Southern Summer Cup, Rangers V Zebras

Northern Rangers Yitay Towns in action against
Clarence United last weekend.

Northern Rangers will go to Warrior Park looking for their first win of their Southern Summer Cup experiment.

Two draws gives them next to no chance of progressing, but the focus will be on matching it with a Victory League front runner this week, rather than anything else.

Rangers will be without Marshall Pooley, Derek Schipper and probably Coventry import, Shane Brassington who arrived this week from the UK. 

Brassington is awaiting a clearance from the UK that was lodged on the 8^th of February, but will travel with the squad and warm up regardless of whether he is given the green light to play or not by FFT.

The Rangers injury list is already on the climb, but shouldn’t affect this week’s squad too much, but leaves little left over for the Hudson Cup.

Hingston, McCarragher and Tuma will all play after missing last week with injury, while Ash Fisher retains his place in the squad after a strong debut for the club against Clarence, and is knocking on the door for the Victory League 20.

Steve Pitchford will look for more from his strikers this week, after rooing missed opportunities last week against Taroona.

“On Saturday we meet Northern Rangers in a match we need to win to at least put some pressure on Taroona when they play Kingborough on Saturday evening.”

“We will take in a full-strength squad utilising an attacking formation. Rangers have been very solid defensively and we will need to be more accurate in front of goal than in our first two matches of this summer cup.” Pitchford said.

For Rangers coach Peter Savill, it will be a test to see if the team can replicate months of training on ball speed and passing, after the last few games have seen the team drop their focus on pass, pass, pass.

The match kicks off at 5pm at Warrior Park.

Tilford Zebras V Devonport Easily the Match of the Hudson Cup.

Brayden Mann has already started scoring goals
at will in 2013, and will be looking to extend that against
a top quality Zebras outfit.

Tilford Zebras will pit themselves against fellow Victory League title hopeful Devonport Strikers in what is undoubtedly the match of the round at 3pm pm Sunday at Birch Avenue.

After a disappointing loss to Taroona last week, Zebras will be looking to bounce back and let Devonport know what they are really capable of.

Zebras coach, Steve Pitchford is not taking the match lightly, and will be eyeing a showdown with South Hobart later in the tournament, and a win here will ensure it’s in the final.

Pitchford said “We are hoping to take in a full-strength squad for the match against Devonport. As we need to win to finish on top of our group.”

“We will be utilising the same attacking formation as we had for the first two matches in this competition. Devonport have shown themselves to be an efficient scoring machine and our defensive unit will need to pay particular attention to Port's Mann and Holden.”

“This match should be an excellent preview of what is to come in the Victory League in 2013.”

For Devonport Coach Chris McKenna, the match with Zebras will be as much about continuing development as it is about winning.  After a couple of games against weaker opponents, the Strikers players will need to quickly adapt to a higher level of opposition, their ability to do this will be tested early, but Mckenna is confident given his sides preparation.

“We’ve obviously got our toughest opponent in the Hudson Cup this weekend & we’re looking forward to the game to get a more competitive outing. Tilford Zebras have a tremendously talented squad & have rightly been tipped as one of the favourites for the inaugural Victory League season. We’re not sure what the strength of their squad will be this weekend but, knowing the depth they have at their disposal, we know it’ll be a tough game. “

“We’ll have the same squad available as we used last weekend against Launceston United, however this weekend we’ll give all players not in Sunday’s starting eleven a game in the North West Summer Cup on Saturday to give them an extra opportunity to get miles into the legs, as opposed to limited minutes on & off the bench on Sunday.”

“We’ve had another intense week on the training track & hopefully we keep seeing improvement as we near round one of the season proper.” Chris McKenna said.



City player Alex Sculli



Launceston City will come up against Northern Rangers at 1pm, with City fielding their Victory League side and Rangers their Premier, the match should go the way of City, however Dane Hudson is not interested in what Rangers are doing, rather focusing on his clubs development.

Hudson said “I need to see the same level of effort this week against Rangers as I saw last week. I’m not concerned with Rangers as far as what they are trying to implement as a group as they move through the preseason, we have our own bridges to build and hopefully the opportunity will exist for that to happen.”

For Rangers coach Col Nicholson it will be a good test of his Premier League sides development, no wins on the board at present, but showing good signs in patches to date, Nicholson will be keen to see his side compete for 90 minutes and push for a result.

Premier League outfits Launceston United and Prospect Knights will finally get the opportunity to play on a more even playing field, as they wrestle to avoid a bottom of the table position.

