Men's Premiership Preview

Roslyn v South City Royals

Roslyn return to Ellis Park and host South City Royals. Both teams picked up three points in Round 2 and Saturday’s clash should be a scintillating affair. Roslyn coach Terry Boylan is looking forward to the match, “It’s a big game, no bones about it they’ve come in with a point to prove, with two proud clubs joining up.” He expects a challenge this weekend, “They’ve got quality all over the park, they’re good at finishing chances, they’ll be confident.” The magnitude of the game is clear but Boylan is confident his players will step up to the challenge, “ There’ll be no stones left unturned by Richard or myself, both have teams have the attitude to be in the top three.” 

South City Royals come into the fixture of the back of  a 10-2 victory over Wanaka. Coach Richard Murray was impresed by the clinical nature of his side but disappointed with the goals they conceded close to the end of the second half, "We need to tighten up at the back, the focus has been on defence at training this week to stop making silly errors." Murray feels he has found his strongest starting XI and looks forward to the test that Roslyn pose, "They're unbeaten and going well for a young side."

Northern v Queenstown

Northern will be bolstered by their draw with reigning champions Green Island. Coach Arran Wilkinson was stoked with his team's performance, "I've been working really hard with these boys and I thought we had a chance , we were better than them the first half." He has lots of respect for Queenstown's coach Jamie Whitmarsh, "He's a top fella, I don't know what to expect from his team. I can just concentrate on my boys, instead of thinking about the other teams, we’ll just go out and play."

Queenstown have their first away fixture of the season, they’ll travel to Forrester Park where they’ll face Northern. Coach Jamie Whitmarsh expects to see a change of personnel with the Easter holidays meaning that some of his players are unavailable this weekend. He expects Northern to be amped up for Saturday’s fixture, “I think they’ll be very excited for us, they’ve had a really really good result last weekend, they will be really confident.” He believes his side played a better standard of football in last weekend’s loss to Roslyn and hopes they can eradicate the moments where concentration is lacking. 

Mosgiel v Green Island 

Mosgiel come into Round 3 off the back of a 3-1 defeat to Varsity. They will be hoping to take 3 points from their first home fixture of the season. Coach Cam McPhail felt his side played better in their last match against Uni than versus Wanaka in the opening fixture. His side will be depleted for the match against GI with several players unavailable due to injuries and students heading home for the Easter break.

Green Island will be looking for their first win of the season in their third consecutive match away from home. The Island are yet to play a fixture at Sunnyvale and take on Mosgiel this weekend. Coach Shane Carvell is disapppointed with the results in the first 2 rounds, "We need to righten the ship, dropping 4 points in first 2 rounds is not where we wanted to be." Carvell reflects that Mosgiel will be a test, "Playing Mosgiel is always a tough propisition, it's a challenging local derby. Like most teams they’re well drilled and will be tough to overcome on their home patch." 

Wanaka v University

Wanaka are back in action at the Rec Centre this weekend and are likely to be bolstered by the returning trio of Fletcher Cavanagh, Paul Hodgson and Barry Grehan. They are also bolstered by their second team not playing giving them more options off the bench. Coach Ian Bell regards Varsity as formidable opponents, “Their games have been tight but we know what to expect. They’re similar to us, they like to play football like us and it could be bit more even than last week’s game.”  

University are the sole team to have 2 wins from 2 games and manager Darren Hart will be hoping to continue his side's winning ways in Wanaka. "It's going to be an interesting one, with the long Easter weekend a lot of players have long-standing plans, so we're down from a squad of 18 to about 12." Hart will bolster the squad with some players from the Seconds squad, "We've still got a strong 11, if we get any injuries it'll be a bit of a struggle." The sides won one match each in their encounters last season, "You never know what you're going to face at Wanaka, they like to play tight and compact."

Women's Premiership Preview

Uni Seconds v Mosgiel 

Both Seconds and Mosgiel will be looking for their first points of the season in a battle that sees last season’s bottom two teams pitted against each other. Seconds coach Arnan Tapp recognises the importance of the fixture for his side, “We’re definitely looking for 3 points against Mosgiel, I'll be pretty disappointed if we don’t beat them.” He acknowledges that he has a few key players missing for the fixture with the mid-semester break and imagines that Mosgiel will be a similar side to the team they encountered last season. 

Mosgiel’s coach Malcolm Roberts is also looking to secure his side’s first victory in Saturday’s fixture at Memorial Park. Roberts is excited for his first competitive game in charge at Memorial Park, "there’s nothing like a home crowd.” Roberts is hoping that many of the men’s side come down early to catch their female counterparts in action. Roberts believes that Seconds are at a similar level to his side, “We'll have a strong squad for Saturday, it’s coming up with how do we prepare for Seconds who offer a different challenge.” He is hoping his side will emerge victorious, “We’ll go in with full desire and ambition to do the best we can, we know what we’d love to happen!” 

Uni Premiers v Queenstown 

Queenstown’s coach Mark Ford ahead to his first away fixture of the season with his side up against Uni Prems on Saturday. “Uni Prems are always going be tough, we know who they have and the challenges they pose.” He expects his team to play with confidence and stay true to their playing style and philosophy. Ford has a larger than average squad at his disposal, “We have a squad of 20 and we want to give everyone a decent run, we’re 100% committed to giving the youth a good run, squad bodes well for the future, things are looking good for us.” He further stressed the importance of blooding young players this season, “We've committed as a club to giving our younger players plenty of match time , 3 teenagers came off the bench in last weekend’s match and played most of the second-half.” 

Varsity’s coach Stuart Moffatt is excited to be back on the touchline for the Queenstown fixture after managing from afar for the Roslyn match due to work commitments. “We’ve recruited a few Queenstown players, Zoe is ex-Queenstown and Meg Creagh too, they look forward to playing against their old club.”  He expects a battle from the Central Otago outfit, “Ford is well organised, he’s a good coach and I’m sure they can put some goals away, I hope we can get the result.” 

Dunedin Tech v Roslyn Wakari 

Tech are back in action on Friday night under the lights at the Turf. Craig Johnston’s team will be raring to get back to it following their opening victory over Uni Premiers, “We’re pumped, and ready to go.” Johnston caught Roslyn in action against Uni Premiers and was impressed by their goalkeeper Hayley Julian, “She’s the best keeper I’ve seen in Dunedin for a few seasons.” Shonny Smith will return for Tech and they could also be boosted by a start from Coral Seath.  

Roslyn Wakari’s Coach Hamish Philip is excited ahead of Friday’s clash, “Everyone tries to test themselves against Tech, it’s almost the be all and end all beating tech, but for us, it’s all about being consistent.” Philip hopes to see his side achieve consistency throughout the encounter and believes playing consistently against Tech would be akin to a victory for Roslyn. Philip reflects that Tech are a tough proposition although his side will be bolstered by the return of Saffie Hare and Jemma Wilson with Sam Grey also potentially returning after a pre-season injury. 

Green Island have the Bye but you can catch their very own Jess Fuller in this week’s episode of Football Chat.