FFA's decision to create a state league in Tasmania has done wonders to improve the standard of Tasmanian football.

I've really annoyed that the FFA bean counters won't give Tasmania a HAL team. However, the state league is now  attracting  some better coaches from outside the state and the FFA coach education has improved the quality of local coaching.

The Tasmanian NPL has emerged from a fight ball, long ball, direct league, to where there is more sustained possession, steady build ups in midfield and playing out from the back.

There are clear phases of Ball Possession, Ball Possession Opposition, Defensive and Attacking Transitions manifest. The state league has also recruited quite a lot of USA college players, English imports and a diversity of other imports.  They are lifting playing standards.

For the first time I'm enjoying watching  live NPL football more than the stagnant HAL on TV.

There is  a lot more anti FFA feeling on this forum now, than a few years ago.

I''ll make this abundantly clear. I support most of the what FFA's Technical Department desire and carry out, but I am constantly annoyed with FFA bean counters, Gallop and Lowy.

In this case, Tasmanian football, FFA have done well. Each NPL comp victor has the prize of national comp participation.

I've noticed at our local Sunday league level that many more coaches have adopted the philosophy of BP, BPO and other aspects of the FFA national curriculum (many of the top division coaches have done basic FFA Coaching training courses now). The teams that struggle in the higher leagues tend to play more direct style football (which does have its place, but you need more strings in your bow nowadays).

So agree that the technical department is starting to show some fruit for their labour.

Until the consistent 7 goal margins are reduced, it will always struggle technically.

It's good to see Tasmanian football on the rise.

There is still a bit of a two tier  league between the top four and the bottom four .

A few years ago Tasmania's most successful coach told me he wished the other NPL teams had pushed them harder in the state league in one of the early seasons to make them more competitive  nationally.

There are now four teams battling it out for top spot, with little difference between them. There is not one dominant team anymore.

Two of the lower four NPL teams have also recruited two excellent team FFA NTC/state youth coaches, who may have flown under the radar. They've also achieved recent upsets with their clubs. Rangers have Darren Cook as their assistant and Kingborough have Mark Broadbent. They are value adding to their playing  cattle.

The FFA have also provided a shot in the foot for Australian football

The crowds for the three big NPL southern clubs, South, Olympia and Zebras, have increased markedly too.


I think Devonport has increased its crowds as well.

Football has a very long history in Tassie and I hope it can succeed.

Well the gap is closing and South Hobart are no longer streaks ahead of the rest of the league.

I agree. Things have changed drastically. In fact, it can be seen just how much Football Tas have invested and the results of that investment. You brought up Managers that are being brought in but it's more than that. It's players, it's promotion and a complete restructure of the tiers. Also facilities since the FFA Cup has become such an important figure in Tassie football.

P&R'll fix that

Launceston City have promoted a lot of youth this year, and wouldn't have a player above early/mid 20s in their NPL squad with a few of their key players 18-20 in age.

Some of them are quite good technically with size and strength and final polish their weakness at the moment due to age.

Coupled with a new coach who appears to be transitioning them from the old hoofball to a more attacking setup, I'd expect them to rise after another season or two.

I think the next step for Tasmanian football is to get a state /academy set up in the north that matches the southern one.

I personally don't know too much of that side of things but A few northern players I've spoken to put that down as part of the reason we appear to be behind abit up here in terms of talent.

Quality wise they are on par at a youth level but when they are restricted to club training up north whilst the south have a higher level of training the difference in development starts to show.

The state league has also recruited quite a lot of USA college players, English imports and a diversity of other imports.  They are lifting playing standards.

How many visa players is each team allowed in the TAS NPL?

Good news for Tas.

3 visa players per NPL team. Here's the list of current visa players playing in the NPL 

Name	Nationality	Current Club	Position
George Hallard	England	Clarence United	Utility (Defence/Midfield)
Richard Heath	England	Clarence United	Central Midfielder
Odaine Demar	Jamaica	Clarence United	Central Defender
Raphael Reynolds	Canada	Devonport Strikers	Utility (Defence/Midfield)
Matthew Zaikos	Canada	Devonport Strikers	Goalkeeper
Nicholas Groenewold	United States of America	Hobart Zebras	Central Defender
Imran Lewis	Antigua and Barbuda	Hobart Zebras	Central Defender
Marcelo Mercuri	Brazil	Hobart Zebras	Goalkeeper
Dylan Williams	United States of America	Launceston City	Central Midfielder
Kyle Kelly	Ireland	Launceston City	Utility (Midfield/Forward)
Seong-Yong Jin	South Korea	Northern Rangers	Right Winger
Samuel Whatman	New Zealand	Northern Rangers	Goalkeeper
Jakub Sklenar	Czech Republic	Olympia Warriors	Centre Forward
Shane Cartwright	England	Olympia Warriors	Utility (Midfield/Forward)
James McCarthy	England	Olympia Warriors	Right Midfielder
Loic Feral	France	South Hobart	Utility (Defence/Midfield)

  

what makes you upset with gallop and lowy?
Also what makes you consider the a league stagnant?

