I watched South Hobart play Clarence Zebras on Saturday.

The latter are an amalgamation  of the old Tilford Zebras and Clarence United - two clubs I've played for or coached at.

South won 1-0 in a scrappy game. I've seen both teams play much better previously. Jayden Hay played well throughout the match for Clarence Zebras, and  former Newcastle Jets player, Andy Brennan, was effective for South Hobart when he came on. He has been in CoronaV quarantine for  a few weeks.

They wasted perfect weather and an excellent pitch  to play quality football.

Nothing like being around PL games........
Have you watched any PL games over the years say in Melb D ?
Just wondering what you think the standards are like compared to Tassie ?

I've seen quite a number of Victorian teams play the best Tassie NPL teams, LFC.

I've  even briefly coached players who've played in both NPL leagues too.

If the best Tassie teams have a good day, a bit of luck and the better Victorian sides  have  a bad day, less luck, the games have been pretty even. 

Having said that Brisbane Strikers (Q), Leichhardt APIA ( NSW),  have both played slick possession football in Tas in the FFA Cup, a class up  from any  club here. Last year Marconi played the worst football I've ever seen from a visiting NPL club, where they played utter long ball, kicks and rush dross - in front of a big crowd and a superb pitch at Bellerive Cricket Ground.

Also, whilst playing  poorly by  their own standards against Tas NPL sides in the FFA Cup, South Melb ( Vic), Sydney United ( NSW) have played really well  in the latter rounds of the FFA Cup against HAL teams.

Hobart Olympic even got to the final of the defunct National NPL cup , but were outclassed by Bayswater ( WA) in the final.

Yet surprisingly, in preseason games, Tas rep sides from the NPL , have given the Mariners some tough games in preseason. The Mariners have played some of their lesser lights and newer players though. They've experimented before the HAL season proper.  

Live football is great.

I have two NPL clubs based about a kilometre  from my place, so if there is no social event on, I  attend their home games.

Another  member  of this forum  has moved to Tas and is coaching a team at a new NPL  club this season.

Watched the first half of Kingborough Lions v Clarence Zebra yesterday. 

CZ were at home on a perfect pitch in mild winter conditions to play football. 

Lions won 2-0.

The first goal was a spectacular volley. Sadly, most of the rest of the game was a scrappy affair. The game sense of many players I've seen in the last  few weeks has been appalling.

There are some good coaches in the Tas NPL - a few I've learnt a bit from.

In recent times some decent football has been played by the male and female NTC teams.

Olympia ( under Glenn McNeill), and South Hobart ( under Ken Morton) have played some decent possession football in some recent seasons.

Devonport Strikers have had a good counterattacking game under Chris Gallo.  

Some NPL teams have played proactively and held their  shape against renowned interstate opponents in the FFA Cup.

Tas senior rep teams have played quite  well against HAL teams in pre-season games. 

However:

1. The coaches' message isn't getting through to the players, because  -

a.  Are the players confused by the messages?

b. Can't put into practice on match day what they are doing on the training ground?

c. Ignoring or forgetting what they've been coached at senior level - and - many years of youth development? 



2.  Are some  coaches deviating from the National FFA blueprint of  Proactive football  to play a brand of Direct Football , with an onus on what they perceive as easy short term results?

ah huh, so there is a divide which is not unexpected but as any game, things don;t always pan out the more fancied visiting side out performs as expected.
Thanks for the insight.

Cheers, LFC.

It is also frustrating having coached players in state FFA rep teams and NPL  club level, not putting into practice in senior NPL games what we worked on assiduously on the training ground.  It is like I've wasted my time.

Even more frustrating, some good current senior NPL coaches I've learnt a lot from, then imparted their excellent training ground methodology and ideas successfully to players under my tutelage,  are overseeing some top senior NPL teams playing some football dross. 

well that sucks players not carrying on what they learnt - obviously they have lost their focus.
Sounds like 1 step forward 2 steps back regards the coaching therefore dross on the pitch.

Yeah but they won.  :laugh:   It's Ok you're allowed to be a biased football fan.  :laugh:

They might have won, but I’d much rather have seen the slick football played by both APIA Leichardt and Brisbane Strikers a few years ago. 

They won their  games played in Tas  and also won some new admirers for the quality of football they played. 

Hoping to watch Hobart Olympia v Riverside Olympic today at Warrior Park in the NPL, which is a synthetic pitch. 

