 |
| The Conkie Boys will be on show for Ulverstone at this year's Steve Hudson Cup. |
2012 is upon us, and for most people, it seems to have crept up a little too soon. For some of the Northern teams, this will be their first real 90 minute hit out, while Southerners Glenorchy Knights and South Hobart have nearly played 10 games each since the end of the 2011 season. Who is best prepared? Sunday will provide the answers.
Proceedings kick off on Friday night this year with Launceston and Prospect Knights going head to head. Form and past meetings mean nothing in the Hudson Cup, and little can be taken from teams performances in the early stages, though with one massive group of 9 teams and the oddity of Launceston’s rostering for this season’s competition, it will be all but impossible to reach the final for those who drop points along the way during the next four weeks as only 4 teams will observe a bye, and all of those teams are rewarded with 3 points with no goal difference attributed to the result. This means before a ball has been kicked, Launceston City, Prospect Knights, South Hobart and Launceston United all begin the tournament on 3 points.
Common sense might suggest that on one weekend multiple teams are given the bye to ensure all teams play the same amount of games and have a similar chance of success, however this logic was not observed. Perhaps the gate takings take precedence?
Onto the important stuff however, Launceston look to be marginally stronger than 2011, retaining much of their list, and adding some names to it, along with everyone being a little older and more experienced, Mark Egan will be hoping 2012 brings more in terms of results. Friday night should be first taste of this with Prospect Knights experiencing some trouble attracting their 2011 Premiership players back to the club for preseason at this point, so they should be well below their standards of 2011. Dane Hudson has also stepped down from his position and this is reported to be his last match in charge of the club.
 |
| Riverside will need to be at their best to beat Glenorchy Knights |
Sunday’s 11am fixture sees Riverside come up against Glenorchy Knights, who knocked off South Hobart not so long ago in a friendly. Riverside has had a good hit out against Beachside which they won but will struggle against Knights without the Hughes boys and Joey Simmons in goal.
Chris Hay seems to have the Southern team ticking along nicely and should be too strong for Riverside.
Newtown Vs Ulverstone at 1pm should be a fine match, its Newtown’s first hit for the year and the State Wide Championship runners up will be eager to hit the ground running. Steve Pitchford has a stronger side at his disposal this year, but the Eagles have been keeping a low profile and it’s hard to know what to expect.
Ulverstone on the other hand will be a team to watch in 2012, and they traditionally put on a good show in the Hudson Cup matches. The much discussed return of the Conkies and Brayden Mann will fill Nick Owen with great confidence, particularly with the likes of Prospect Knights and Northern Rangers experiencing large outs from last year. Neither team have the luxury of the bye, so a win is a must in round one.
Northern Rangers will be tested against South Hobart, but both have got very different looking teams in 2012. Rangers have said farewell to Sam Luck, Marshall Pooley, Andrew Nicholson, Derek Schipper and Scott Murray, while South are lamenting the exits of Daniel Brown, Tom Roach, Jon Lo, Luke Huigsloot, Brayden Mann, Jim Pennicott , Pat and Jon Foley Donoghue and Nick Cuthbertson.
For both it will be about getting the clubs youth out and into a big match first up, but South should be too well prepared for this clash and should start their defence off on a strong result.
