Northern Rangers v Hobart JEEP Zebras, Saturday 9 July, NTCA, 12:30PM

Last Time They Met: NPL TAS Round 8, Hobart Zebras 3-3 Northern Rangers, KGV

League Form: Northern Rangers: LLLLL                     Hobart JEEP Zebras:  WLWWW

Northern Rangers host the Hobart JEEP Zebras to kick off the round at the NTCA ground. They are the opponent that they achieved their best result of the season to date against when they surprised many by registering a 3-3 draw at KGV back in round 8. They haven’t kicked on from that display however, it remains the last time they took a point and they have lost six consecutive games since. The Zebras ground out another win last week over Olympia to remain with four points off leaders Devonpor but will know that dropping points against Rangers for a second time could spell doom for their title ambitions.

Des Baker surprised by leaving the Lanau-Atkinson brothers on the bench last week before bringing them on for a second half that the team really took it up to Launceston in. Unfortunately now Nick Lanau-Atkinson is apparently done for the season. This leaves a void that will need to be filled in an attacking sense. They haven’t scored in their last 285 minutes of football and need to find a solution up top. Jorge Palacio has been tried as a solution but his absence is felt at the back when he is shifted forward.

Making it even more difficult for Rangers is the fact that Zebras have looked very solid at the back in the past two games, registering clean sheets in both. The Tyler Harrison and Paul Stevens combination looks promising and with Hey and Toghill locked in either side of them they look a settled unit. The problems have been up the other end, where they have struggled to convert chances. They created no shortage of them against the Warriors but needed a late penalty to finally get on the score sheet.  One man who could help in that department is Aaron Cairns, who came off the bench last week and looked lively, creating multiple chances in his short cameo. He should see more minutes in this game as he continues to build match fitness and he looms as a key weapon in the final third of the season.

What the Coaches Said

Des Baker

“I was very pleased with the team’s performance against Launceston City last week, we took the game to them. Unfortunately our finishing let us down.”

“Our squad is shaping up well, we have made a few changes due to injuries  from last week, we also have lost 2 players to long term injury.”

“Our biggest loss is Nick Lanau-Atkinson, the medical team have suggested that he needs to have the rest of the season off to recover,  and Nick has agreed.With these players out it gives other players the chance to see how they perform at this level.”

"We will be striving to get a good result from this match.  Our results this year have not been good  but we are trying to turn the situation around. We are trying out a few younger players  who are actually doing quite well at this level.”

Chris Hey

“Last week was a strong team performance, we started slowly but took the ascendancy and if chances were taken, it could have been stronger result on scoreboard.”

“We have a few with flu and couple of niggling injuries but we will know more this evening after training as to how we are shaping for this week.”

“Last time we played we struggled to convert and we have 4 draws and 1 win from our encounters so far.  They have had some reasonable score lines recently against the top teams, so we expect nothing less than a hard fought game. We need to convert our chances if we are to win.”

“We are sitting on the fence and need to continue winning each and every encounter that we come across.  We are ahead of where we were this time last season, so happy at this stage.”

Kingborough Lions v Launceston City, Saturday 9 July, Lightwood Park, 2:00PM

Last Time They Met: NPL TAS Round 8, Launceston City 1-0 Kingborough, Mitsubishi Park

League Form: Kingborough: LWLWL                          Launceston City LLLWW

The Lions are home at the Den this week with an important game against a travelling Launceston City side undoubtedly buoyed by their derby victory last week. With six points currently separating the two teams in fifth and sixth, a win for City on the road could open up a likely unassailable gap of 9 points between the teams with just six rounds to go. If Kingborough are to catch them, they simply must take three points in this game.

If they play as they did for the first 45 minutes last week they are every chance. It was 45 minutes that showed what they were capable of and the progress they have made under Shaw. They took the game up to the leaders Devonport with a hardnosed approach, doing a good job to get the ball to their effective wide men, Taylor and Mcdonald, and their physical front 2 of Cowen and Cartwright were causing problems. Unfortunately after half time, their back line was brought undone by the brilliance of Mann and their defence was left overwhelmed. Putting in a full 90 has remained an issue for the Lions and they will want to avoid those lapses against City in a game that will likely be very tight.  Question marks remain over the solidity at the back, but there is no question they look more dangerous going forward and well balanced in the 4-4-2 formation.

