weekend pits South Hobart and the Kingborough Lions against each other in a night clash at Lightwood Park. Both these sides are expected to be among the biggest threats to Devonport this season with the Lions falling to them 3-2 in last week’s Summer Cup Final.
In Summer Cup action the Lions appeared to have picked up where they left off at the backend of last season when they claimed more points than any other side in the final two months of the season. With the vast majority of that squad retained, expectations are now high for Hess’s men.
South Hobart remains a perennial challenger, having never finished lower than third in the history of the NPL TAS and finishing as runner-up in the past 2 years. With some quality new signings such as Walter, Gorrie and Yost, the squad looks stronger than last years on paper and Ken Morton might well have a group on his hands that can go one better this year.
The pair met in the Summer Cup group stage, playing out an entertaining 2-2 draw. A similarly tight affair is to be expected at the Den this weekend.
McDonald’s NPL Tasmania
Round 1
Friday 15 March
Riverside Olympic v Launceston City, Windsor Park, 8:15pm LIVE STREAM
Saturday 16 March
Devonport Strikers v Clarence Zebras, Valley Road, 2:30pm LIVE STREAM
Launceston United v Glenorchy Knights, Birch Avenue, 4:30pm LIVE STREAM
Kingborough Lions v South Hobart, Lightwood Park, 6:30pm LIVE STREAM