Neither have been able to hold a candle to their State League opponents so far, so it’s anyone’s guess which way the game will go, Prospect seem to have the youth on their side, while Launceston are an uncharacteristic side of older players.

The final game is between South Hobart and Riverside Olympic, Riverside have shown some great form so far in the competition, Sam Hughes is a huge return for Riverside, chased by both Launceston  Victory League clubs, Hughes chose club loyalty to remain with Riverside, and will be a huge boon for the club if he stays fit.  Another young player to watch for is Mitch Jones who is quick and has a strong strike if given the opportunity.

Whilst matching it with the state’s most successful club in the modern era will be a massive task, it won’t be out of the consideration for the players who line up for Riverside.

South Coach Ken Morton would again look to bring a strong side for the game, focusing on his State League side development, but it will be without some key signings with Mark Ambrose, Josh Fielding and Chris Hunt not making the trip north at this stage.

Morton said this “South Hobart will bring a strong squad for our match against Riverside.  Joseph Stevens will make his debut in this competition.  We are expecting Mizael to be passed fit by the medical staff to play some part in the game.”

 “We will have a good mix between youth and experience.”

The expected squad to travel for South will be:  Matthew Ferguson, Nick Becker, Ned Clarke, Lucas Hill, Hugh Ludford, Cam Williams, Joseph Stevens, Shae Hickey, Hye Min Yun (Xavi), Nick Morton, Cam Rogers, Kostas Kanakaris, Harrison Thomas, Jackson Nugent, Max Clarke,

Week 3 - Sunday, March 3rd,

GROUND 1

11.00am               Group A               Launceston United (NPL)             v              Prospect Knights (NPL)

1.00pm                 Group B               Launceston City (VL)                       v              Northern Rangers (NPL)

3.00pm                 Group A               Tilford Zebras (VL)                           v              Devonport City (VL)

GROUND 2

2.00pm                 Group B               South Hobart (VL)                            v              Riverside Olympic (NPL)



Highlights From South Hobart Vs Launceston City. Hudson Cup.

Round 2 N/W Summer Cup

                                             Valley Road hosts this weeks summer cup

Round 2 kicks off at Valley road this week with the early game between Ulverstone and Somerset kicking off at 12.30pm.This should be another interesting encounter between the two sides.
Somerset will not be playing any of their senior players as they have to play in Launceston at 1pm against Launceston United in the state wide cup.
Kevin Considine said that it will give the younger guys that are knocking on the door of the senior squad to show where they are at and allow game time in a quicker division. We will also allow our reserve players a chance to have a run as well because we have all been training as one group and their fitness and game skills are looking good for this time of year.

Somerset will be using youth this week

Stuart Mack would be happy with his sides win after a slow start against Burnie last week. As they have a great mix of youth and senior players. With Snow Compaign leading the back line. It will be a hard game to predict but will be worth a watch.

In the later game Devonport host Burnie in a game where Chris McKenna will have his boys on song.
Chris had this to say after last week."

I was a disappointing end result for our boys on Saturday but probably not unexpected with the huge gulf in experience between the two teams. We only had one player over 18 in the squad so it was a bit of an eye opener for them.

In the first half I thought our boys knocked the ball around quite well at times & had some reasonable passages of play. When they were against the wind in the second half, they struggled to play out from the back but, to their credit, they kept trying to do it while under great pressure. Most of the players were from our under 18’s from last year & they were a bit off the pace at times & had to adapt to the more physical style of play. There were some good individual performances & plenty of good signs for the season ahead.

This week we take on Burnie & we’ll more than likely have a few more senior players come into the squad. We’ll possibly only take 14 players to play Hudson Cup on Sunday so that will allow a couple of our players to play some longer minutes over the two competitions".

 

Tyler Johnston will be looking to carry his early form into this weeks game against Devonport.

Penalties from Northern Rangers V Clarence

Penalties from the 3 all draw between Northern Rangers and Clarence United in the Southern Summer Cup.

Did I leave my line on Clarence's first kick?

Launceston City FC Media Release

A quick update regarding events, pre-season training and annoucements at Launceston City FC.

