In Round 5 of the Women's Super League, we have a logjam of games on Saturday afternoon, including a particularly juicy looking encounter between the two most recent Champions.
The action starts over at Warrior Park with Olympia looking to add to their lead atop the table. They've looked the cream of the crop through the opening rounds and early though it may be, they are going to take some catching. There is talent through all the lines of this side and Jenna Farrow is a seriously impressive goalkeeper backstopping them. Whilst Olympia are presumptive clear favourites for this one, we haven't had enough of a look at Clarence to really gauge where they are at. A first week bye and two postponed games means we have barely seen them, with the lone glimpse a thrilling 4-3 win over South Hobart. They showed some nice signs in attack on that day, but given South have struggled to score against the top sides in their other fixtures, shipping three goals perhaps doesn't bode too well for their hopes. Especially up against a rampant Warriors front line, led by their star wing duo of Davies and Chambers.
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The Warriors are flying right now- Solstice Photography[/caption]
In the second game of the day, South Hobart look to improve upon the 3-0 loss they suffered to the Kingborough Lions back in Round 1, as they meet for the second time this season. For 70 minutes they fought well against the Zebras last weekend before it all unravelled for them at the end quite spectacularly. Learning how to maintain their level for the full 90 minutes and remaining disciplined for the whole game are the type of growing pains all young sides go through, so it's probably not something they are too worried with. Their tendency to concede quick goals in patches would undoubtedly be of a concern for Craig Westwood however. The Lions need to be winning these games if they are to build a title challenge, which their performance against Olympia last week suggested they are capable of. But only if they can find a level of consistency they are yet to fully develop, but are certainly getting closer to.
[caption id="attachment_10486" align="alignnone" width="533"]
South fought well last week before collapsing late on- Solstice Photography[/caption]
Finally the big one at KGV, as the two dominant sides of the past two seasons prepare to battle it out. Both these sides won't want to cede any further ground in the title race to Olympia, making the three points on offer absolutely vital. Ulverstone coach Mal Gorrie has flagged his side will be up against it early in the season, and just need to stay close enough till reinforcements arrive. As such, this is one the Zebras need to be winning, at home against an undermanned opponent. Last week was the encapsulation of the Zebras season to date in the space of 90 minutes. For long periods they played below the level you'd expect of the names on paper, but when they turned it on, it was utterly devastating! They have an impressive array of fire power up top with Nichols, Kannegiesser, Berry and Hulton all goalscorers who will test the likes of Nellis, Foote and Mitchell. That looks to be where the battle will be won, along with the individual battle of the quickest defender in the league Kayla Mason, up against the one of the quickest forwards in the league in Jazmin White. This game might be a matter of determining who the side most likely to challenge Olympia is. It's still ridiculously early to be drawing such strong conclusions from small sample sizes of course, but we've seen in the first two full seasons of the WSL, that winning early games is generally indicative of things to come. Do tune into the Live Stream of this one on Saturday, it could be one we look back on later in the year as particularly important.
Super League Round 5
Olympia v Clarence, 1:30pm, Warrior Park
South Hobart v Kingborough, 2:00pm, Darcy Street
Hobart Zebras v Ulverstone, 2:00pm, KGV LIVE STREAM GAME
The Warriors are flying right now- Solstice Photography[/caption]
In the second game of the day, South Hobart look to improve upon the 3-0 loss they suffered to the Kingborough Lions back in Round 1, as they meet for the second time this season. For 70 minutes they fought well against the Zebras last weekend before it all unravelled for them at the end quite spectacularly. Learning how to maintain their level for the full 90 minutes and remaining disciplined for the whole game are the type of growing pains all young sides go through, so it's probably not something they are too worried with. Their tendency to concede quick goals in patches would undoubtedly be of a concern for Craig Westwood however. The Lions need to be winning these games if they are to build a title challenge, which their performance against Olympia last week suggested they are capable of. But only if they can find a level of consistency they are yet to fully develop, but are certainly getting closer to.
[caption id="attachment_10486" align="alignnone" width="533"] South fought well last week before collapsing late on- Solstice Photography[/caption]
Finally the big one at KGV, as the two dominant sides of the past two seasons prepare to battle it out. Both these sides won't want to cede any further ground in the title race to Olympia, making the three points on offer absolutely vital. Ulverstone coach Mal Gorrie has flagged his side will be up against it early in the season, and just need to stay close enough till reinforcements arrive. As such, this is one the Zebras need to be winning, at home against an undermanned opponent. Last week was the encapsulation of the Zebras season to date in the space of 90 minutes. For long periods they played below the level you'd expect of the names on paper, but when they turned it on, it was utterly devastating! They have an impressive array of fire power up top with Nichols, Kannegiesser, Berry and Hulton all goalscorers who will test the likes of Nellis, Foote and Mitchell. That looks to be where the battle will be won, along with the individual battle of the quickest defender in the league Kayla Mason, up against the one of the quickest forwards in the league in Jazmin White. This game might be a matter of determining who the side most likely to challenge Olympia is. It's still ridiculously early to be drawing such strong conclusions from small sample sizes of course, but we've seen in the first two full seasons of the WSL, that winning early games is generally indicative of things to come. Do tune into the Live Stream of this one on Saturday, it could be one we look back on later in the year as particularly important.
Super League Round 5
Olympia v Clarence, 1:30pm, Warrior Park
South Hobart v Kingborough, 2:00pm, Darcy Street
Hobart Zebras v Ulverstone, 2:00pm, KGV LIVE STREAM GAME