One of Tasmanian Football's fiercest modern rivalries is set to play out in the Men’s Summer Cup Final on Saturday, as the Olympia Warriors take on South Hobart FC. The Cup final will be played at KGV, kicking off at 4:30pm and will see the first piece of Silverware for the season up for grabs.
Olympia have remained perfect through the group stage, winning all four of their games to finish on top of the group at the end of the Round Robin. They didn't have it all their own way however, and were tested in multiple games, coming from behind to defeat the Clarence Zebras in one game and finding themselves pushed all the way in a thriller against South Hobart that eventually ended 3-2 in the Warriors favour. Having added a number of big name players throughout the off season, the Warriors are expecting success this season and will want to make a statement ahead of the NPL Season by claiming the trophy on Saturday.
They will enter this one as the favourites and Coach Andrew Brown said that despite having largely used the Summer Cup for experimentation up till this point in time his side would be looking to win it.
"We've tried different players and different formation throughout the pre-season and we have messed around a bit. But once you're in it, you want to win it, so our focus will be to go out and win the game."
He said that he didn't think his side had been anywhere near their best yet, saying they were "miles off" where they could get to.
"We can certainly be better than what we have played so far but it takes time to meld new players into a squad especially if they were seasoned or established players at another club, because I am asking them to do certain different things. So that takes time and you need to give them a bit of slack, it's not easy for players and its really important for the players that they feel socially and psychologically wanted and that they work within the group."
The game is expected to have added spice with a host of former South players, who departed the club over the off-season, namely Ben Hamlett, Loic Feral and Adam Gorrie all now lining up for the Warriors. But Brown played down suggestions the player movement between the squad would be a factor in the clash.
"No it won't change anything from our perspective, I think you'll find if you talk to the players, there was no malice, no negativity there whatsoever. The players wanted a fresh start and a change so maybe for them individually, but not from our perspective, I think there are far more important things to worry about than petty bickering."
South advanced despite a slip up last Friday night when they fell 2-1 to the Kingborough Lions, with wins over Clarence Zebras and Glenorchy Knights earlier in the group stage enough for them to finish in second place and advance to the decider. Given the raft of off-season departures that rocked the club, their performance and in particular the impact of their young players has been a surprise. With an average age of around 17 in their starting XI in multiple games throughout the Summer Cup, South have defied expectations just by reaching the final and now have the chance to get their 2020 campaign off to the best possible start.
South Hobart Captain Kobe Kemp said that he had been impressed by the impact his young teammates had provided so far in the pre-season and that they had proved a point.
"Those departures left plenty of gaps for younger players to come into and I think the fact we are in this position, to play in the Summer Cup final this weekend shows that our younger boys can step up to the plate. I know a lot of people speculated as to how well we would go this year, but we've shown that we can match it if we perform to our best."
"I'm extremely proud of the younger guys that have come in. Everyone who has come in, when given their opportunity and been able to step up. We've used a large squad with a lot of young players and its good to show how good the South Hobart academy can be. A lot of these boys are academy players and to be given the chance to put that into a senior game, is a great opportunity for them.
He said that whilst ups and downs were to be expected in 2020, they would go about their football in the same manner as previous years.
"We will continue to fight, play our younger guys and we will play the game we always play and fight for every game and see where that takes us."
The Men's Summer Cup final kicks off at 4:30pm at KGV on Saturday 14 March. Tickets are $6 for Adults, $3 for concessions and children under 12 are free.