Launceston City FC - Club Update. The 2013 pre-season is underway for the majority of teams with coaches finalising lists for the commencement of the season which starts for most teams in just over a months time. This season is especially exciting with the club becoming a part of the Statewide Victory League (V-League). Not only is this new competition great for the club, players & sponsors, but also raises the awareness of this great game throughout Tasmania and gives junior players the opportunity to work towards playing at the highest level in Tasmania. We are proud to announce we will be hosting Round 1 of the V-League with a double header at our home ground Mitsubishi Park. Four quality teams will be playing on the Saturday with plenty of pride and passion on the line as they all try and stamp their credentials on the V-League. Saturday 23rd March 2013 – Round 1 - Mitsubishi Park, Prospect Vale Devonport vs. Tilford Zebras – 1.00pm Kick-off Launceston City FC vs. Northern Rangers – 3.30pm Kick-off We would love to see you there! Best Wishes, Launceston City FC Committee. EOI - Kiosk Manager Launceston City FC is looking for expressions of interest for a person or group to manage the club kiosk for the 2013 season based at Mitsubishi Park, Prospect Vale. The kiosk provides service to patrons of the club during matches scheduled over Friday Evenings, Saturdays & Sundays where required. Ideally suited for a person or group looking for an opportunity with the following responsibilities - • Opening & operating the kiosk during match days. • Ordering stock and supplies for the kiosk operation. • Service of players dinners on a Thursday Night (weekly). • Prepare food for service. Whilst previous experience would be welcomed, it is not a necessity. Attractive terms are available. Closing date for expressions of interest is Friday 1st March 2013. For more information please contact – Josh Hart - 0400 190 114 2013 V-League Squad Announced! We are excited to announce the Launceston City FC Victory League Squad for the 2013 season. Please congratulate the players on their selection; we can’t wait to see the boys on the field and representing our club with pride and passion.  GO CITY!!!! D’Zeffrey Bart Nathan Bartlett Saeed Bin Sumaida Aaron Campbell Mitchell Dent Lindsay Duncan Joshua Duncan Shane Egan Daniel Egan Will Egan Patrick Farrell Mitchell Hawksley Chris Hill Abraham Kargbo Sean Kollie Aaron Leonard Alex Rossetto Alex Sciulli Alex Smith Raphael Tsakirellis Shane Egan Named Captain for V-League  Head Coach Dane Hudson with Launceston City FC V-League Captain Shane Egan Launceston City FC are proud to announce the appointment of there Captain for the inaugural V-League 2013 season. Shane Egan was elected to the role by his peers at training on Tuesday night. Senior Coach Dane Hudson said, “Both Mark Egan (Assistant Coach) and I are very happy with the appointment. Shane understands his role as Captain and I’m sure the skills he already has and the new ones he will develop will make him a leader throughout the club.” A valuable member in and around the club for many years, Shane has progressed from junior ranks to playing senior football for the past few seasons. When asked about his appointment and his objectives for the team and club this season Egan said “ It’s good to be chosen by my team mates to be the captain. My goals for the team are to be very organised, hard to beat, and gain some respect around the league. For the club I would hope the women can continue their success and take the league out once again. I feel the under 18s and under 20s can have a good year and keep building on the way we want to play"

I would personally like to thank Launceston City FC for keeping the NPL BLOG and its readers in the loop of whats happening at thier club.
This is a reminder to all clubs, We at the NPL BLOG want to hear from ALL clubs and will post any news they wish to be posted.

Steve Hudson Cup Results

Riverside Olympic 3 (Ross Maretti , Sam Huges , Joseph Simons ) def Northern Rangers 2 (Patrick Atkinson,  Nick Atkinson ) (HT 2-0)

Devonport City 10 (B. Mann 5, M Holden  4, B. Foote) def Launceston United (HT 5-0)

South Hobart 3 (K. Lanakaris,  H. Ludford, N. Morton) def Launceston City 0 (HT 1-0)

Prospect Knights 0 lost  Tilford Zebras 5 (Ricky Self 2, Samuel McIntyre, Adam McKeon,  Ryan Smith) (HT 0-2)

Saturday Results

Southern summer cup.
Northern Rangers 3 (S.Nugteren, A.Fisher, J.Burk) drew Clarence 3.
Rangers 4-5 on penalties.

North West Summer Cup.
Sommerset 7 def Devonport 1
Burnie 1 lost Ulverstone 3

Intersting Fixtures in Hudson Cup for Week Two.

Devonport marksman Kiran Mulrany will be looking to add to his
2013 talley this week against Launceston United.

Two Northern Premier League Sides will go up against Victory League opposition in week two of the Steve Hudson Cup.

The first to be tested will be Launceston United.  After a tough day out against Tilford Zebras last week, the metal will be tested again as the blues come up against Devonport Strikers.

Last week was a big loss for Launceston, but they were facing a much stronger team, something that will be consistent when they meet the Strikers.

