A huge off-season recruiting blitz will take centre stage when both the McDonald's NPL Tasmania and the McDonald's Women’s Super League kick off this weekend.
South Hobart have been particularly active in the transfer market and with several players arriving from Kingborough there will be no shortage of sub-plots when the sides clash in both competitions.
Kobe Kemp, Eli Wright, Alfred Hess, Laura Davis and Dani Kannegiesser are among the big names to make the journey up Hobart’s Southern Outlet and debut against their former teams.
South’s new men’s coach Max Clarke said talk of the new arrivals would not distract his team when they host the Lions on Saturday.
“I got a lot of criticism for the players I brought in, which I’m happy to wear,” he said.
“I think when you want to compete for a title and want to be successful you have to have strength in numbers so, it was more a case for me to make sure we have enough numbers to be competitive.
"You want to have a squad of 18 players who can step in at any moment and the standard doesn’t change, and I think we’ve got that.”
Kingborough coach Jon Fenech said his team was ready for the formidable round-one challenge.
“South Hobart have got a big reputation here - there’s two or three teams in Tasmania that have that reputation and I think this season we’re all about trying to break that status quo,” he said.
“I keep hearing about the top three; well, we certainly want to be challenging those three teams.”
With several new arrivals of his own, including Emmanuel Ponce from Riverside and Joe McShane from Launceston City, Fenech is excited by a fixture which will see last season’s joint leading scorers Noah Mies and Kemp go up against each other.
“I was left with a little bit of a rebuild job from losing a few players at the end of last season,” he added.
“We’ve brought in 10 new players and we’re laying foundations and building a culture and playing style that suits that group.
"I’m new myself, and we’re all in this together trying to figure out how we’ll operate.”
It is a similar story in the WSL, which sees Kingborough gracing D'Arcy Street at 11.45am on Saturday.
Former league golden boot Jazmin White and three-time golden glove winner Jenna Farrow will star for South, whose coach Ken Morton is looking to build on his prolonged success with the men’s team.
“We’d like to think we’d be one of the teams challenging at the top, but we’ll have to be at our best,” he said.
“There’s more than one or two good teams in the competition.
"I think other clubs have recruited quite well and brought in some significant players and the league will be a strong competition this year.”
Kingborough have an international flavour to their squad with English duo Hannah Walsh and Tilly Wills plus Korean imports Kim Minhee, Haeun Kim and So Young Lee, but coach Simon Edwards is also delighted to welcome former Olympia central defender Maddie Black back, after a spell in the US.
“Maddie’s fantastic,” he said.
“It’s been an absolute pleasure to have someone of Maddie’s experience and attitude in the group, as well as her skill and leadership on the field.”
Edwards said the opening round should demonstrate the continued improvement in the WSL.
“The competition is going to be fantastic this season," he said.
"Every team has brought in some quality players to bring depth to their squads, and I think it’s good to see the league moving forward like that.
“I know that Ken’s got a lot of players at his disposal, but we’ve got a gameplan and the players will just need to stick to it."
Black, who was born in the Northern Territory but moved to Hobart in 2011, is looking forward to bringing her US experience to Tasmania.
“We’ve got some really motivated players,” she said.
“We all feel competitive ... [and] I think we’ve been preparing really well.
"Everyone’s been really supportive and motivating and inspiring to each other, so hopefully we can bring that all into game day.”
The season kicks off at 8.15pm on Friday with Prospect Park hosting the NPL’s Launceston derby between City and United and Glenorchy hosting Clarence at KGV.
NPL Round 1
Friday, March 14
8:15pm Launceston City v Launceston United, Prospect Park: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7WQwJVTxKlk
8:15pm Glenorchy Knights v Clarence Zebras, KGV: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fC4N_LXQFE
Saturday, March 15
2pm South Hobart v Kingborough Lions, D'Arcy St: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKC9wg-ZmLk
2:30pm Devonport Strikers v Riverside Olympic, Valley Road: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANjPUkvOWCQ
Women's Super League Round 1
Saturday, March 15
11:45am South Hobart v Kingborough Lions, D'Arcy St: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml9KG6X0CHU
12:15pm Devonport Strikers v Riverside Olympic, Valley Road: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5j1Wll9YfpI
2:00pm Taroona v Launceston United, Kelvedon Park: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZMWo05m0b8
BYE: Glenorchy Knights