Tasmania’s Statewide cups offer a clash of the titans and the opportunity for some giant-killing this weekend.
Glenorchy feature in both scenarios, with the Lakoseljac Cup showdown against Devonport evoking memories of two of the most exciting fixtures of last season.
The teams met at the semi-final stage of the same competition where a winner two minutes from the end of extra-time kept Glenorchy on course to claim the trophy, and in a dramatic final NPL Tasmania fixture, the Strikers’ failure to score ultimately secured Knights the double.
With a league meeting to follow next week, the sides are very familiar with eachother, but Glenorchy coach Brian Murphy said his team has extra incentive hosting Saturday’s tie.
“The Cup is a big competition for us, it’s named after one of our most famous players so we’re going all out to win it, and I think Football Tasmania were licking their lips when it came out in the draw,” he said.
“It’s going to be an exciting game for the whole State and one that will put Football Tasmania on the map again.
"These are the type of games you want to be involved in.”
Murphy, who watched Strikers play at Kingborough last weekend, said his squad were keen to secure another entry into the national competition.
“The boys still talk about the trip over to Sydney last year and the bonding, and ultimately I think it helped them to success in the league, the culture that came from that trip," he said.
Devonport coach Tom Ballantyne played down the significance of last season’s encounters, saying only a handful of players remained from the final-day goalless stalemate.
“It’s basically two brand new teams playing each other,” he said.
“The only thing that will matter will be for the players that were in those games.
"They will remember how it felt in the last game of the season to hold on for a scrappy draw, and our guys will remember how it felt to have 43 shots on target and not win a game.”
However, having been in charge for the game, he admitted: “It burns, but we did everything we could.
"We threw the kitchen sink at it and they had a goalkeeper who had an inspired game that day.
"We play that game 10 more times, we probably win 10-0 in one and lose 1-0 in the next.
"That’s football.”
Ballantyne said Strikers had 11 new players this season, made six changes between rounds one and two and will have five first-teamers out injured this weekend, but were desperate to reclaim the trophy they owned from 2021-23.
“The Lako Cup is a massive trophy for the club," he said.
"We won it three times in a row, I’ve won it twice and we’d love to get our hands on it again.
“This is a very big game.
"We played each other last year so, similar to then, one big team is going out early doors and the one that gets through has a really big opportunity knowing that there’s one less big team in the competition.”
At the opposite end of the state, Glenorchy face a potential banana skin in the Women’s Statewide Cup when they visit back-to-back Women’s Northern Championship premiers Burnie United.
Burnie president and player Mel Quirk said her team were excited by the opportunity.
“It’s going to be a big challenge for us coming up against a team a division above us, but that’s the excitement of the Statewide Cup,” she said.
“To get a home game against a Super League team is a fantastic result for us.
"You never know what happens in the Cup.
“We came up against a Super League team last year in the Statewide Cup, so we know what we’re up against."
Asked about the prospect of United joining a statewide league, Quirk said travel and competition for numbers from neighbours Somerset and Ulverstone represented significant hurdles, but she promised a black and gold army of supporters would be out in force for Saturday’s match.
Glenorchy coach Ivica Bolonja said Montello Park was the only ground in Tasmania he was yet to visit, and his team were excited by the proposition.
“It’s a good bonding exercise for the girls to get on that bus,” he said.
“We’re not taking anything for granted.
"Burnie have been the Northern champions for the last two seasons in a row and you don’t become premiers by not having a good side and not playing a good brand of football.
“We will need to bring our best game to get the result.”
- Watch these two games live on our YouTube channel, Football Tasmania TV - YouTube
Lakoseljac Cup
Saturday, March 29
12pm New Town White Eagles v Taroona, Clare Street
12pm University of Tasmania v Launceston City, Olinda Grove
12:30pm Riverside v Olympia, Windsor Park
2:30pm Launceston United v Kingborough, Birch Avenue
2:30pm Glenorchy v Devonport, KGV
Sunday, March 30
12pm South East United v Hobart City, South East Complex
1.15pm South Hobart v Barnstoneworth, D’Arcy Street
3.30pm Metro v Clarence, D’Arcy Street
Women's Statewide Cup
Saturday, March 29
12pm Olympia v Devonport, Warrior Park
12pm Launceston United v Kingborough, Birch Avenue
1pm Ulverstone v South Hobart, Westside Park
2pm Burnie United v Glenorchy, Montello Park
3pm Riverside Olympic v Taroona, Windsor Park