Welcome to the Friday Forecast ahead of Round 6 of the MyState Bank Women’s Super League season. We have games across the entire weekend for this round, things kick off on Friday night at Kelvedon Park with Taroona hosting the Kingborough Lions, on Saturday the Devonport Strikers take on Launceston United before the round concludes at Darcy Street on Sunday with South Hobart taking on the Clarence Zebras.
Before diving into those fixtures though, the big news of the week was undoubtedly Wednesday’s Statewide Cup draw that set our Semi-Final fixtures. In Semi-Final number 1, it will be the Kingborough Lions taking on Launceston United in a rematch of the 2022 decider, that United won 3-1 en route to their League/Cup double. The Lions have typically punched above their weight in the Statewide Cup down the years and they’ve managed to make the Cup Final three times in the last five seasons. A win over United here would make that 4 in 6, though having been defeated in all 3 of those finals, they’ll be desperate to go one better this year.
The other Semi-Final pits Devonport up against South Hobart in a rematch of what has been the most entertaining Super League clash of the season to date, their 3-3 draw that occurred back in Round 2. South might be sitting on top of the WSL table as it stands, but home-field advantage could prove a significant edge and makes it a game with no clear favourite to advance. It leaves us with a pair of intriguing clashes, but that's still a fortnight away. Let's take a look at this week's prospective action.
Taroona After First Points Against Rising Lions
The Round will kick off on Friday night as Taroona takes on the Kingborough Lions under lights at Kelvedon Park.
Taroona have struggled out of the blocks this season but will be hoping last week represents something of a turning point for them. The 2-0 defeat at the hands of Launceston United was a significant improvement from the 8-0 result the week prior and they were hanging around in the match at 1-0 till very late on in the piece. It’s a step in the right direction as they try and find an avenue to their first points of the season and something they can build positive momentum from. Izzy Ottavi’s return in goal is significant and they will also hope to be lifted by the home support.
The Lions meanwhile have started to lift after beginning the season with three straight defeats. Those all came at the hands of the competition’s top three sides however and unlike last season, they’ve competed well in all those games, not getting blown away. It’s been a marked improvement from the Lions this year and with a pair of 3-2 wins over the Clarence Zebras, a side who just smashed Devonport 5-1 in between those two results, things are starting to look up. Their two stars in Kannegiesser and Davis have found some nice form and they are a match-winning double act that are going to be tough for any defensive unit to contain.
Second Meets Third At Valley Road
On Saturday second meets third as the Devonport Strikers and Launceston United clash for the first time this season. This will be an interesting gauge of where the two sides are at and perhaps reveal who is best poised to challenge South Hobart, or even rise above them and make themselves the team to beat.
The Strikers were flying throughout the opening month of the season but the last fortnight has been less than convincing. A heavy 5-1 defeat to the Clarence Zebras was followed by scrapping their way to an unconvincing 2-1 win over Northern Championship side Ulverstone in the Cup last week. They ultimately got the win, but the level has dipped from what they were producing. They will need to find it again if they are to get past the defending champions in this crunch clash at their Valley Road fortress.
Launceston United were dealt a reality check by South Hobart in Round 4 but have rebounded with a pair of wins over Taroona in the past fortnight. That was largely expected of them, but this is their first major test since that setback. They stumbled at the first hurdle, but this is the second match against what appears a fellow title contender and any time the top three sides meet this season, it feels like it could be decisive. This was where United were so good last season and how they won the title, by winning these ‘six pointers’. They were relentless in them and time after time they rose to the occasion.
South Must Be On Guard Against Wildcard Zebras
The Round then concludes on Sunday as South Hobart take on the Clarence Zebras at Darcy Street looking to maintain their grip on top spot against a Zebras side who produced a major shock in their last league outing.
South appear the strongest of the sides in the league from what we have seen so far, but they do have their weaknesses and if they’re off their game then the Zebras have the potential to take points from them. This isn’t a Hobart Zebras (2017) Ulverstone (2018) or Olympia (2020) type of situation where we have an obvious front-runner who looks the clear dominant side in the competition. South Hobart should be considered title favourites, but it’d shock me if they did it by winning 19+ games and lapping the field, or anything like that. They are in a tight battle at the top and must be on guard against an opponent who can clearly find the back of the net.
The Zebras last league outing was their best performance of the season, downing Devonport 5-1 in a blistering showing at home. That effort is sandwiched between 3-2 defeats to the Kingborough Lions, so their form has been somewhat patchy but the ceiling is clearly there. It’s just about finding it more consistently, and solving their issues at the back that the Lions were able to exploit so effectively. As such they loom as a real wildcard side, clearly capable of beating anyone at their best and scoring plenty of goals on them, but also with some weaknesses at the back that the other side have been able to capitalise on. South should be strong enough to maintain top spot with a win here, but as the Zebras demonstrated in the Summer Cup Final, where they downed South Hobart, the home side will need to kill the game off when in the ascendancy as this is not an opponent to be left lying around.
Round 6
Friday 5 May
Taroona FC v Kingborough Lions, 6:30pm, Kelvedon Park
Saturday 6 May
Devonport v Launceston United, 12:15pm, Floorworld Park
Sunday 7 May
South Hobart v Clarence Zebras, 2:00pm, Darcy Street