Talented team looking to bridge gap

THREE TO WATCH

Mitch Rainbird: After missing all of 2019 with ongoing concussion issues, Rainbird will be a welcome return to the Pies nest. Is most notably a livewire forward with an uncanny goal sense but has elevated his fitness levels over the extended break and could be given more midfield minutes.

Ryan Banks-Smith: BanksSmith debuted at senior level for the Pies as a 15-year-old in 2016 and has worked his way into a regular in the midfield rotations. Spent some time in a run-with role last year due to injuries but is primed to elevate his game even further this season.

Josh Arnold: One of the most respected figures within the football club’s walls but Pies coach Paul Kennedy still believes the small defender continues to be undervalued from the outside. Has improved his fitness base and could spend some time further up the ground in 2020, a year in which he has been appointed co-captain.

COACH SAYS

“In 2018 we let slip a chance to play in a grand final, last year we gave ourselves a chance to do that and copped bad luck and didn’t quite execute in our final game the way we wanted. We feel we have a good steady group who know each other, know how to play the game, know the TSL and have high standards. Our aims are high, as they are every year.”

PREDICTION

Do you dare write off a side which still has some of the best high-end talent in the State League? Injuries cruelled Glenorchy last year and the side crashed out of the finals in straight sets. Not only do they regain stars in the likes of captain Brayden Webb, Mitch Rainbird and Daniel Joseph, the reduced season and game time arguably assists the veterans even more. However the Pies must find a way to close the gap on the two Launceston sides _ after defeating the Blues in round one they lost their remaining six matches by an average of 10 goals.