Chris McKenna said  “We’ll be selecting our teams for the North West Summer Cup & Hudson Cup tomorrow night after training so nothing’s really locked in as yet.

Michael Holden will come into the Hudson Cup squad this weekend after being unavailable last weekend. Joel Stone rolled his ankle in the game against Prospect Knights so he may be rested even though his recovery is coming along better than expected. We’ll also possibly play a few of our Victory League squad in the North West Cup on Saturday to allow them to get some extra game time into their legs.

I didn’t get to see much of Launceston United’s game last weekend but what they do isn’t really of concern to us as we’re only really worried about sticking our own process at the moment. We had some encouraging individual performances last week & we’ll be looking for a few more players to stand up & be counted this weekend”

The tournament host will take on Devonport Striker at 1pm on Ground one.

On ground two, Prospect Knights will play Tilford Zebras, Prospect were notably a young side compared to that which finished the premier league last year in fourth place, while Tilford Zebras were anything but full strength last week against Launceston, and this could send an ominous warning to the Knights for this game with Zebras expected to be stronger again.

Riverside and Northern Rangers kick things off on Sunday morning at 11am with a match that should be a good solid test for the two sides.

Both Hingston and McCarragher will be out this week for
Northern Rangers with injuries.

Rangers have a host of injuries at a Victory League level, and as such will take a predominately under 20 side to Hobart the day before.  This will create a few opportunities for the clubs fringe players.

“Our hand is forced some what on Saturday, so we will use that game as a good chance to look at the clubs young players in challenging positions, hence our Premier League side will also see a host of new faces too, it’s a little early to know exactly how we will line up, as some players will need to be assessed on Saturday for the Southern Summer cup, and that will also create some movement in our Hudson Cup line up”

“Our new Coach Col Nicholson is still settling in and getting to know our players, so it will be a great chance for him to get across all the players in our club this year.” Said ....well me actually!

Riverside Coach Wayne Penfold was happy with his sides performance last week with limited preparation against a Victory League club who has been training since October last year.

“Pleased with the performance of the boys on the weekend. With only 6 weeks of pre-season under their belts the players ran out the game well. We had some good spells of possession, but need to move the ball quicker. But that will come with more match fitness.

With only 3 senior team regulars from last year in the side, we were happy with our performance against a Victory league side, and felt we were deserving of a point at least, but it wasn't to be.

We welcome back a couple of experienced players this week against Rangers. 

Will be looking to be a lot more dangerous in attack, retain possession with better ball movement and try to eliminate our errors.” Said Penfold.

The final match will be a huge test for Launceston City who come up against South Hobart, and Ken Morton is coming north each week to win the Hudson Cup, not just prepare for the season ahead.

There has been much discussion about the lack of quality in the City line up, but Dane Hudson is typically positive about his clubs chances, and is looking forward to pitting his young side against the long term trend setter in Tasmanian Football.

“South Hobart are the traditional yard stick in Tasmanian Football, and even though the Victory League has in most cases grouped the better players together, I still think the status quo remains. They attack very well from their 2nd line of defence, so we will have to work hard on our strategies to overcome that across the game. “

“We will concentrate on our preseason teamwork and individual goals and endeavour to meet them head on. South Hobart, under Ken Morton are a fantastic outfit and we are looking forward to playing them and seeing where we fit on the Victory League stage. We are working hard on being a positive addition to the Victory League and I cannot fault the guys effort and dedication.” Said Launceston City Coach Dane Hudson.

On Saturday, Northern Rangers travel south in the Southern Summer cup to play Clarence at Warrior Park.

Northern Rangers added Ryan McCarragher to the injury list during their game with South with ligament damage to his ankle, Mark Cristy under went surgery on his knee during last week and is well away from a return while Todd Hingston (ankle) Gabriel Tams (groin) and Adam McIntyre (foot) all picked up short term injuries that are not worth risking at this stage in the year and Derek Schipper will be given until the last minute to decide whether or not to play.

Ayden Demeijer, Marshall Pooley and possibly Nick Lanau-Atkinson are also un able to play this week which will test the Rangers depth.

Rangers Coach Peter Savill was still looking forward to the clash, “We have to shuffle things around this week, but it gives us a good opportunity to look at our clubs young players, and we will leave the older players to play in the Hudson Cup, and take the younger players to Hobart and have a good look at them all together, it’s not ideal but you can’t risk long term injuries this time of year, had it have been a league fixture, some of these boys would have been told to play” Savill said.

Rangers will also get the chance to have a look at Ash Fisher who has arrived recently to training hoping to break into the Victory League side, while Harry Thannhauser,  a player likely to feature in the future will also get the chance to play in Hobart.

