A good article from the ABC promoting local footy - maybe a similar one will crop up for the SANFL on the ABC website? (Especially in the wake of a recent letter writing campaign about our comp
)http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/18/2849792.htm
Campaign kicks off for Tasmania's next premier...on the field
By sports reporter Alister Nicholson
Posted 4 hours 21 minutes ago
In my humble opinion, there has been too much football of late, at least of the political variety. Personally, I'm far more enthused by another contest to decide a premier and Tasmania's Hare Clarke voting system has got nothing to do with it.
The 2010 Tasmanian State League season kicks off on Good Friday and the second year of the new competition promises plenty, if the first is anything to go by.
The return of State League Football was met, by some, with a degree of cynicism but it could only be described as a resounding success.
Close contests, upsets and a Grand Final won by a straight kick was the perfect way to mark the return of statewide football.
Six state league players were drafted to AFL clubs, proof the new competition is well regarded interstate.
There is no better evidence of this than Richmond's selection of Clarence ball carrier Jeromey Webberley, who was never part of the state's elite junior programs and was drafted purely on his performances in the TSL last season.
Seven clubs will start the 2010 season under new leadership and it is encouraging to see some familiar characters from the original state league returning as senior coaches: Darren Winter (Lauderdale); Dale Chugg (South Launceston); Paul Atkins (North Launceston)' and Anthony Taylor (Launceston).
North Hobart has appointed former Burnie midfielder Clinton Brown as playing coach, Hobart has made last season's caretaker coach Graeme Fox permanent and Burnie heads into 2010 under former Ulverstone and Penguin coach Brent Plant.
Errol Bourn (Devonport), Brett Geappen (Clarence) and Ben Reid (Glenorchy) are the only surviving coaches from the inaugural TSL season. This is partly natural attrition but also highlights heightened expectations and the increasing demands placed on coaches in a statewide competition.
Despite the retirement of Hudson medallist Brad Dutton and football journeyman, Ben Setchell, the reigning premier Clarence will take some beating again. The Roos have gained state full back, Brennan Savage from Launceston and North Hobart's coach of last season, Matt Geappen, has returned to play with his original club after recovering from radical knee surgery.
Clarence's 2009 Grand Final opponent Glenorchy has lost its captain and best player, Shane Piuselli, to VFL side Coburg but the Magpies still boast a talented list and will be desperate to go one better. Country goal-kicking machine Michael Darcy has headed to the relative big smoke of KGV and it will be interesting to see how he fares in a higher standard competition.
2010 will be a season of significant improvement from some clubs and decline for others. Here's how I see it:
THE IMPROVERS
North Hobart bowed out in the Elimination Final last season but should play a greater role in September this year. New coach, Clinton Brown, has lured several of his Dockers' team mates to the club including former Western Bulldogs draftee, Jesse Wells, and emerging forward, Zeke Gardam. One hundred-game Tasmanian VFL player, Nathan Street, has returned from Western Australia and the Demons have also landed the brother of S. Kilda ruckman Ben McEvoy. Peter McEvoy, a key forward who's been recruited from country Victoria, should take some defensive heat off North Hobart's enigmatic full forward Robbie Devine.
Devonport made it to a Semi last season despite coach Errol Bourn's pessimistic prediction that the Magpies wouldn't make the finals. Much improvement is expected from the club's exciting crop of talented young players, who will be better for a season of senior state league football. To compliment the young-guns, reigning Tassie Medallist Kurt Heazlewood, the strong-marking Ben Reynolds, and recruits Matthew Smith (Burnie) and Sam Whish-Wilson (North Launceston) should see Devonport emerge as a genuine premiership contender.
THE REBUILDERS
Burnie suffered a heart-breaking Preliminary Final loss in 2009 and has endured a testing pre-season. The Dockers have lost a host of experienced players and made an 11th hour decision not to proceed with a reserves team. The club will be relying on newly appointed assistant coach, midfield hard-man Luke Shackleton and five-time Latrobe best and fairest, Matthew Stephenson, to bring on the next generation.
Lauderdale Darren Winter has the job ahead of him to convert the Bombers from a regional club to a competitive force in the TSL. Major improvements to the Lauderdale Oval will help attract players to the club in the future but Winter will need to cultivate a collection of kids this season. The loss of last season's playing coaches Cam DeGooyer and Kane Richter, as well as ruckman Cameron Milne, hasn't made the job any easier.
THE PREDICTION
One of the most pleasing aspects of the new state league has been the evenness of the competition. Tipping a premier is a difficult task but in my opinion, there are five realistic contenders: Clarence, Glenorchy, Devonport, North Hobart and Launceston. Gut feeling says it is Glenorchy's year but there is a lot of campaigning to be done before September.