Seriously? 

Only 2 allowed in NPLV.

Congratulations to Melbourne Victory on making all this possible in Tassie.

Great news for Tassie football generally.

Zero news for Tassie football getting a side in the HAL.

I've probably watched a few of these players and not quite realised who they are in some of the northern teams who I only watch occasionally.

However Cartwright, McCarthy, Sklenar, Seong-Yong Jin, Groenewald, Zaikos, Lewis, Raphael Reynolds and the recently departed Fischer for the Vic NPL, have made quite an impact.

True.

They didn't renew their sponsorship though.

1. Blocking a Tassie HAL team with sound financial backing and a decent underpinning  infrastructure.

2. I'm bored with the same HAL 10 teams, particularly with no parochial involvement so I can watch HAL football live. HAL is a TV game. Live football is so much better. I have two NPL clubs I've previously played for, both only two kilometres from my house.

The COE has wound down here.

Interesting insights, Big Poppa.

One other pleasing development is that the current Tassie NPL receives comparable coverage to the Tasmanian Australian rules state league in the  local Murdoch tabloid. It extends to ABC radio and even the commercial TV stations too.

On the other hand I despair at how much coverage AFL's national comp gets in the local tabloid, whilst the Confederation Cup received very little coverage. ABC TV news was also shocking in terms of Confed Cup coverage. They still had trivial AFL stories as a priority.

AFL are decimating the Tasmanian  Aussie rules  to the extent that local stakeholders hate the AFL national admin. It is the reason at this point in time why a Tassie HAL team could bury  Aussie rules at grass roots level up to national comp level, but Gallop/Lowy aren't seeing the bigger picture.

Because of the chance to play in big national comps, Tasmanian NPL football has a very big prize for winning domestic comps. It has also increased media coverage.

Whilst people may support AFL sides, it's rather enjoyable to watch how much of a basket case it has become at local/grassrootslevel.

Our local junior AFL Comp in the north are turning people away in droves due to poor scheduling and travel demands aswell as restructuring of the age group due to dropping numbers whilst it's amazing to see how many people are in attendance at the Churchill Park soccer complex on a Friday night/Saturday in Launceston.

I've often mentioned the stark contrast in the 5 years my daughter has been at primary school between what shaped balls kids are taking to school and the club shirts kids are wearing to school on free clothes days, etc.

Even this morning waiting with my son(grade prep) outside his classroom, one of his mates who has previously appeared only interested in AFL turns up holding a brand new soccer ball.

We can't fund you lot forever. You needed to take charge and ever since Tassie footy has been fantastic.

Thanks for the update Decentric.

I've been away from home for almost 3 years, and I really miss attending our NPL matches as well as jogging out for Kingborough socials at Lightwood, still my favourite ground I've played on across Tasmania and ACT. Hopefully one day I'll move back- it's sad that I can't watch and support my friends I went through school with who are now playing NPL for various Hobart clubs. 

My heart warms to this news, it's so great to see local football doing well.
Despite being a Lions boy, I do passionately support any of our teams in the FFA Cup and I hope Olympia draw Canberra Olympic away so I can cheer them on. And it's progress in the FFA cup, crowds and good Tasmanian football being played that is perhaps our best chance of getting a team- we just need to show the country, and by extension the FFA, the love for the game and back it up with results. Going through normal government schools, football was by far the most popular sport among everyone to play, talk about, and watch, and it gives me great hope for the future of the game.

I'm emotionally invested a lot in Tasmanian football, not least because I grew up there, am a proud Tasmanian, and my friends are now playing NPL. I've never had a local professional football team so I've always had that hole in my heart that won't be filled until we get an A-League team, which sadly doesn't look like happening for a while despite the promise of last year. 

I live up the road from Andrew Wilkie, so at our neighbourhood Christmas party naturally I approached him and discussed football with him- and he confirmed that it was just FFA being stingy, and not for a lack of support from Will Hodgman and the Hobart council. Hopefully by the time I move on from the RAAF in 15 or so years and return back home to Tasmania, I can finally live the dream of a Tasmanian team and bring any future kids with me to show them the most beautiful game of all, played in the most beautiful place in the world. 

I love the discussions on Tasmanian football on here, long may it continue

Borough is closer to an ideal southern club. Because of a distant, separate geographical location they have a unique local identity and affiliation with the local community.

It seems that they have more  locally developed players going through their ranks to NPL seniors.

To an extent, South, Olympia and Zebras are mercenary. Players change annually amongst them, so their identity changes from season to season. The two latter clubs are very reliant on imports too.

I hear that Devonport are also doing a lot of development work regarding producing their own players. Many in the  south are concerned about the animosity between the five southern NPL clubs, plus Knights. They have many one eyed fans who support whichever mainland opposition the other clubs play in national FFA or NPL Cups!