Streaks, Revenge and Heart Health: Big Weekend Across Tasmania Football

 Newly-crowned triple Women’s Statewide Cup champions Devonport will be looking to prolong one of the most impressive runs in Australian sport when they return to McDonald's Women's Super League action this weekend.

Tom Ballantyne’s team remain on course for a third-straight unbeaten season and the tantalising prospect of back-to-back-to-back doubles.

Since losing 1-0 at South Hobart in round 20, 2023, Strikers won their final two fixtures, plus 21 of 22 matches in the next two seasons and all 13 games this year to establish a sequence of 59 consecutive matches without defeat (excluding Summer Cup).

Perhaps even more impressively, the only dropped points in that time came in draws against Glenorchy (2-2) in 2024 and South Hobart (3-3) last year.

A goal after 18 seconds and eventual 6-0 defeat of Launceston United in Monday’s cup final continued that run but it was a day of mixed fortunes for Ballantyne who then saw his Strikers’ men’s team thwarted by a last-second equaliser and penalty shootout.

“I've never felt so high and so low in one day of football,” he said. “It's been a hell of a week emotionally.

“We had a good session Wednesday night, focusing on what we need to do against South, so we switched our attention immediately to that one.

“They just want to keep going, so it's a relatively easy task to just keep them switched on and ready to go.”

The coach heaped praise on striker Jaz White who combined a hat-trick on the scoresheet with a solid job closing down United’s dangerous import centre-back Liz Fogarty. He said White had adapted superbly since returning to Valley Road from Sunday’s opponents South Hobart, who remain Strikers’ closest challengers.

However, James Symmons’ team lost the third-round match-up 5-1 and find themselves in the unaccustomed position of suffering three defeats on the trot - to Launceston United and Taroona in the WSL and United again in the cup semi-final.

Symmons chose not to watch the cup final as it “stung a bit”, but said the team was focused on reducing the nine-point gap to Strikers.

“The last few weeks obviously haven't been the results that we were after, but Devonport, I think, provide the challenge that the girls definitely live for,” he said.

“It's been a trying couple of weeks. Not having a synthetic pitch or anything, and with the weather down here, we haven't been able to get onto the pitch to train until this week. But we're definitely up for the challenge this week. I think we will definitely rise to the competition that Devonport will bring.”

The McDonald's NPL Tasmania feature match sees seventh-placed Glenorchy welcome sixth-paced Riverside to KGV.

Knights captain Jack Glover said his team was motivated to avenge a 3-0 round-two loss at Windsor Park.

“They have improved massively from two seasons ago to now and that’s reflected in the results they are getting and their position on the table,” he said.

“It was a pretty tough result up there. We were a bit shaky and still finding our feet.

“I (also) thought we were pretty unlucky a couple of weeks ago at Launnie City, but I feel it’s coming together.”

Riverside are the only team to take points off reigning champions South Hobart this season and coach Helder dos Santos Silva is proud of his young squad led by 21-year-old captain Will Prince, who was among the scorers against Knights.

“Everyone around the club is trying to rise to the occasion. Why should you be afraid to play against these strong teams?” he said.

“It's a belief that you have to give to the players that everything is possible, and our mentality is not going to change even though we play against Glenorchy, or South, or Devonport, it's always the same thing.

“I believe it's becoming very difficult to play against us. Our belief is high, we believe that we can play against strong teams, and we go from there.”

This weekend is a special Make it Red round to raise awareness and funds for heart health research and help prevent heart-related deaths on the football field.

The two matches of the round will feature Heartbeat of Football’s free Healthy Heart Checks at KGV on Saturday between 1.30pm-5.30pm, and 10.30am – 2.30pm at D’Arcy Street on Sunday with patrons encouraged to get tested and make a donation.

Heartbeat of Football Foundation director Angelo Tilocca said after 15 deaths from 19 incidents in the first couple of years, the last three years had seen 26 saves from 31 incidents.

“That's about an 80 per cent success rate, whereas initially it was about 20 per cent,” he said. “The big difference is that there are more defibs available and there are more people prepared to jump in and perform CPR and organise a defib. So, it makes a hell of a difference.”