SOUTH’S DOMINANT DAYS MAY BE OVER

Morton’s looking over his shoulder

SOUTH Hobart coach Ken Morton was at the helm when his club won seven straight league titles between 2008 and 2014, but he believes the days of one team dominating in Tasmania are as good as gone.

South was beaten by the Olympia Warriors in 2015 and the Devonport Strikers in 2016, but marched back to the top of the pile last year, winning the NPL Tasmania title by 12 points.

The 2018 NPL Tas season is just around the corner, with South beginning its title defence against the Hobart Zebras in the opening match of the season at North Hobart Oval on Friday night.

“It’s more and more difficult, I think, for anyone just to go on and keep winning premierships, but obviously that’s your aim. If you’ve got ambitions it’s winning that next premiership and then building again for another one,” Morton said.

“I don’t think we actively seek to do that, I think what we do is try really hard to win the next game.

“If that becomes 21, 22, 23 [games], that’s what we want, we want to keep going and keeping winning football matches.”

Morton’s men have looked strong during the pre-season, but he believes the Zebras, Olympia Warriors, Devonport Strikers, and Launceston City all have the personnel to take the title this year.

“I think [it will be] very difficult for somebody to go on a massive run of consecutive premierships in the future,” he said.

“You look at Devonport. Devonport have some super local talent mixed in with some

very good foreign players as well and a very good coach.

“Teams are planning for the future now.”

South has lost midfielder Jack Turner to the Warriors, and Ben Hamlett and Connor Kass have both gone overseas, but the team’s core remains largely the same as last year.

“If we can get everything right, then that foundation we had last year, we can build on that, we can develop on that, and that’s what winning the premiership gives you,” Morton said.

“It gives you inspiration to go again and try and make it two on the trot, and that’s what our aim is.”

While there has been little off-season movement at South, it is a different story for its main rivals.

The Strikers, Zebras, and Warriors have all brought in international players to bolster their squads and complement a handful of quality local sign- ings. Launceston City has been the busiest of all the NPL clubs during the off-season and look to be the dark horse, with a host of signings headlined by 2016 NPL Tas players’ player, Niko Giantsopoulos.

Canadian goalkeeper Giantsopoulos took the competition by storm in his one and only season in Tasmania, win- ning the league with Devonport before moving interstate last year.

Former Kingborough Lions and Olympia midfielder Shane Cartwright is joining Giantsopoulos in Launceston, as is former Striker Tyler Fischer and ex-South Hobart star Liam Scott.

The Lions, Northern Rangers, and Clarence United may not challenge for the title, but they all look to be heading in the right direction and will prove a handful for any team on their day.

Morton believes the strength of the overseas players across the competition will set the forthcoming season apart from previous years.

“The guys that are bringing in the foreign players now are getting very selective,” Morton said. “They’ve got to be up there with our top players or even better than our top players and that’s making the league, this year I think, special.”

If we can get everything right, then that foundation we had last year, we can build on that ... that’s what winning the premiership gives you — SOUTH HOBART COACH KEN MORTON