New local rivalries look set to be forged at opposite ends of the state when the NPL Tasmania season kicks off this weekend.
Newcomers South East United and Ulverstone will be looking to shake up the establishment when they both burst onto the statewide scene.
Fresh from a majestic unbeaten Southern Championship campaign which saw them win 16 of 19 league matches while also reaching the Lakoseljac Cup final, United’s first fixture in the big time will see Eastern Shore bragging rights on the line when they welcome Clarence to their South East Complex.
Meanwhile North-West pride will be as important as three points when Ulverstone step up from the Northern Championship to challenge the statewide regional monopoly which Devonport has long enjoyed.
United captain Nic Zammit said Sunday would be a proud day in Sorell.
“The atmosphere has been electric this week,” he said. “There’s a lot of blokes who have played NPL before, but there’s also a lot of newcomers, so I think they’re all relishing the opportunity to represent the badge at the highest level of football here in the state.
“It's been quite a journey from when I joined the club, being the whipping boys in the Southern Champ, 10-15 goal defeats, to just a short five, six seasons later, back-to-back Southern Championship winners, a Laka final run and now being able to test ourselves and prove that we belong with the big boys in the state. It's incredibly exciting and incredibly humbling and proud moment for me to be able to lead the team out on Sunday.”
Both teams are claiming underdog status for a clash which sees Brian Murphy make his debut in the dugout after arriving from Glenorchy.
Zebras won just once last season and three times in 2024, losing 35 of their 42 fixtures in that period, but Murphy’s arrival at Wentworth Park saw Moses Bosco, Michael Hatcher and Elliot Legosz follow him from Glenorchy. Ex-South Melbourne keeper Josh Jones has returned with former Australia under-20 international Josip Zelić, American Ryan Lynch, West Australian Zachary Pentony and New Zealand under-17 international Nick Milicich also joining.
“I guess I'm pretty lucky to come in (with) a pretty blank canvas,” Murphy said.
“With my experience I feel I can take them forward and with the players I can recruit and my knowledge of the game here in Australia and in New Zealand, that gives me a little bit of an advantage.
“I'm very happy to be staying in Tasmania. We chose to stay because it's a great state to live in. I just want to grow football in the state and I'm very happy that Clarence gave me the opportunity.”
Murphy felt his Zebras squad was stronger than the one he inherited at Knights which only had a couple of players remaining from the previous season’s double, and challenged them to emulate Leicester City’s historic Premier League win of 2016.
“South East, we know they've done really well over the last two years,” he added. “They're the ones that have won back-to-back championships and got to a Laka Cup final. So they're a very strong side and we won't be taking them lightly.”
Ulverstone finished runners-up to Northern Rangers in last season’s Northern Championship, winning 14 of their 21 fixtures buoyed by the goals of golden boot-winner Toby Anderson.
They have since welcomed a glut of new faces to Westside Park including Canadian attacker Yves Mugambira, former Heidelberg United goalkeeper Stirling Angus, New Zealand youth system product Flynn Whitaker, experienced player/coach Paora Porter and Oliver Bishop, who had been playing NPL in Sydney.
Coach Michael Amos said it had been three decades since Ulverstone played statewide men’s football but they were ready to “jump in the deep end” and take on a team that has won six titles in the last decade.
“It's been a long time coming, so obviously you can anticipate the excitement around that,” he said. “I am very happy with what we brought in, adding to the local guys. I'm confident that we can be very competitive in every match, and that's what we're looking for.”
Amos said the North-West rivals were very different clubs. “We're obviously a lot smaller. Some people will just probably enjoy being in that environment different to being in a bigger environment.”
Since 2022, Devonport sides coached by Ballantyne have won eight major titles with the men and women both claiming two league and two cup triumphs.
The 2024 and 2025 WSL coach of the year wants to see that success return for an NPL team which has recruited former Western Sydney Wanderers keeper Taiga Harper, French midfielder Ivan Jolivet, Wellington Phoenix academy product Josh Tollervey and striker Courage Layweh while also welcoming back former NPL golden boot winner Brody Denehey.
Strikers finished fourth last season, winning less than half of their games and finishing 19 points behind champions South Hobart, so Ballantyne said a rethink was necessary.
“We had a big deep dive into what worked and what didn't work last year,” he said. “We went back and reflected really hard and recruited very differently based off the conversations we had behind the scenes. So we're really happy with what we've managed to recruit so far.”
Ballantyne welcomed Ulverstone’s promotion to NPL level.
“It's great for the league to have a real local derby. Our biggest rivals have always been South (Hobart) and (Launceston) City over the last 30 years-plus. That derby has been there at championship level, but it hasn't been there at the big level. So it'd be great to have that level of competition. There's a lot of connections between the clubs. A lot of players (have) spoken to each other behind the scenes and the whispers that we've heard from the Ulverstone way is that this is their FA Cup final. So we've got to make sure that we're at that level as well. We can't just turn up and treat it like it's another pre-season game.”
Saturday’s other NPL Tasmania fixtures will see Kingborough host Riverside Olympic while Launceston United and City welcome South Hobart and Glenorchy respectively. The Women’s Super League season begins next weekend.
NPL Tasmania, Round 1
Saturday, March 7
2.30pm Ulverstone v Devonport, Valley Road
2.30pm Launceston United v South Hobart, Birch Avenue
2.30pm Kingborough v Riverside Olympic, Lightwood Park
4.45pm Launceston City v Glenorchy, Prospect Park
Sunday, March 8
2pm South East United v Clarence, South East Complex