Launceston City have now won consecutive games for the first time this season and have done so by keeping two clean sheets. Shifting Toby Omenihu to defence seems to have paid off and the form of Nathan Butler has also contributed to this new found defensive stability. How these two handle the threat of Cartwright will likely play a big role in determining the result here as goal scoring still remains a significant issue for City. Dom Rossi has been moved central to try and increase his influence on the game but he hasn’t matched the heights of last season. They are still a young side building for the future but with just six goals in nine games, something needs to click up front for them.

What the Coaches Said

Ian Shaw

“Last week was disappointing because as a group we now expect to be able to achieve better results than a 5-0 loss. Devonport are obviously the form team for a reason but we went in to the game confident and were extremely happy with the chances and possession created in the first 45 minutes. With such a dangerous, direct and attacking side you obviously can’t afford to switch off and we were made to pay in the early part of the second half.”

"No new injury concerns for the squad and Damian Pearce has been back in training after being away and will be pushing to make the starting 11. This is a crucial game for us as we lost the last 2 rounds against City, we’ll be looking to keep building on our performances of late and working on stringing a full 90 minutes together to get the job done.”

“It’s been very positive for us since I have arrived and we are building towards the finals and working on our structure and fitness as the season progresses. We are confident that we’ll be able to take more points in the third round and have some real momentum in the finals to give it a real shake.”

Lino Sciulli

“We ground out a result but it was a very poor game, a poor standard by us in particular, we showed a lot in the respect that we didn’t let any goals in and kept trying but we never really had anyone that stood up, we lacked composure in the middle of the park.”

“At the end of the day if you’re 1-0 up and you have to grind out a 1-0 win, then that’s what it takes.”

“Toby Omenihu is working at centre back, we haven’t let in any goals in, in that time, but how permanent that is going to be I’m not sure.”

“It’s a must win game, it’s a six pointer against a well coached, tall side. They move the ball well and if we play like we did against Rangers then we’ll probably get a bit of a touch up.”

Devonport v Clarence Saturday 9 July, Valley Road, 2:00PM

Last Time They Met: NPL TAS Round 8, Devonport 5-0 Clarence, Valley Road

League Form: Devonport: WWWWW                      Clarence: LLWLL

Devonport host Clarence United at Valley Road and will be expecting to take three points once again to maintain their gap of four points at the top of the table. The Strikers made it 10 wins in a row with their win last week, which is a Victory League/NPL TAS record and they will look to extend that even further this week with a home game against seventh placed Clarence.

Devonport have been dominant this season, especially at home where they have scored 28 goals in 7 home games this season. A massive part of that potent attack is star striker Brayden Mann who has been in red hot form. His spectacular seven minute second half hat-trick last week made it 13 goals from his last seven league games, as he continues to lead the line and provide his side’s main source of goals. Another source has been the in form Miles Barnard, who has scored seven from his last six starts in midfield. It’s hard to see how Clarence can possibly contain this devastating attack whilst at the back the Strikers have conceded just one goal in their last 540 minutes of football. The only real worry is that complacency might set in, with a squad looking ahead to their FFA cup clash but with Savill in charge that remains unlikely.

Last week the Reds rebounded well from a poor performance against the Lions the week prior, putting in a spirited display against South Hobart and hanging in the contest before eventually losing 3-1. It was a much better effort, particularly at the back where they made themselves much harder to break down. Between the sticks, Mathew Dyson was restored to goals and responded perfectly, he produced a superb display in goals which shows a good attitude having been dropped a few weeks earlier. He will likely be busy again this week and the defence in front of him, if it is Hedge and Stevens will need to sit deep to avoid the pace of the Devonport attackers room in behind.

What the Coaches Said

Nick Owen

“The first half last week was a bit of a struggle for us last week. When we start a game full of confidence we seem to go away from our game plan a bit and that shows in our performance. The half time break allowed us to refocus on what it is that we do well and when we do that the goals go in for us.”

