After a week off for the Cup, the WSL returns with a trio of games in Round 8 of the season.
In the first game of the weekend, Hobart Zebras will take on Clarence United in a midday kick off at KGV. The Zebras seem to be building into the season well and whilst the final scoreline of 5-1 did rather flatter them against Ulverstone last week, they are showing signs they are starting to click. They are still playing patches of games rather than a full 90 minutes, but some of those periods within games have been truly devastating. Nichols, Berry, Hulton and Kannegiesser provide some major firepower and despite Clarence's strength lying at the back, they will be mighty tough for them to contain. Clarence are definitely the enigma of the Super League. Along with the 16-0 loss to Olympia and a 4-1 loss to a previously winless South Hobart, they have a 2-1 win over Kingborough and 4-3 win in the first game against South. So they have shown what they can do, but consistency has thus far been lacking. This will be their first clash with the Zebras since the Summer Cup, but all their games in recent times have followed a similar formula and they have genuinely done a good job limiting the goals despite being dominated in both the shot and possession stakes within those matches.
Over at Darcy Street, Olympia should be able to maintain their healthy gap to the second placed Hobart Zebras when they take on South Hobart. South's breakthrough win over Clarence was encouraging for their hopes of climbing off the foot of the table, but taking points from the Warriors is as tough a task as there is. At Warrior Park in their last meeting it was 7-0 and it would be a surprise if Olympia didn't inflict a similar scoreline this week. The Warriors are the chased right now and they've little sign of slowing down. Draws against Ulverstone and the Zebras mean they haven't been losing ground to their title rivals and so long as they beat the other sides in games such as this, its all they may well need points wise from those bigger games.
In the final game of the Round, Lightwood Park plays host to an extremely interesting clash pitting the Lions up against Ulverstone. If the defending Champions are going to mount a title bid this season, then this is a game they simply need to have. The gap to Olympia already sits at 10 points, and whilst they still have a pair of games in hand, there is something to be said for having the points in the bank already. They just can't lose touch which they risk doing if they drop more points here. The Lions got back on track with one of their better performances of the season last week, eliminating University with a 5-0 win in the Statewide Cup, which was a good response to a disappointing league defeat to Clarence. The Reds meanwhile were a lot better than the 5-1 final scoreline suggested last week, but it shows their usually reliable defence is a tad more vulnerable than usual. The Lions have a couple of key weapons in Tatton and Davis who could exploit that, and so this game looms as an intriguing fixture to wrap up Round 8.