Rangers play Clarence at 3pm.

Southern Summer Cup

Week 2 – Saturday, February 23^rd.

3:00pm            Group B          Northern Rangers                    v          Clarence United

Hudson Cup

Week 2 - Sunday, February 24th,

GROUND 1

11.00am          Group B          Riverside Olympic (NPL)     v          Northern Rangers (NPL)

1.00pm            Group A          Devonport City (VL)            v          Launceston United (NPL)

3.00pm            Group B          South Hobart (VL)                v          Launceston City (VL)

GROUND 2

2.00pm            Group A          Prospect Knights (NPL)       v          Tilford Zebras (VL)

N/W Summer Cup Kicks Off

Will Devonport win the Summer Cup again

We are finally ready to kick off for 2013.This week is the first round of the N/W summer cup hosted by Burnie United FC.

The roster has gone back to the old system with all games being played on Saturdays either at 1230pm or 230pm. There has been a lot of hype surrounding the NPL and especially clubs that do not have a Victory League teams, how weak will they be? Will they be able to field all of the nominations required? What will the refereeing standards be like? And how much will registrations be seeing that the NPL is no longer a top tier competition.

The early game will see Devonport Strikers playing the Somerset Sharks. Both teams have been training for a while but are both going to try out a fair bit of youth as the main senior core has been picked.

Victory League coach Chris McKenna said that they are not allowed to use their Victory League squad in the summer cup, So it will be more than likely a fairly young squad. But most of the young lads have already had 2 pre-season games and only lost by a single goal against vastly more experienced opponents, so it will be a test but we are happy with the way they are progressing.

We will most likely put 3-4 Victory League squad members into the team to allow them to get more game time than they will in the Hudson Cup.

The Somerset Sharks have been on a recruitment drive and have signed some experienced players over the last week to strengthen their side after a poor year last year and will expect to play these guys this week allowing them game time for the up and coming State Cup games over the next few weeks if successful.

Kevin Considine said, the summer cup will allow us to trial and blood new and upcoming players, with the result not as important as the way we play, but we will be taking them seriously. We also play in the state cup qualifiers in round 2 so that will allow us to test more players.

The Second game is between hosts Burnie United FC and the Ulverstone Reds.

After Ulverstone having a great year last year in the league and finals they have lost a couple of their senior players to Devonport for the Victory League.

Stuart Mack has been appointed the senior coach for this year, we have been training since October and numbers have been a little light on due to loosing 7 senior players in total.

Michael Wolfert(green) will line up for Ulverstone again

However we remain confident with the players we have had at training. We are looking forward to the season.

Unusual circumstances have 4 sets of brothers training in our senior squad.

Andrew Gibbson will be instrumental for Burnie again

Burnie have reappointed long time service man Ray Parke as senior coach after having a few years with the under 18’s and winning a few league titles with them. Burnie will be relying on young blood on the field and old knowledge of the field in Coach Ray Parke club person Peter Van Ek said.

It will be a great hit out for all clubs leading into another long season and will give all clubs and coaches a measure on where they are at coming into the real deal.

Northern Rangers Vs South Hobart highlights

Summer Cup Div A South Hobart v Northern Rangers Warrior Park 16 Feb 2013

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23oYDd3mV1g

Steve Hudson Cup Round 1

Devonport Strikers 7 (B.Mann 4, B.Eaves, K.Mulraney, A.Gorry) def Prospect Knights 1

Launceston City 1 (S.Bin Sumadi) def Riverside 0

South Hobart 5 (M.Ambrose, N.Morton 2, C.Williams, Hye Min Yun) def Northern Rangers 1 (J.vanZetten)

Tilford Zebras 7 (N.McDonald, R.Smith, A.Clarke, P.Palmer, H.Fagg 2, A.Viney) def Launceston Untied 0

Rangers come back from first Summer Cup match with a point.

South Hobart Vs Northern Rangers, Warrior Park, 16^th Feb 2013.

South Hobart 1 (Cam Rogers) drew Northern Rangers 1 (Todd Hingston)

South Hobart won 4-1 on Penalties

New South Hobart defender Lucas Hill controls ahead of
Ayden Rgiby from Northern Rangers.

Northern Rangers travelled south to play South Hobart in round one of the Southern Summer Cup.

Both sides fielded strong line ups with players still to come in, missing for South Hobart were Kanakaris, Ambrose and Mizael, while Rangers were without  Demeijer, Pooley, Cristy and Brassington.