“The starting 11 will be the same as last week. Beau Blizzard will be out for a week or 2 with his recurring knee injury.”

“Clarence have performed admirably this season. They have had some success in the Northern half of the state this year already, and I'm sure they will be striving for more. Nick Naden is always dangerous on the ball and his searching runs through midfield will need to be watched closely.”

“I'm sure Clarence will make it difficult for us to score and look to make it a real battle. We'll be looking to play it through the midfield more this week and control the game through there.”

“We have had an excellent year to date but there aren't any prizes for being on top with 7  games remaining.”

Alan Jablonski

"South and Devonport two weeks in a row is a tough ask for any side."

"We battled well against South and stayed in the game for a long period of time.  The own goal obviously hurt us but these things happen when you're under sustained pressure."

"We travel to Devonport without Rich Heath,  Joe Stephens, Ben Aitken, Adrian Lawler and Grant Malcolm and Henry Lush."

"Young Daniel Williams will make his senior debut along with recently signed Steven Wild."

"We will have a plan to thwart Devonport's attacking power and hopefully score one or two ourselves and get something out of the trip north."

Olympia v South Hobart, Sunday 10 July, Warrior Park, 3:00PM

Last Time They Met: NPL TAS Round 8, South Hobart 5-1 Olympia, Darcy St

League Form: Olympia: WWWLL                          South Hobart: WWLLW  

Heading into the season few would have thought that these two sides would be out of the running for the league title by the start of round 3, yet that is perhaps the reality of the situation they both find themselves in heading into this game. South will continue to push for the title but with an eight point gap to top spot, they will need to win out and hope for other results to go their way. For Olympia, the focus has largely turned to blooding the youth, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t love to be the side that drove the final nail into coffin of South Hobart’s 2016 campaign.

South Hobart will be without the services of Darcy Hall, Dan Brown, Alex Leszczysnki through suspension and Kobe Kemp will continue to miss through injury. They were able to overcome those notable absences last week against Clarence but against a Warriors defence that has conceded just two goals in the past month of football, it looks a tougher proposition for them to take home the three points from this one. Moving Loic Feral to midfield and starting Schmidt at full back was as success and is likely to be repeated. Youngster Pajari Scunthorpe has now scored twice off the bench from substitute appearances and must be in the running for a full start.

It will likely be a battle of the young side as Olympia continue to offer chances to the young players. Whilst they have contended for the title as they would have hoped, the opportunities it has afforded some younger players will be beneficial in the long term. Thomas Little is the latest of these, he shone last Friday against Zebras and allowed them to play with a back three. Against a rather make shift front line of South Hobart. Nick Mearns looked underdone last week and their attack has lagged significantly when he hasn't been fit and firing. He remains vitally important to the side and they will need their star man to be at his best if they are to give their home supporters something to cheer on Sunday.

What the Coaches Said

Glen Mcneill

“This week we welcome South Hobart to Warrior Park. Matches with South Hobart are always fierce competitions and this week will be no different. “

“Although South Hobart will have some players missing they will be as competitive as ever and it should be a highly entertaining encounter.”

“I thought that we were good in the first half last week and should have taken advantage of this by scoring one or two.”

“This week we need to take advantage of our scoring opportunities because they will be few and far between.”

“After the first two rounds we have seen a lot of players through our first team. There has been an emphasis most recently to transition our younger players into the first team. This will continue for the rest of the season.”

Ken Morton

“I thought we worked very hard to earn three points against a hard working Clarence team.  We had good position and good possession and created a number of opportunities.  We did enough, it was a good away win.”

“Our injury situation is ok.  We are still missing Hugh Ludford, Kobe Kemp will be missing but is doing light training. Ben Hamlett is back in full training and could be a late inclusion and we are still without the three suspended players.”

“Olympia at Warrior Park is always a tough match and I am sure Sunday’s clash will be an epic battle.I thought Olympia played very well in their last game.  They moved the ball well and they are a dangerous front five.”

“Our football has been good, we’re just failing to capitalize on some key moments.”