As part of the revamped club-based National League, the Southern League kicks off this weekend with the top eight clubs from the South Island pursuing the two available qualifying places for the National League, which starts in late September. With the Southern League consisting of just one round (seven games), it is more of a sprint than a marathon, with all clubs needing to hit top form from the outset. 

This weekend sees South City Royals at home to Otago University in a repeat of last weekend’s Chatham Cup Round 4 encounter, whilst Green Island travel to Christchurch to face Cashmere Technical, we can't wait for the Southern League to get underway! Find out all the weekend's matches here.

We take an in-depth look at the teams from the Football South region: 

South City Royals 

League position: 1st 

Recent form: 

LLLWW 

Top scorers in the ODT Southern Premiership: 

8 - Ryan Fleming 

7 - Connor Neil 

5 - Kaleb De Groot-Green 

We caught up with Royals’ Head Coach Richard Murray and discussed his thoughts ahead of the upcoming Southern League: 

Three SCR Royals players that we should watch out for in the SL: 

Callan Rothmets - possesses a great left foot with a very good engine. 

Kaleb De Groot-Green - has performed well playing in the unfamiliar position of centre back this season, he has made the position is own with his ability to read the game. 

Will Turner - young striker with plenty of pace and an eye for goal. 

Richard, what are your hopes for the Southern League? 

As we said with the Otago Daily Times Southern Premiership, we're in it to win it. Anything else and we're just making up the numbers. We have a good mix of experience and youth, that are improving with each game. We are confident and have momentum at present, and are ready for the next level up. We are less resourced compared to the Mainland clubs, but we have loyal players who will make up for it with our effort and attitude.  

What is the most exciting prospect for you and your squad ahead of the Southern League? 

Playing different teams and the prospect of a National League spot at the end of it. We've been advocating strongly for a proper South Island competition for a number of years. To improve as individuals and as a team, you need to be tested each week. You won't see results like 10-2 and 12-0 in the Southern League - so we know we need to lift our game in every area week in, week out if we want to win it and progress further.  

Winning the ODT Men's Southern Premiership was quite a feat in your inaugural season?  

Many don't think so, as they see it as two big clubs joining together. The reality is that Caversham finished 6th and Dunedin Tech 8th in last year’s SPL. You won't see too many, if any teams that finish that low in the table, thrown together with only two additions (who have been out injured for half the season) winning a league the next season. These were two clubs that were highly successful, competitive, but above all fierce rivals, and we've worked incredibly hard to bring everyone together and build a strong culture. We have been consistent and ground out results when needed, so yes, it is a major accomplishment and very satisfying.  

How will you deal with the likes of Cashmere Technical? 

Mainland clubs are generally heavily resourced with big, strong, players who like to control the possession. We will need to match, and better that. Cashmere Tech have led the charge for the last few years, and this year have the carrot of the National League dangling in front of them.  They will have a lot of experience, and for our young team, it's a matter of stepping up and playing without fear.  

Green Island 

League position: 2nd  

Recent form: 

WWLWW 

Top scorers in the ODT Southern Premiership: 

15 – Adam Hewson 

7 – Cameron Anderson 

7 – Thomas Milton 

We caught up with GI’s Head Coach Shane Carvell and discussed his thoughts ahead of the upcoming Southern League: 

Could you give me three Green Island players that we should watch out for in the SL?  

Matt Brazier –  He’s just starting to find a good bit of form and he’s always important for us up top! 

Adam Hewson - Has a knack for finding the back of the net and until recently led the ODT southern Golden Boot . 

Tom Milton – Captain Fantastic , always gives 100% and handy in and around the box. 

Hopes for the Southern League? 

Obviously, we want to be competitive and fly the flag for the deep south. For us, being champions last year and having our 125th anniversary this year, we wanted to see if we could go back-to-back in the ODT Southern Premiership, which didn’t happen, but we worked hard to secure our Southern League spot. I’m hoping for credible performances in the league to show we’re a proactive, forward-thinking club. We also had a bit of a taste of the standard in the South Island Championship last year when we played Cashmere Tech, we know what the bar is. 

What is the most exciting prospect for you and your squad ahead of the Southern League? 

I think the boys are excited, they're up for pitting themselves against the best teams across the South Island, they're looking forward to it. There's a quiet optimism that we can compete and do well. 

Qualifying for the Southern League is impressive given the closeness of the ODT Southern Premiership this year? 

I think that’s testimony to a league that in the past that has been dominated in the past by the likes of Dunedin Tech or Caversham. In the past few years, clubs that hadn’t previously been competing have risen to the top, to see it go to the last weekend shows the strength of the league! Qualification for the Southern League has added extra spice to the competition this year as well. You can sense that as a coach this year, it means more to everyone involved. 

How will you deal with the likes of Cashmere Technical? 

I personally think you can’t go in fearing them, you have to go in with confidence with your process and your players. We’ll take it to them and not go in with a timidity. Football is football and the reality is that any team can knock over any team on their day. 

Otago University 

League position: 3rd 

Recent form: 

WWWWL 

Top scorers in the ODT Southern Premiership: 

7 – En Watanabe 

6 – Aiden Barbour-Ryan 

6 – Yun Sung Chang 

We caught up with Otago University’s Head Coach Darren Hart and discussed his thoughts ahead of the upcoming Southern League: 

Could you give me three Otago Uni players that we should watch out for in the SL?  

Aiden Barbour-Ryan – It’s all starting to click for him, he scored 3 at the weekend and was dangerous throughout, he’s gained some confidence recently and he’s played really well 

Tim O’Farrell - There’s a level of experience and expectation he brings, he expects a lot of those around him and raises the standard. 

Oban Hawkins – Oban provides a focal point for the side,the opposition tend to expose a lot of energy on dealing with him in a game, which creates extra space for our other midfielders. 

Hopes for the Southern League? 

I don’t think we’re going in with any distinct expectations, every game you want to win! When we went through difficult patches in the ODT Southern Premiership, we never really comprimised how we play, we want to play our way under more pressure against the Christchurch teams. We won’t hav the same advantage with the turf against some of the Mainland teams, we’re committed to playing in our way, and not abandoning our principles under pressure. We’re a young side with young lads and it’s a good chance to test themselves/   

What is the most exciting prospect for you and your squad ahead of the Southern League? 

The exciting thing is to be able to do it as a unit, having a group of predominantly 18-20 year olds that we can take these youngsters and they can represent the University of Otago, we’re the only Varsity side at this level.There's only one non-student in our set-up, everyone else is a student or alumni, shows that you can study and play football and we are putting our best foot forward as a University side.  

Qualifying for Southern League is impressive given the closeness of the ODT Southern Premiership this year?  

I think we took 16 points in first round and 9 from the second, we didn’t make it easy for ourselves, the last 3 games were like knockout. What's ended up dictating the league has been the slip-ups, for example us and South City Royals drawing with Wanaka. The lower finishing sides have ended up deciding the closeness with good results against the top four or 5, no one could maintain 100% performance the whole time, making it close throughout.  

How will you deal with the likes of Cashmere Technical? 

You can do 2 things, you can go in going these guys are really good and what are we going to lose by, or we can look at it positively; Can we stand toe to toe, can we play the way we want to and get a result?  

We know they’re going to be good, but you never know what is going to happen. I hope that we don’t get overwhelmed by the occasion,  that we have the confidence to chase them down, press them, it’s a big learning opportunity for us. This is all a chance for the players to get the experience at a higher level and do everything they can to match the likes of Cashmere Tech, it’s great to test your integrity against some of the best sides in the country. 

Article added: Wednesday 14 July 2021