Both teams started tentatively in the heat, and the opening 10 minutes was scrappy but even, slowly but surely South Hobart took control of the game, and pegged Rangers down for the rest of the half, though struggled to produce too many goal scoring opportunities, the best came from a corner in which South converted, but the goal was disallowed as the ball was not placed in the ark when kicked.

Relief for Rangers who were only going forward on the counter.

Rangers best chance came when Luate was put through one on one but his shot was saved.

Schipper also could have scored but the bullet like shot was expertly saved by Ferguson in the South Hobart goal.

South continued to press Rangers, and won quite a few free kicks just outside the area, but most shots were wide, high or straight at Dan Phillips in the Rangers goal.

Derek Schipper back in action for Northern Rangers after
a year off.

South broke the dead lock though when Cam Rogers forced a turnover and hit the turbo button from midfield, ending a strong run with a brilliant goal that was placed into the highest echelon of the top corner of the goal to put South deservedly 1-0 up.  Seriously, it could not have been squeezed further into the top corner.

Half time followed shortly after, and though Rangers were not playing well, there was a resolve to come out and get closer to their potential.

Patty Lanau-Atkinson came into the game and provided Rangers with great drive from midfield, setting up Luate and his twin Nick for some strong chances.

Hingston simply bossed midfield all day, working box to box, his defensive aerial work on this particular day was nothing short of outstanding, and was further complimented by the defensive work from Ryan Mcarragher.

For South Hobart, Hye Min Yun was a threat all day, feeding neat through balls for Nick Morton who looked dangerous every time he got into the box.

Fielding was a surprise, his age has not wearied him, and when on the ball, was more than a handful for McIntire in the Ranger defense.

Rangers had the better of the second half, but took until the 85th minute to equalise when Hingston hit a loose ball from the edge of the box and scored.

Rangers were unlucky not to have snatched a late winner when Hinston was through, but adjudged to be off side.

In this competition, if score a level, the teams play off in a penalty shoot out to decide who gets the bonus point, on this occasion it was South Hobart 4-1 on penalties.

Victory League Sides Named.

Northern and southern sides have named their Victory League sides, of interest to us will be the Northern Sides which are listed here.

I don’t think there are too many surprises, most would have expected these sides, notable absentee is the second of the overseas players Launceston City said they had secured.  Dane Hudson stated that Gary Ohalin had just disappeared, so obviously not in their squad, however Irishmen Aaron Leonard is.

To clear a few things up, these sides are not absolutely final, clubs have 3 changes that can be made up until round ten of the season, plus anyone injured for 4 weeks or longer, with a doctors certificate, can be moved out of the squad temporarily or permanently, however if that player does come back into the squad, the substitute player that came in for them, must then go back out.

Squads do not come into effect in pre season competitions.

Launceston City: D’Zeffrey Bart, Nathan Bartlett, Saeed Bin Sumadi, Aaron Campbell, Mitchell Dent, Lindsay Duncan, Joshua Duncan, Shane Egan, Daniel Egan, Will Egan, Patrick Farrell, Mitchell Hawksley, Chris Hill, Abraham Kargbo, J Sean Kollie, Aaron Leonard, Alex Rossetto, Alex Sciulli, Alex Smith, Raphael Tsakirellis.

Northern Rangers: Tenzing Anderson, Shane Brassington, Josh Burk, Mark Cristy, Ayden Demeijer, Todd Hingston, Dae Won Kim, Patrick Lanau-Atkinson, Nicholas Lanau-Atkinson, Brendan Lichtendonk, Agele Luate, Ryan McCarragher, Adam McIntyre, Sam Nugteren, Marshall Pooley, Ayden Rigby, Derek Schipper, Gabriel Tams, Yitay Towns, Luke Tuma.

Devonport City: Grant Ashdown, Bradley Chilcott, Michael Dahya, Jack Dance, Brody Denehey, Bobby Eaves, Casey Eaves, Adrian Foote, Ben Foote, Adam Gorrie, Nathan Gratton, Michael Holden, Brayden Mann, Daniel McGinn, Chris McKenna, Kieran Mulraney, Josh Smith, Joel Stone, Scott Wilson, Simon Wilson.

Somerset Surge ahead as the NPL Favourites on North West Coast.

Jeremy deBomford has signed for Somerset.

The Forestry Tasmania Northern Premier League has lost some of the house hold names from the comp this year, with many moving to the Victory League, but Somerset have recruited strongly.

Just last week it was hard to pin point the favourites for the 2013 title, however tonight the Northern Blog can reveal that Somerset have the early “Favourites Tag” after it was confirmed that the Sharks had signed a plethora of talent.

