NPL DRAW REVEALED: EXPANSION A STEP TOO FAR FOR ONE CLUB

FOOTBALL Federation Tasmania has unveiled an expanded 2019 NPL Tasmania roster as the competition prepares to grow, but one club isn’t happy about the extra travel it entails.

The NPL Tas will expand from 21 rounds to 27, to be played between March 1 and September 7 next year, as the competition grows from eight to nine teams.

Each club plays 24 matches — 12 home and 12 away — with three byes. The roster features more night games, more marquee days and less simultaneous kick-offs in a bid to maximise the exposure and opportunities for fans to attend and follow the games.

However, Devonport Strikers president Rod Andrews said he was “disappointed” with the extra kilometres his club would have to travel over the course of the season.

“Whether it ended up being three extra games or four or 10, it really comes down to that total travel — the amount of travel time, the amount of trips to Hobart,” Andrews said.

“It’s not so much in the short term, our guys just laugh at it and go with it.

“The worry is that if we don’t take a stand on this now, where does it end?

“We’ve had two statewide footy sides pull the pin for these reasons, and a women’s side pull the pin this year for the same reasons as well.”

FFT chief executive Matt Bulkeley said the federation was “absolutely committed” to supporting Devonport and football in the North-West.

“Ultimately, it was very important to us that we achieved ... equity in terms of home and away,” Bulkeley said.

“Given the number of teams wanting to play more football, that was 12 home and 12 away.”

The season will kick off with a Friday night clash between two of the competition’s biggest clubs, Olympia Warriors and South Hobart at Warrior Park, while one of the high- lights of season will be an Anzac Day double-header at North Hobart Oval. Midweek football will be trialled for the first time, with two midweek rounds scheduled for March.

Zebras president Nick Di Giovanni said he thought the roster looked good, and he is looking forward to the Anzac Day clash. “Everyone at the club who played last year and the opposition players are just wanting to play on this ground, it’s just a fantastic surface,” Di Giovanni said.