Which cards will Devonport reveal against Knights tomorrow?

Photo:  Glenorchy Knights coach, James Sherman, will find it hard to set out his stall because no-one knows which line-up Devonport will send out. [PlessPix]

What sort of team will Devonport Strikers send out against Glenorchy Knights tomorrow?

That is the big question as the second-placed and reigning champions Knights prepare to host current league leaders Devonport.

The Strikers have a huge week coming up.

On Wednesday night, they entertain A-League club Wellington Phoenix at 7.30pm at Valley Road in the Round-of-32 of the Australia Cup.

Will the Strikers field a weakened side against Knights and rest key players, or will they field their strongest line-up and use the game as a final realistic practice game to fine tune their tactics before their showdown with Phoenix?

I, for one, hope it is the latter.  Worrying that a player could get injured is futile.  He could slip on the pavement and get injured.

Players want to play, and a game against the second-placed team is as big as it gets in the league, so coaches should not deny their charges that chance because they fear someone may get injured.

Either way. Devonport should be too strong for a Knights outfit that is proving inconsistent and who trail the league-leaders by a massive 9 points with six games remaining.

I can’t see Devonport losing three games let alone four.

Photo:  Knights will hope that the talented Nicholas Naden can score against Devonport. [PlessPix]  

Third and fourth-placed Kingborough Lions United and South Hobart, respectively, both travel north tomorrow.

The Lions face bottom-side Riverside Olympic and should come home with the 3 points, but South Hobart will have to be at their best to beat fifth-ranked Launceston City.

South Hobart and Launceston City will meet again next weekend in a postponed match from earlier in the season.

Tomorrow’s remaining game is at Wentworth Park, where sixth-placed Clarence Zebras welcome seventh-ranked Olympia Warriors to do battle.

The Warriors are gradually improving, whereas Clarence Zebras appear dead in the water.

Games between these two sides bring out the best in both, however, so a thrilling game is in prospect.

Photo:  Knights' central defender, Tyler Harrison, shown here trapping the ball with his chest, often pushes forward in attack. [PlessPix]  

NPL Tasmania schedule:

Glenorchy Knights v Devonport Strikers (KGV Park, 2.30pm)

Clarence Zebras v Olympia Warriors (Wentworth Park, 4.30pm)

Riverside Olympic v Kingborough Lions United (Windsor Park, 2.30pm)

Launceston City v South Hobart (Buckby Motors Park, 4.30pm)

Photo:  Knights skipper and centre-back, Eli Luttmer (left), about to score against Riversie Olympic last week.  Luttmer has been on the scoresheet regularly and will pose a threat to Devonport. [PlessPix]  

Men’s Southern Championship NPL Tasmania Standings (As at 23 July 2022)

TEAM	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
Devonport Strikers	15	13	1	1	52	10	40
Glenorchy Knights	15	10	1	4	35	14	31
Kingborough Lions	15	9	2	4	41	26	29
South Hobart	14	8	3	3	40	11	27
Launceston City	14	8	1	5	28	25	25
Clarence Zebras	15	3	2	10	23	37	11
Olympia Warriors	15	2	0	13	17	53	6
Riverside Olympic	15	0	2	13	7	68	2

Photo:  Knights supporters such as Milan Mesic, Ante Dzelalija and Johnny Cacic, shown here, will be hoping for a win for their team. [PlessPix]  

Vale Lincoln Conquest, Danny D'Abate and John Reece

Photo:  Lincoln Conquest (extreme right, back row) in the title-winning Glenorchy Knights side of 2006. [PlessPix] 

Lincoln Conquest, one of the finest strikers to have played for Glenorchy Knights, has passed away in Brisbane at the age of 45.

He played in Queensland before moving to Tasmania and joining Glenorchy Knights.

Photo:  Lincoln Conquest (extreme left, front row) in another successful Glenorchy Knights team. [PlessPix]  

Conquest was in the title winning Knights sides of 2005 and 2006.

He was an integral member of that fine team that won the treble in 2005. 

They won the southern title and then the Top-Five series, as well as the Milan Lakoseljac Memorial Trophy.

The only trophy they missed out on that year was the Summer Cup.  They lost to Olympia in a penalty shoot-out in the final.

In 2005, Conquest was Knights’ third-ranked goalscorer with 11 goals, 4 behind team-mates Tom Huigsloot and Mathew Sanders, who netted 15 goals apiece.

Photo:  Lincoln Conquest (raised hand and finger) in the Glenorchy Knights side that won the Milan Lakoseljac Memorial Trophy in 2005. [PlessPix]  

He had taken his tally to 11 by scoring a hat-trick in a 4-3 win over Hobart Zebras.

Conquest was a team player and always paid credit to his team-mates for setting him up for goals.

He was fast, aggressive but fair, and never gave up the cause.

I interviewed Conquest for The Mercury in late August 2005 and he paid tribute to the Knights’ opponents but maintained that Knights had the best squad in the competition.

This opinion was borne out by the results.

Photo:  My story about Lincoln Conquest in The Mercury of 31 August, 2005.

*****

Danny D’Abate, one the State’s leading referees in the 1970s and 1980s, passed away in Hobart on Tuesday aged 83.

D’Abate was born in Frosolone, Italy, in 1939 and came to Australia as a young man.

He was always firm but fair and treated players with respect.

His sense of humour was enough to defuse most tense and difficult situations and he was generally liked by players.

John Reece, another notable referee of that era, also passed away in Hobart on Monday.

Reece was a resident of the Hawthorn Village Nursing Home in Blackmans Bay near Kingston.

He was an absolute gentleman on and off the field.