After a tumultuous year or two at Burnie that included many red cards and controversy, Jeremy deBomford, Kaimon and Kyron Johnson and Sam Cocks have all resurfaced at Cardigan st, and tonight they have all signed for the Sharks. 

Added to this, Somerset also confirmed that talented defender Elliot Stewart(Burnie United), accomplished veteran Nick Reed and Ashtyn Johnson had also committed to playing for the club.

The signings will be a welcome boost to the club, who were only in December, contemplating their future.

After losing the last of the Eaves boys in Casey and Danny, along with skilful youngster Brodie Denahey and the temporary retirement of Keegan Wells, Somerset were looking decidedly shaky.

Coach Kevin Considine told the Advocate yesterday that Somerset were yet to sign the group, but training tonight confirmed the hopes of the rejuvenated coach``We've had good numbers,  we're yet to get a full commitment from all of them,'' he said.

``With full commitment I'd say we'll be right up there but we think we'll be very competitive anyway.''

Considine has not coached since injury forced him out of the game over three years ago, but he seems to have brought the players back out of the wood work, despite the lure of big weekly cash payments on offer in country Aussie rules football.

Whilst the ability of the coaching staff to keep the previous reputations of some of its signings under control is yet to be tested, the return of some very talented sports people to the code will be a good thing, providing the club maintains its reputation for being a family friendly and supportive club with a sportsmanship culture.

The Conkie's are playing at Ulverstone this year.

There are whispers that the club could yet have more players on their list, including a 6ft 5” South African defender who is reported to have played semi professionally in Ghana, along with some sons of the coach?

In the mean time, Burnie will be disappointed to have lost Stewart, and there is very little information as to who they have got for the upcoming season.

At Ulverstone, coach Stuart Mac reports that he has some promising players in his list, though struggling to get a training commitment out of them early in the season.

Shaun and Adam Conkie are both set to play alongside Kyle and Dallas Baldock, Connor and Kiren Meaney, Michael Wolfert and Snow Compagn.

The club is going to struggle to cover the commitment and drive the players like the Foote’s, Brayden Mann and Joel Stone brought to the squad, but should still have the talent to put together a strong year.

This Weeks Preseason Matches set to test clubs readiness.

Launecston will be in action on Sunday Vs Tilford Zebras.

Northern Clubs are about to get a reality check on where they are at in preparation for season 2013, none more so than Launceston United who have the unenviable task of facing off with arguably one of this year’s Victory League Favourites, Tilford Zebras.

Zebras will have a short break after taking on fellow Victory League side Kingborough Lions on Saturday night in the Southern Summer Cup.

But Victory League Coach, Stephen Pitchford is cautious in his approach to this game, perhaps with good reason, given the lengthy list of players not able to make the journey north for the clash.

Steve Pitchford had this to say, “We have a match against Kingborough Lions on Saturday at 7:00pm at Warrior Park followed by the Hudson Cup match on Sunday at 1:00pm at Birch Avenue.

Eight players are missing from the senior squad for Sunday through travel, work, injury and suspension : Andrew Telega, Alex Leszczynski, Kurt Engels, Jonathon Ladic, Sam McIntyre, Adam McKeown, Jayden Welch and Robbie Kay.

Alex Viney and Ethan Engels may be added to the squad to enable rotation for those players doubling up. This will ensure the remaining squad members get close to 90 minutes each against Launceston United.

We expect a difficult match as Launceston has had some good results in their pre-season matches to date. The routine of travelling will hopefully hold us in good stead for the Victory league season ahead.”

United will have troubles of their own, trying to cover for a number of players who have left for the Victory League Clubs.  Ayden Rigby (Rangers) Pat Farrell, Nathan Bartlett and Saed bin Sumadi (Launceston City) as well as Jess McNiell who has decided to take a year off.

City's Mitch Dent has been training as
a keeper for this years season.

Launceston City will play their first 90 minute match for the year against Riverside.

Riverside have lost Aaron Campbell to City, while McCarragher, Cristy and Nick Lanau-Atkinson have moved to Rangers, though Sam Hughes has returned, and Riverside have plenty in reserve to cover the players that have opted to compete at the next level.

For City it will be about preparation for March, rather than perfection at this point and Coach Dane Hudson said  “We along with all Victory League clubs have a diverse list of players from which to choose. Our group on Sunday will form part of our 20 and since our preseason programme has been limited it will be our first hit out in a 90 minute contest. I am not looking for perfection and we are aiming for the Steve Hudson Cup as a template from which we launch our season. I hope to have it right for the 23rd of March not the 17th of February.