Just watched Hobart Olympic beat Riverside Olympic 5-1 at Warrior Park, the synthetic pitch. 

It was a perfect sunny, winter afternoon for football. Unlike a good mate of mine, a doyen of football journos, I thought it was a decent game compared to the dross served up by Hobart Zebras, South Hobart and Kingborough Lions in the last few weeks at Wentworth Park. 

For those who have sought the name of the player who scored the spectacular volley for Kingborough Lions last week, when I was looking into the sun and couldn’t identify the scorer, it was Adam McKeown. 

He has had been a consistent goal scorer in the Tas  NPL for quite a few seasons. 

What pleased me about this game, considering a mate of mine thought the technical standard was awful, was  more game sense displayed by players from both teams.

Whereas previously, all of Clarence Zebras, South Hobart and Kingborough Lions had too many players hitting horrible straight hit and hope balls, high long straight balls, or balls that went out of play, plus too many overly aggressive mistimed tackles and too many stoppages, both Hobart Olympic and Riverside played  far more  angled diagonal  balls in possession, and tried to play  the ball to feet.

 Hobart  Olympic's Mearns in central midfield was quite dominant, on the ball, and he and his midfield mates, Feral, etc, read  the play well enough to frequently disturb Riverside build ups.

Hobart Olympic disappointed in the number  9 central striker, Ryan? and left sided player, Declan Brown, son of Clarence coach Andrew Brown, both turned inside too much on their favoured right foot. So often if they'd developed left side of the body play, they would've seen some decent  overlapping runs from th left sided Hobart Olympic full back.

Ben Hamlett, who is now a body builder, was a more effective  central forward when he came on, than the number 9. Although he is an overly aggressive and a too physical player. He  has lost his slick dribbling skills he was displaying at age 9-10.

Even though Riverside disappointed and were dominated in terms of possession and territory in the second half, given they have a very  young team, they also played a lot of decent  diagonal balls in their accelerated attacks. Both teams were a plaasure to watch, comparatively, after the three previous Tas NPL teams in the last few weeks.

The Riverside  keeper was good too. Moreover, he rolled the ball out in Attacking Transitions to build up from the back, as opposed to too many keepers in the  last few weeks who've stood like show ponies, wasted  valuable time to commence attacks  and  punted a high straight ball into orbit. This  has  usually resulted in opposition CBs or midfielders winning heading duels because of more  favourable body position in those aerial duels .

Th eatery weakness from all tease, given we've done smooch in coach ing courses train gto coach teams in building up fern th aback , thought embodied, is keeping ehball month deck for road handing speed.

The off the ball  movement from both teams in this game, was vastly superior to the last two games at Wentworth Park. More payers were supporting the ball carrier by openingt better  angled passing lanes - but there is still room for massive improvement.

 I've forgotten the name of the Riverside coach, but I like what he is  trying to do. The Riverside attacking players always pressed effectively in full presses in Riverside  Ball Possession Opposition, particularly in the first half. 

Another member of this forum has moved to Tas and coaches the  Riverside Olympic  women's senior team this season.

All teams so far have not  held very good shape in mens' NPL, particularly in Ball Possession.

Olympia  appeared to have a 4-4-2 diamond midfield formation  in Ball Possession Opposition.

A lot of teams' shape has been hard to identify this season. I'm not sure if NPL coaches are trying to impart one formation for Ball Possession  and  another for Ball Possession Opposition, but it isn't working too well.

I'm not sure what it is like on other states,  but the attrition rate of mens' Tas NPL coaches is amazing.

I think in 2013 I trained with all Tas NPL senior coaches undertaking the FFA C Licence, apart from Ken Morton, who already had an A Licence.

I think none of those coaches from the first few years in the Tas NPL in circa 2014, other than Ken aged 73, are still coaching senior NPL men.

Glenn McNeill, who coached Hobart Olympic to the Aus final of the NPL Cup against WA's Bayswater, a Tas NPL premiership (I think) and coached  the Tas state team ( with then Tas Tech Dir Spencer Prior) to beat something like  Melb City Youth, quit the  following year, never to coach at NPL senior level again.   Objectively, Glenn has had considerable success, at men's senior NPL level even though he might  have had quality cattle on the pitch. Yet he looks like he has quit permanently.  

