Greater Northern League Round 7 Preview

Round 7 of the Greater Northern League gets underway at 6:00pm on Friday night, with Launceston City hosting the Queechy Penguins. The Penguins enter the round in third place, off the back of a thrilling 3-3 draw with South Burnie last weekend, while City sit fifth after falling 4-1 to Smithton, as their up-and-down season continued.

On Saturday, South Burnie will face City Marians at McKenna Park as they look for a circuit breaker after three weeks without a victory. Despite that, they still sit second on the ladder and can maintain that spot with a win over a Marians outfit that was defeated 3-0 by the South Launceston Suns last weekend.

It was the Suns’ first victory of the season, and they will hope it can kick-start their campaign with a challenging test against a Smithton side that climbed into fourth place following last week’s win.

Finally, the competition pace-setters, Burnie Baptist, take on West Devonport, who have had a week to lick their wounds after a defeat to Queechy in Round 5. Baptist continue to dominate the competition this season, with six wins from six and an impressive +32 goal difference, bolstered by a 10-0 demolition of Tamar Churinga last week. Khan Riley scored four times in that match to extend his lead atop the league goalscoring charts.

The action begins in the Women’s competition at the Aurora Energy Northern Hockey Centre, with Launceston City taking on Queechy in a top-of-the-table clash. The two sides have already met once this season, playing out a thrilling 3–3 draw back in Round 2. It will be the second table-topping showdown the Penguins have featured in over the past fortnight, after edging past South Burnie 2–1 in Round 6. City also claimed a 2–1 victory last week, overcoming Smithton.

South Burnie now have the chance to bounce back from that defeat with a home clash against seventh-placed West Devonport, who enter the match off the back of a breakthrough 4–1 win over Tamar Churinga. When the two sides met in Round 3, South Burnie recorded a commanding 7–1 victory.

The South Launceston Suns produced their biggest win of the season last week, defeating City Marians 2–0, and now face Smithton in a crucial contest. With just five points separating the two sides in fifth and sixth place respectively, there are important points on offer. The teams met only a fortnight ago, with the Suns sneaking home 2–1 winners.

Finally, City Marians take on Tamar Churinga in another matchup we saw recently, with Marians claiming a narrow 2–1 win. It was a tight contest that belied the current 11-point gap between the two sides on the ladder and this promises to be another close encounter.

Men

Friday 29 May

Launceston City v Queechy Penguins, 6:00pm, Aurora Energy Northern Hockey Centre 1

Saturday 30 May

South Burnie v City Marians, 12:30pm, McKenna Park

South Launceston Suns v Smithton, 2:00pm, Aurora Energy Northern Hockey Centre 1

Burnie Baptist v West Devonport, 3:30pm, McKenna Park

Women

Round 7

Friday 29 May

Launceston City v Queechy Penguins, 7:30pm, Aurora Energy Northern Hockey Centre 1

Saturday 30 May

South Burnie v West Devonport, 11:00am, McKenna Park

South Launceston v Smithton, 12:30pm, Aurora Energy Northern Hockey Centre 1

City Marians v Tamar Churinga, 2:00pm, McKenna Park