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Devonport Strikers v Hobart JEEP Zebras, Valley Road, Saturday 9 April, 2:00PM

Two undefeated teams meet in the game of the round in what should be an absolute cracker of a contest. The home side has been flying this season, following up their impressive road victory over the Warriors with a clinical display against Launceston City last week. Zebras meanwhile have not had the chance to play against a fellow title rival just yet, but have comfortably dealt with what Rangers, Launceston and Clarence have thrown at them. This by far represents their sternest test to date in the league.

Having shown a rock solid defensive line up the first two weeks, last week’s 5-1 result was notable in that it saw Devonport’s attacking talent, notably striker Brayden Mann, exploding into life. It was the type of performance Mann has forged his reputation from and a dangerous sign to the rest of the league. He will certainly prove a tough match up for the Zebra’s back line, with his ability to quickly react and find a yard of space in the box, as well as his constant movement, making him a nightmare for defenders to mark.

Just which two of the Zebras defenders are charged with shackling him remains to be seen, with classy young defender Tyler Harrison making his long awaited return to the squad. Whilst he may well start on the bench for this one as he settles back into the squad, it will eventually present a selection dilemma for Hey, with the Henry Moody and Henry Fagg partnership looking solid so far this season.

One solution could be to switch Fagg to right back and push Dwayne Walsh onto the wing, where he was so destructive last week against his former side Clarence, scoring one of the goals of the season to date. With Kurt Engels, Sam Conway, Michael Maiorano and Adam McKeown also fit there are no shortage of options for Zebras in wide areas. This may well prove to be the key to the game for them on Saturday, a view that is shared by Devonport Assistant Coach Nick Owen.

“It should be a tight, hard fought game. We both have good form going into the game and a win would be a huge confidence booster. It should be an even match up in the midfield and between Hugisloot and Zupo in defence this week, so the players we really need to look out for are McKeown and Engels on the wings. Controlling them will enhance our chances of a win greatly.” 

This is because if there is any vulnerability to Devonport, it’s perhaps the lack of pace of their centre backs, which they negate by playing their two full backs slightly more narrowly. By tucking the full backs in, as well as having Daniel Syson tirelessly shielding in midfield, it doesn’t allow that lack of pace to be exploited by having them drawn out of position and it shuts down the middle of the pitch. It will therefore allow the Zebras Wingers some extra space out wide in which to operate. Crosses from these areas are not something Devonport especially fear as the two centre backs are so physically strong and dominant in the air. Zebras target man Luke Huigsloot, who has had the better of most of his markers in this air this year, especially last week against Clarence, will find his job far more difficult this week against the towering duo of Gratton and Zupo.

If they can build from these wide areas, and look to pass the ball around rather than cross they may have far more joy. With Jayden Hey still out, the likes of Callen Griffen and Jordan Muller will be vital in linking up with their wingers in these advanced areas. Behind them, James Sherman has been a revelation in the middle of the park and will be crucial to stopping the likes of Blizzard and Stone from getting on the ball for Devonport.

Zebras will also be bolstered by the return of Graham Wright in goals, their own import helping to match an area of strength that Devonport enjoy with the impressive Nick Giantsopolous looking a rock so far this season.

Zebras Coach Chris Hey knows avoiding the sluggish starts that have plagued his side in recent times will be important and acknowledged the importance of the fixture for his side when discussing the game.

“We have had 3 average starts to each of our league games and this is something we need to address, especially given the calibre of competition we will be playing over the next four weeks. Devonport have always impressed me by the manner in which they work hard for one another and don’t give an inch.  I have no doubt they will be one of the top 4 at seasons end, this is a big game for both clubs.  We need to start well and not turn the ball over in uncontested situations. This will allow us to build the game going forward, who wants it the most will win.”

 

Kingborough Lions v Northern Rangers, Lightwood Park, Saturday 9 April, 2:00PM

This is a battle between two sides who are reeling having each been beaten badly by competition heavyweights last week. This fixture offers a realistic chance for both sides to arrest their early slide and get their first points of the season, with both sides losing all three of their opening fixtures.