All of Steve Pitchford, Romeo Friediani, Tommy Fojtak, Glen, the Launceston City and Devonport  coaches,  one being Chris McKenna ( the others whose names escape me), have quit. All were senior NPL coaches in the first few seasons.

Chris Hey, who has had lengthy stints with Zebras and Hobart Olympic senior men's NPL,  is possibly  coaching women's state league ( he was last year).

Former state FFT Tech Dir, Kurt Reynolds, assistant NTC coaches, Darren Cook and Mark Broadbent, plus head NTC coach  Kenny Benjamin, have come and  gone coaching men's senior NPL.

The first three of these coaches I've learnt an immense amount from. I've successfully  extrapolated their knowledge to players under my tutelage, particularly senior female NPL players .  I would have  thought  with their tactical, organisational and general methodological   knowledge, their teams would have had far more success on the pitch, compared to  the  knowledge base  of the  coaches they opposed.

Recent Football  Fed Vic Tech Dir, David Smith is coaching Clarence Zebras this season. Given David's knowledge base, Clarence Zebras played absolute dross in the  two successive games I  saw them play a few weeks ago. On paper they have reasonable cattle too.

They featured little systematic build ups through  midfield, but  played a plethora of  adventurous low percentage, high risk longer  balls and hit straight aerial balls into space hoping a teammate would run onto it. Consequently, they turned the ball over frequently. They also lost both games.

With visiting mainland teams to Tas playing local NPL teams in the FFA or NPL Cups, Mark Rudan and Jon Anastiadis have  progressed to HAL coaching staffs. They probably had their NPL teams playing petty good football, particularly the latter.

The other outstanding visiting  coach, in terms of quality of football played on the pitch, was the bespectacled APIA Leichardt coach, who looked like a bit of a nerd. APIA played the slickest football I've seen by a visiting NPL team. Notwithstanding, I did not  see John A's Bentleigh Greens  in Devonport, but on TV they have played excellent proactive  possession  football.

What is the NPL coaching attrition rate like in other states?

 

Saw top team Devonport Strikers beat Clarence Zebras 2-0 on Saturday.

Devonport were the better team and deserved to win.   Goals were scored  by Todd Hingston and Brodie Denehey just after the 80th minute.

Both teams off the ball movement to support the  teammate in possession could have been much better. Devonport were able to move the ball sufficiently and build up as Clabras only had 1 in the  attacking time of their 4-2-3-1 formation in Ball Possession and Ball Possession Opposition. 

Also, teams weren't quick enough in Attacking Transitions - the moment a team regains the ball. It was too static.

That is apart form one notable exception, when Strikers' keeper, Nathan Pitchford, came out and took the ball on the edge of his box well, then launched  it with pin point accuracy immediately to the right flank where Denehey was already opening a passing lane moving forwards. He received the ball facing forwards  a split second after it touched Pitchford's hand and ball carried quickly into the opposition defensive half. 

He played a ball across to the middle and a shot went close - all just a few seconds later it hit the Devonport Strikers' keeper's hands.

Jayden Hay and Kane Hatcher played well for Clabras.

Joel Stone did well for Strikers in midfield, despite  criticism  he holds  onto  the ball for too long at times.

Rotten weather in the south for this round, with only one game in the capital. 

Devonport beat Glen Knights to stay top of the table. 

been a bit a rotten weather over the last weekends, Sydney incl but most PL clubs have syn to play on, right down to depending which club in PL4.

How many pitchs are synthetic down there D re PL ?

Sorry, have been away and have only just seen this, LFC.

Hobart Olympic play on a synthetic pitch.

Glenorchy Knights play on the synthetic pitch at Football Fed Tas  HQ.

Up until last weekend, pitches were in very good nick, with light rain in most of  the state for the first two months of winter. Conditions for football have been perfect.

Devonport Strikers play on a grass pitch that used to be waterlogged when I used to take rep teams there, but the drainage has improved in recent times.

I'm not sure about the current scenario for  Launceston for Riverside and Laun City?

Yesterday Kingborough Lions held ladder leaders, Devonport Strikers to a 1-1 draw playing at their home ground, Lightwood Park.

 Hobart Olympic have had their fourth coach in a year, as president George Macaus sacked Andrew Brown.

Rob Clarke,  former  senior coach and club Tech Dir, has taken over  from Andrew Brown.

Declan, Lachlan and Callum, Andrew Brown's three sons, all NPL  players, have not  confirmed their futures with Hobart Olympic.