What looms as the biggest game of the McDonald's NPL Tasmania season could go a long way towards deciding the title on Saturday.
Third-placed Devonport host ladder leaders and defending champions South Hobart in a potential Valley Road thriller.
Just four points separate the arch-rivals while Strikers have a game in hand so whoever wins would have the championship destiny in their own hands.
The blockbuster unites the double winners of 2022 and ’23 against the double winners of ’25 whose previous meeting at D’Arcy Street in round seven ended in a tight 3-2 win for South.
Adding further spice to the equation is that Strikers’ only other loss this season came against Kingborough who sit between the adversaries in second place with their own double aspirations having already claimed the Lakoseljac Cup.
Devonport coach Tom Ballantyne couldn’t wait for the fixture.
“I’m just looking forward to it to be honest,” he said.
“We’ve still got that game in hand on South so if we win that we go clear so it’s important in the grand scheme of things although I still think there’s a lot more football to be played. South still have to play Riverside and (Launceston) City and in the past couple of seasons they’ve struggled against both those sides so there’s points there they could lose.
“Kingborough have obviously got Melbourne Victory (in the Australia Cup) in a week’s time so there’s a chance they could slip up either side of that game and we’ve still got to play City and a Knights team that are desperate to survive.”
South coach Peter Edwards agreed the match could be pivotal for both teams.
“It's an important one because of the timing and the points difference between us,” he said.
“I think it's probably more essential for Devonport to try and get ahead for this part of the season. For us, if we go and get the job done, that probably puts us four points ahead with two games to go, which could be massive.”
Goal machine Nick Morton scored the winner in the sides’ previous meeting but has since left to reunite with his stepbrother and former coach Max Clarke at Northcote City in Melbourne, meaning a different dynamic to the match-up.
Ballantyne described Morton’s loss as “a massive out”.
“If you just look at his goal scoring record. I think he's either been Golden Boot or finished second in it for the last five seasons.”
Edwards said Morton’s departure had open doors for other teammates.
“Nick has been a proven goalscorer and a leader of this club for many, many years for us … and now it's for somebody else to step up and take those chances, because it's not all about one player in our results. We've got many goalscorers in the team, and that's been proven this year. So for us, it's business as usual. We're just carrying on and there's enough talent and quality in this team to be dangerous from numerous ways.”
In the Women's Super League, South Hobart and Launceston United meet sitting third and fourth respectively, separated by nine points.
With runaway leaders Devonport on course for a perfect campaign and third consecutive unbeaten double season, South coach James Symmons said rivals are already adjusting their targets.
“The race for second place is on,” he said. “I think we're quite tight with Glenorchy Knights at the moment.
“Something would have to go drastically wrong from Devonport's point of view, for anybody to have a chance at winning the league. But, we are looking to take that second place, and win games for the rest of the year.”
Symmons said his side’s experienced players were making sure motivation did not drop despite the title appearing out of reach.
“We’ve got some good leaders within the group like Danielle Kannegiesser, Madi Chambers,
Lucy Roberts, Sami Watkins, et cetera that are really good at keeping the positivity up.”
Fourth-placed United find themselves just three points away from seventh but a whopping 26 behind first and Symmons was wary of a team which beat South on consecutive weekends earlier in the season and were looking dangerous since the return of 24-goal Brazilian striker Olivia De Moraes.
The NPL Tasmania round-14 clash between Launceston City and Launceston United which was postponed by bad weather has been rescheduled for next Wednesday (July 22) at Prospect Park, kicking off at 8.15pm.
McDonald's NPL Tasmania, Round 16
Saturday, July 18
2.30pm Devonport v South Hobart, Tassie Care Valley Road
2.30pm Riverside Olympic v Clarence, Windsor Park
4.45pm Launceston City v Kingborough, Prospect Vale Community Bank Deloraine & Districts Park
Sunday, July 19
2.30pm Ulverstone v Glenorchy, Westside Park
2.30pm South East United v Launceston United, South East Complex
Round 14
Wednesday, July 22
8.15pm Launceston City v Launceston United, Prospect Vale Community Bank Deloraine & Districts Park
McDonald's Women's Super League, Round 15
Saturday, July 18
2.30pm Launceston City v Kingborough, Prospect Vale Community Bank Deloraine & Districts Park
2.30pm Taroona v Devonport, Kelvedon Park
Sunday, July 19
1pm Glenorchy v Riverside, KGV
2pm South Hobart v Launceston United, D’Arcy Street