Second-placed Glenorchy Knights will be without defender Jack Bowman and midfield playmaker Eduardo Castaneda for tomorrow’s visit to Windsor Park in Launceston to take on bottom-side Riverside Olympic at 4.30pm.
Both players are suspended after accumulating five yellow cards.
Their absence should not stop the Knights from winning and will give coach James Sherman the chance to give more game time to the likes of Cade Smith, Yianni Skalkos and Kalvin Pitt.
With leaders Devonport Strikers likely to win against the visiting sixth-placed Clarence Zebras at Valley Road at 2.15pm, the Knights will know exactly what is required by the time they meet Riverside.
A win would keep them a point adrift of Devonport Strikers, with four game remaining.
In the unlikely event of an upset at Valley Road, the Knights could move to top spot with a win against Riverside.
Devonport are unlikely to throw away 3 points against the southern visitors.
With the FFA Cup increasingly looking unlikely to go ahead because of the lock-downs interstate, Devonport, Tasmania’s representatives, can concentrate all their efforts on retaining the NPL Tasmania title.
What to say about the two other fixtures tomorrow, given that there is little but pride at stake?
Third-ranked South Hobart entertain fourth-placed Kingborough Lions United at South Hobart Oval at 2pm, and Olympia Warriors welcome fifth-placed Launceston City to Warrior Park at 4.30pm.
With a top-four finish meaningless in the absence of a final-four series, all teams will be looking for a good performance with an eye on next season and recruitment and possible discarding of players.
Some people live in the hope that their club can develop its own players and therefore there is no need for recruitment. But, that philosophy is misguided in so far as few clubs anywhere in the world get by only by developing their own players.
Recruiting players (I don’t like that word ‘poaching’) is what makes the world of football go around. Look at most clubs anywhere in the world and they always try and get the best players that are available. It’s no different in Tasmania. If your club has a wealthy benefactor, the task is, of course, much easier.
There ends the lesson. On to the other two matches.
South Hobart have been near but so far from the title this season and the Lions present them with a genuine challenge.
The Lions tend to run hot and cold, and South Hobart have also lacked consistency, which means the results of this game is in the lap of the gods. It will depend on which teams turn up on the day. Both sides have the potential to win.
Olympia Warriors were disappointing last week in going down 2-1 to Kingborough. Kyle Vincent scored his customary goal, but that was as good as it got for the warriors.
They will need to do much better to overcome a visiting Launceston City side that has got better and better as the season progressed and which still has a chance of grabbing fourth place, for whatever that means.
NPL Tasmania schedule for Saturday, 14 August 2021:
South Hobart v Kingborough Lions United (South Hobart Oval, 2pm)
Devonport Strikers v Clarence Zebras (Valley Road, 2.15pm)
Olympia Warriors v Launceston City (Warrior Park, 4.30pm)
Riverside Olympic v Glenorchy Knights (Windsor Park, 4.30pm)
NPL Tasmania standings (As at 7 August 2021)
|
TEAM |
P |
W |
D |
L |
F |
A |
Pts |
|
Devonport City |
16 |
12 |
2 |
2 |
41 |
11 |
38 |
|
Glenorchy Knights |
16 |
11 |
4 |
1 |
47 |
17 |
37 |
|
South Hobart |
16 |
9 |
4 |
3 |
39 |
19 |
31 |
|
Kingborough Lions |
16 |
7 |
3 |
6 |
29 |
31 |
24 |
|
Launceston City |
16 |
6 |
1 |
9 |
21 |
34 |
19 |
|
Clarence Zebras |
16 |
4 |
3 |
9 |
27 |
39 |
15 |
|
Olympia Warriors |
16 |
4 |
2 |
10 |
24 |
39 |
14 |
|
Riverside Olympic |
16 |
0 |
3 |
13 |
21 |
60 |
3 |
6 comments:
All though I agree with your comments Walter, I do not agree with them 100%.
Players need to be developed somewhere and eventually they do move onto a club that they may see as somewhere where they may win something or in most cases, get paid some money playing a sport that they love.
Now I have nothing against this, but the purest in me feels that these players should show some loyalty to their club but when another club comes poaching (I'll use poaching as I don't really see it as recruiting) to entice another player, then that said club should feel aggrieved that the player that they helped develop in some way, leaves them with nothing for that club that helped develop them.
Now I know that we are an amateur competition, but if this said club who poaches the said player and the said player is receiving payment for playing, then the club who poached him should be made to pay some sort of financial payment for that player to the club where he was poached from.
I know every club can do what they want, but if we want the competition to remain fair and equal, then no club should be allowed to pay players and make the league more fairer.
Granted teams like Devonport possibly do not pay their players and they are successful on the pitch, but based on their geographic area, they do not have another 5 teams to compete with when trying to attract players to their club.
Anyway, just my thoughts on all this.
Anon 3.07pm.
It is not a professional league so clubs are not permitted to ask for 'transfer fees' if that's what you wish to call it. Many years ago however, that was exactly the case and clubs did pay players and clubs who wanted to sign players from elsewhere , did have to pay the other club a fee that was normally negotiated between the player and original club prior to the season. So the player would know what the 'transfer fee' was at the beginning of the season. I am unsure whether this would be permitted in this day but it did occur years ago.
Your comments regarding development of players and players showing or not showing loyalty has a little merit.
Many clubs who lose players to other clubs generally do so because they have been poorly treated or not had a fair opportunity and so on. There is one club in particular who has a history of this and then complains that all their players have been poached with the offer of money and are now struggling . It took many years for players at this club to finally leave but as soon as one left they all followed. If they were happy there they would not have left. Having said that there is a small group of mercenaries who just follow the cash. These are the ones who will fall on their swords one day. The sooner the better I say.
The standard of the mens and womens game over the last couple years has been really poor. 3 or 4 years ago i thought we were heading in the right direction but thos clearly isnt the case. I have no idea how to make this better just putting it out there
loyalty is a two-way street.
How many players have been loyal to clubs for years only to watch their team offer good money for a player from another team to join them, while the loyal player gets offered a can of coke and a sandwich.
It seems many teams only place a financial value on players from other teams, while those players who have come up through the ranks are supposed to do it out of loyalty to the club.
Walt, you seem to despondent about the current state of Tas soccer. I agree, the standard has dropped. How about running a few of the old 'season that was' and reliving the glory days ;-)
Players leave clubs for all sorts of reasons some for cash (not if your female no cash for them), some to gain first team football, some to play with friends for because a group is a closer demographic, some for a change
Some move some dont does it matter.
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