Both were played off the park last week, not seeing a whole lot of the ball, so they should be able to enjoy more possession and hopefully offer more of an attacking threat this week down at the Den. Kingborough have gone through a tumultuous period, with the 9-0 defeat to Olympia coming days after the resignation of coach Colin Robbins and they are all too aware that three points here are badly required to steady the ship. Mark Broadbent has been brought in as the interim coach for the next four weeks whilst the board search for a permanent appointment and he gets a chance to help put their season back on track with a winnable fixture against another side that have had all manner of problems this season.

Injuries, suspensions and a lack of available players on top of losing a number of key players from 2015 have conspired to undo a lot of the positive work Rangers did last season when they cracked the competitions top four for the second season running. Nick Lanau-Atkinson described last week’s performance as “embarrassing” and it has been a week of soul searching for the Northerners.

Coach Dane Hudson wants a response from his players this week and is expecting a far better effort from them.

“We had a reality shock last week and were shown at what level we need to be at to be competitive across the 90 minutes. Both teams have faced the might of the NPL in our state over recent weeks and we both failed to perform. We are a proud group as are the Lions so I am expecting a hard fought game.”

The big problem for the Lions has been goal scoring, having scored just the one goal so far this season. They badly need Danny Cowen to find his shooting boots; their key man in attack has been starved of service so far this season and been unable to find the net, having registered 15 goals last season. Youngster Daniel Gofton has shown flashes and looks a likely avenue alongside Cowen, so Rangers will need to mark this pair far tighter than they did the South Hobart players last week. Far too often the Rangers defenders were not nearly close enough to their opponents and were punished time and time again for it.

Getting these forwards the supply will be the issue, the pairing of Dale and Downes were swarmed by Olympia last week but should have more joy, up against a Northern Rangers midfield that will be without star Nick Lanau-Atkinson. His suspension is just the latest blow in what has proved a tough season of injuries and suspensions. It increases the pressure on Harry Thannhauser to try to negate the key movers of the opposition, he has often been left overwhelmed this season, having to deal with far too many threats as the gap between midfield and defence stretches too far.

Lions team manager David Cooper, like Hudson was looking to move on from last week’s disappointment.

“Rangers are a proud club like us, I’m certain they’ll be looking to put last weeks result behind them and come out firing. They have some key players we’ll need to ensure aren’t given space to influence the game but our main focus will be on our player tasks to ensure we can start to obtain more possession, especially in the front third.”

There has been a lot written about both these sides after last week, but some of the sky is falling rhetoric has been far too exaggerated. Rangers were a top four side the past two seasons and the Lions made the Lakoseljac Cup final last season, yes they have been poor to start the year and results like last week are not a good look, but the season is a marathon not a race. They both have time to pick themselves up and that begins here at the Den.

 

Launceston City v South Hobart, Mitsubishi Park, Saturday 9 April, 4:30PM

Launceston City welcomes the league leaders South Hobart to Mitsubishi Park in what should be an interesting contest. Launceston were overwhelmed at Valley Road last week but in front of their home crowd they will be expected to make life difficult for South Hobart in what should prove a tough road trip for sides this season. South Hobart have not missed a beat so far in 2016, remaining perfect in both the league and Lakoseljac Cup.

The loss of Carlo Coppari who returns to Italy for the next month is a big blow, whilst Dom Rossi will miss again, this hurts what they can offer in an attacking sense. It means the likes of Isaac Degetto, Nathan Bartlett and Aaron Campbell will need to step up to cover the loss and try to provide a very settled back four of South Hobart with some questions. Dan Brown is available for selection again having missed the past two weeks with concussion but it might be tough to make any changes to what has been a rock solid back four of Feral, Ludford, Lewis and Quaile.

In midfield South Hobart appear to have the edge, Kemp, Morton and Turner are the form midfield of the league and all three are such versatile players that even if you shut one down, the other two can still hurt you significantly. Deploying captain Toby Omenihu in a negating role, where he was so good earlier this year against Hobart Zebras, could be a ploy Launceston use to try and seize some control of what will be a crucial midfield battle.

