The MyState Bank Women’s Super League returns for Round 8, with a full slate of games set to take place including a huge six-pointer in the title race.
Title Holders v Title Favourites at Wentworth Park
The Round kicks off at Midday on Saturday with a blockbuster fixture at Wentworth Park as the Clarence Zebras take on Launceston United. It’s the defending champions up against the early 2022 front runners in another ‘6 pointer’ that will go a long way to determining the direction of this year’s title race. The Zebras currently sit 9 points adrift of the United but they do have the game in hand to cut into that lead. If they were to win here on Saturday then that gap would shrink right up, potentially to as little as 3 points if the Zebras were to win their game in hand, as they would be favoured to do so against the Lions. But if United were to win this one, then that gap would suddenly sit at 12 points and the defending Champions would be right up against the ropes from that point on with practically no margin for error for the rest of the season. It’s a massive match and its significance can’t be downplayed, United have passed all tests put before them this year, but this might be the biggest they have faced yet.
The Zebras claimed their first big win of the season last week at Valley Road and it was an important one to reignite the confidence of the group. Having lost to United and South in the league, as well as South and Devonport in Cup fixtures, that air of invincibility about them from 2021 has well and truly dissipated. It’s now clear they aren’t going to waltz their way to the title this year, but they still remain a talented side packed with classy players who probably needed that injection of confidence a win over a strong side can provide.
United had last weekend off after Olympia’s forfeit, a result saw that saw them post a perfect 6 from 6 record at the 1/3 mark of the season. They’ve played everyone once, beaten everyone once and now firmly established themselves as the team to beat. But there is still a long way to go this year and the Zebras side they face here will be a stronger one than the outfit they beat at Floorworld Park earlier in the year. If they can get a win here then they are going to be very tough for anyone bar South Hobart to catch.
Strikers and Lions Prepare for Consecutive Clashes
The Devonport Strikers and Kingborough Lions will have a dress rehearsal for their Statewide Cup Semi Final, as they meet at Valley Road in the Super League a week before they will do it all again in the final four of the Cup.
The Lions will have the home edge for their Cup game a week from now but for this weekend that advantage lies with a Devonport side looking to bounce back from defeat. Having been felled by the Zebras last week, the Strikers will be eager to get back on the winners list and not allow the Lions to draw level on points with them. They have now dropped their last 3 league fixtures at home and whilst they have been competitive in all of them, that’s not a record they will be happy with. Their road games are tougher given the extra travel it comes with, so maximising home games, where it’s a tougher trip for the opposition than usual, is just so important to them achieving a strong finish on the table.
With two of their WSL games postponed, the Kingborough Lions have still only played the 4 games in the first full round of the fixture, posting a 1-3 record with their lone win a thumping 9-3 win over the Warriors. They haven’t been able to beat a side above them on the table, though they came closest against Devonport back in Round 1 in a 3-2 loss. A slow start to the second half cost them on that day and they will need to be sharper out of the sheds this time around as it has been a period within games they have struggled with in 2022 and those lapses within games are costing them.
South Warm Favourites Over Warriors
On the Sunday, second-placed South Hobart will be expected to win comfortably against the struggling Olympia Warriors. The Warriors season went from bad to worse last week when they couldn’t field a side to travel to Launceston United and had to forfeit the match. This has been a tough season for the Warriors, struggling with player availabilities and injuries, and it won’t get any easier for them here with a match against a South side that has been seriously impressing this year, winning five of their opening six league fixtures.
In the Round 1 meeting between the sides, South Hobart claimed a 3-0 win, but it really should have been more on the balance of chances generated. They missed a host of very good goalscoring opportunities to pass up an early chance to really build some goal difference and that might be something they look to address this time around, as they currently sit 5 behind Launceston United in that metric.
Golden Boot race leader Bonnie Davies will no doubt be eyeing off the chance to pull further away in front. The South Speedster already has 14 goals in just 6 WSL games so far this year, which puts her on track for a remarkable 42 for the season if she can keep up that rate, a staggering pace! She will have to be marked very tightly here by her former side, or it could be another big bag of goals for the league’s leading scorer.