I’m sure Wayne (Penfold) will have his guys up and about and Riverside have always played a very good brand of Football and are difficult opponents, so I am expecting a tough challenge from game one.”

Launceston City should get off to a winning start in this fixture, however Riverside will be out to start on the right foot also, and show their depth, not to mention give new Coach Wayne Penfold a good start to his coaching career.

Northern Rangers and South Hobart will battle it out twice over the weekend, the first of which is at 3pm in the Southern Summer Cup.

Northern Rangers will use the Southern Summer Cup as their Victory League preparation, and Hudson cup for the Premier League, though there is likely to be some crossing over between the two.

Pat Lanau-Atkinson in posession suring last year's Hudson
Cup match with Newtown Eagles.

Northern Rangers are getting closer to putting a full strength side on the park, though the Southern cup side will still be without Marshall Pooley, Mark Cristy ( Injured), Ayden Demiejer and UK import Shane Brassington, who won’t arrive until the end of February.

But for Coach Peter Savill, the match will provide a fair idea of where his side is at in preparation for the state league, with South Hobart one of the early favourites.

South Hobart coach Ken Morton is looking forward to the clash with Rangers, a team who has never beaten his southern and state champions in all their history, the closest in all competitions was a draw in 2006.

Ken will be without speedster Mizael and strikers Kanakaris and ex Ranger, Mark Ambrose, though his team will still go into both games as hot favourites.

“I am looking forward to the Summer and Hudson Cup matches this weekend against Northern Rangers.

South Hobart will play three games in two days.  On Saturday we meet Zebras at Warrior Park at 1pm and at 3pm we play Northern Rangers.

Sunday we will clash with Northern Rangers again in the Hudson Cup.

Ben Foote and Chris Hunt will again be in action in this years
Hudson Cup but for different clubs this year.

“ I expect to utilize our playing group.  The teams will be a mix of youth and experience.  This is the part of the season when I am trying to lift the players fitness and bring our team together in terms of structure.  In the Summer Cup match against Northern Rangers I will put out a strong group.  Our new signings Matt Lewis, Lucas Hill, Chris Hunt, Josh Fielding will play a part.  Mark Ambrose and Kostas Kanakaris will miss the game. 

The sole focus of pre season is physical preparation, I must get the physical preparation right.  The Cups give us valuable time to settle all the players into our pre season games program and into our structured training sessions.

I am happy so far with our preparation and I will keep looking for continued improvement.  Northern Rangers are a fantastic club and I look forward to meeting up with my old friend Peter Saville.”  Said Ken Morton.

On Sunday the two battle again at 3pm in the Hudson Cup, with the Rangers fielding a predominantly Northern Premier League side which will have an U20 focus.

Devonport and Prospect Knights will meet at 2pm on ground 2 in the Hudson Cup fixture, Devonport have a strong side to choose from, though tight lipped about who that may include, while all is very quiet up at Harley Parade this preseason.  No news of players moving on or joining Knights, but  I am sure Knights President and possible coach, Anton Balym will be hopeful of a better showing in round one of this year’s cup after the poor start they experienced last year.

Devonport Coach Chris McKenna has this to say of the upcoming match “We have Prospect Knights first up in the Hudson Cup & I must admit, I have no knowledge of the strength of their squad this year”

“We’ll use it as another opportunity to work on things we’ve been focusing on at training & we’re still working on different combinations to see what will best suit us once the Victory League season commences”

“We expect to name a strong squad as most of our 20 are available. We will rotate the squad to some degree throughout the tournament but I don’t expect the changes to be too dramatic”

“It’s been a number of years since we’ve played in the tournament & we’re looking forward to using it in the build-up to round 1”

Entry to the Hudson Cup is still $5 per person and concession rates do apply.

All matches are at the Birch Avenue Complex.

Southern Summer Cup Week 1

3.00pm                 Group D               Northern Rangers                            v              South Hobart

Warrior Park – Hobart.

Hudson Cup Week 1 - Sunday, February 17th,

GROUND 1

11.00am               Group B               Launceston City (VL)                      v              Riverside Olympic (NPL)

1.00pm                 Group A               Tilford Zebras (VL)                          v              Launceston United (NPL)

3.00pm                 Group B               Northern Rangers (NPL)               v              South Hobart (VL)

GROUND 2

2.00pm                 Group A               Devonport City (VL)                        v              Prospect Knights (NPL)