The Victory League is here!
Finally after five months of no competitive football we have something to get excited about.
Interest in the local game has continued to increase after such fantastic media exposure lifted the game off the ground.
Their were fears around the grounds that this would stagnate after the departure of John Boulous, but Football Federation Tasmania (FFT) under the new CEO Richard Welsh have gone even further with their delivery of the Victory League.
This week alone we have had Football Federation Australia (FFA) CEO David Gallop down with Melbourne Victory CEO Ian Robson to launch the 2014 season.
Having the likes of Gallop down shows we finally have a CEO at the top of the chain willing to make the effort to support football across Australia. Gallop who previously had one of the toughest jobs running the National Rugby League competition should be applauded for making the trip down.
Along with the season launch we also had a new initiative launched by FFT in conjunction with The Mercury in Tassie’s Football Fix.
Tassie’s Football Fix will be a weekly show hosted by FFT’s Media and Communications Officer Damian Gill and The Mercury’s Alex Luttrell.
This weeks fixtures seem relatively simple on paper but at this time of the year anything can happen as we see which teams have used their pre season wisely in application and acquisition.
Glenorchy Knights will face an uphill battle tonight against a full strength South Hobart who will be keen to set the record straight after a disappointing Summer Cup campaign by their lofty standards.
On Saturday the season’s first Northern Derby fixture between Launceston City and Northern Rangers promises to be a battle.
City under new coach Kurt Reynolds have recruited well during the off season and have shown signs of considerable improvement, while Rangers have the majority of their side backing up from last year to support another new coach to the ranks in Tim Lunnon.
Supporting a fantastic day at KGV will be the mouth watering clash between 2014 Summer Cup Champions Olympia FC and Kingborough Lions.
Both sides have some exciting new additions to their squad and Olympia will go in as favourites after an impressive start to the season.
Don’t write the Lions off though as Olympia were found out for pace last week something Lions have plenty of.
Our Match of the Week is Tilford Zebras v Devonport City.