Finding a way to stop Alex Lesczynski is the other big issue. With 7 goals in his first three games, the dominant striker has been at the very top of his game. His physical presence will need to be matched, a task made all the tougher by the absence of Karl DeGroot. Gregory Duffy and Scott Mahony are both physical players who can take it up to the big front man, but stopping him from scoring is going to be difficult for anyone with the rich vein of form he is in. Cutting off his service from the likes of Darcy Hall and the much improved Alfred Hess will be critical in trying to curtail the damage he does and giving Launceston a chance of an upset.

South Hobart Coach Ken Morton was predicting a tough physical game from their trip North.

“Launceston City are a difficult opponent. They are strong, physical and very competitive and will be difficult to beat especially at home at Mitsubishi Park.  Their style of play does not suit us but we must try and mirror and impose our playing style on this difficult opponent.”

His opposing manager Lino Sciulli knows it will be a tough assignment and is hoping for a full 90 minute performance this week.

“It’s our first home game so we need to perform well for our supporters and sponsors. They will have some good attackers and mid fielders so the game will be won or lost in those areas. It will be tough as usual so will have our work cut out if we have another 2nd half fadeout, that’s something we can’t afford.”

 

Clarence United v Olympia FC Warriors, Wentworth Park, Saturday 9 April, 4:30PM

With Clarence United returning to the top flight of Tasmanian Football, there is also a return of the Eastern Shore Derby. One of Tasmanian football’s fiercest rivalries, the hotly anticipated clash is set to play out in front of what is sure to be a fired up crowd at Wentworth Park.

It’s fair to say there is little love lost between the two clubs so both sides will be desperate for the win and the local bragging rights that come with it. Olympia will go in as heavy favourites, having bounced back into form with a convincing 9-0 victory over Kingborough with star imports Borbor Sam and Lawrence Shuruma both looking back to their best. Trailing the league leaders by six points already, there is no room for slip up’s and Clarence would dearly love to be able to help strike a blow against their fierce rivals title claims.

Clarence will be looking to bounce back from a 4-0 loss against Hobart Zebras. Having played well for 45 minutes to hold them to 0-0, they were outgunned in the second half and face a similarly tough task in containing the firepower of the Warriors here. The newly promoted side will likely cede the majority of the possession and be forced to defend in deep areas. With George Hallard missing through suspension, captain Jeremy Price and goalkeeper Mathew Dyson will need to take extra responsibility in keeping them organised at the back.

At the other end, target man Adam Hedge has proved a shrewd signing and along with the skillful Nic Naden, they could cause some problems for a defence still missing captain Jake Vandermey. The outstanding Jacob Collard remains however, and his supreme ability to dictate the play from centre back is unrivaled in the league. If he gets time on the ball to feed the likes of Hoy, Sam, Wadawu and Shuruma, it could be a long night for the Reds.

It was a far happier Glenn McNeill than a week ago, but he was not getting carried away from one result.

“Our game against Kingborough started off poorly in the first half with us being wasteful in possession. This changed significantly in the second half where we became much more ruthless and clinical around the 18 yard box. There is no doubt Clarence will be up for their first derby in 3 years. A lot will be made of the game and I’m sure they will play out of their skins. For us we need to focus on our football and convert possession into strikes on goal. It’s important that we don’t let the occasion get in the way of playing good football.”
Clarence coach Alan Jablonsk admitted his side faced an uphill task but suggested his chargers would be fired up for the derby.

  “This week we entertain the boys from Warrane, we will be looking to be in the contest as long as we can so denying goal scoring opportunities is a must.  They have several semi-professional/professional footballers in their list so coming away with even a point will be a huge result for us. Limiting their space in attacking areas will put us in good stead and the longer the game is close the more chance we will have in causing them some problems. Derby’s are always hard fought affairs and I am sure this game will be no different.  The boys from CUFC will leave nothing in the sheds and give everything they have, like they do each week.”