Some key personnel will be missing when Devonport take on Kingborough in the McDonald’s NPL Tasmania match of the round.
Saturday’s Valley Road clash unites the teams in fourth and fifth place, both of whom will be adapting to pivotal absences.
Kingborough’s Otto Schwarz scored the only goal when the sides met in round two but will be suspended after collecting his fifth yellow card last week, while teammate Keenan Douce has announced he is leaving the club.
Meanwhile a seven-week suspension for Charles Bidwell denies Devonport the services of a player who has scored in four of their last five games.
Lions coach Jon Fenech led the praise for long-serving stalwart Douce.
“We’d like to thank Keenan for his contribution to the program and, more broadly, to the club over a number of years,” he said.
"He’s been a great servant for our teams, and we wish him all the best for the future. His departure creates an opportunity for the next generation of young talent coming through.
“Keenan’s been with the club for a long time and obviously played for Devonport as well, so a big personality and player within the NPL for a number of years.”
Strikers assistant coach Bradley Chilcott said his team was also adjusting following Bidwell's sending off in last week’s 2-1 win at Riverside.
“We are going to miss the leadership that he brings,” he said. “It is a big loss, but it just gives the opportunity for someone else to step up.”
With the perennial title-contenders having dropped points in three of their eight games and finding themselves in the unfamiliar territory of mid-table, Chilcott said this year’s NPL is refreshingly open.
“The competition is a lot more even this year. South are still undefeated, (Launceston) City doing quite well and Glenorchy, ourselves and Kingborough following behind, it is a lot tighter this year.
“I think it is a stronger league. But we’re tracking pretty well and looking for a few more wins in the middle section.”
Fenech said Lions would not be taking too much from their early-season victory over Devonport and explained his side’s Jekyll and Hyde form, which has twice seen them go close to unbeaten South Hobart while losing other games 4-0 and 8-0.
“That was our first win of the season and it was two teams still getting to know their players so this will be a completely different challenge," he said.
“We’ll have a different team out and there’s a couple of people missing for both teams so there’s not really much you can read into from the first round.
“We’re still growing, we’re a new team, a young team and with growth comes inconsistency. We’re looking to try and build for the long term.”
In the Women’s Super League, second plays fifth when South Hobart host Glenorchy, but Knights winger Charlotte Butler is confident her team can improve on 4-1 and 4-0 losses to the unbeaten ladder-leaders.
“In both of those games we had a number of opportunities but just haven’t been able to finish them,” she said.
“We have been able to keep up with them for the majority of the 90 minutes, we just need to work on our finishing and I think we can do it.”
With a round-one bye followed by big guns South Hobart and Devonport, Butler said Knights have a tough start to each round of fixtures.
“It is quite hard and we start with our toughest competitors but I think once we’ve pushed through them our confidence boosts up a bit when we verse all the other teams," she said.
“We’re a very young team so it’s going to be up and down throughout the year, especially with a lot of injuries like we have at the moment. But a lot of our good players are coming back from injuries so I reckon it will be a good few weeks coming up.”
Just one goal effectively separates South Hobart and Devonport, who will also meet in next week’s Statewide Cup final, and South assistant coach James Symmons is happy with how his team is shaping up.
While free-scoring duo Laura Davis and Jaz White inevitably get most of the headlines, Symmons said the team has plenty of unsung heroes.
“We haven’t got any true centre-backs and while they’re good players in different positions, Sophie Westwood and Danielle Kannegiesser are playing in different positions to their football career so far, so for them to adapt to the centre-back roles has been really impressive,” he said.
“And I think collectively as a whole group they’ve been really impressive.”
NPL Tasmania, Round 9
Saturday, May 31
12.15pm Launceston United v Riverside Olympic, Birch Avenue
2.30pm Devonport v Kingborough, Valley Road
2.30pm Clarence v Launceston City, Wentworth Park
Sunday, June 1
2pm South Hobart v Glenorchy, Darcy Street
Women’s Super League, Round 9
Saturday, May 31
12.15pm Devonport v Kingborough, Valley Road
2pm South Hobart v Glenorchy, Darcy Street
2.30pm Launceston United v Riverside Olympic, Birch Avenue
BYE: Taroona