NTFA confirms roster, rep schedule for new era

NTFA president Peter Gutwein is confident they’ve found the right balance between giving their new-look structure a chance to succeed while boosting the rep schedule. Get the key points from the season rosters announced on Friday.

South Launceston celebrate their senior grand final win over Longford last year. The new-look NTFA released its 2025 roster schedule on Friday. Picture: Jon Tuxworth

New NTFA president Peter Gutwein is adamant the region’s new Premier League needs to be given time to find its feet and is confident the restructure has found the right mix between roster games and representative fixtures.

The NTFA officially announced its rosters on Friday with a number of changes, most notably

- 16 rounds in the six-team Premier League starting on April 12 with each side playing four teams three times, and another four times, with grand final day for men, women and under-18s on September 20;

- Division one and division two grand finals being held on the same day (September 13) with division one featuring 18 rounds and division two 19;

- Women’s and men’s Premier League games will be played on the same day and venue, with the division one women’s grand final set for a stand alone Friday night grand final on September 20;

- Three Tasmania representative games on May 3, July 5 and July 19, with a Premier League team also to play sides from the north and northwest leagues on May 24 and June 21, with a combined division one and two team to play the SFL on July 5;

- Launceston will play their first home game in round six once upgrades to the Windsor Park surface are complete;

- North Launceston and Launceston retain their traditional Good Friday clash, with South Launceston to also play North Launceston on ANZAC Day.

Four new board members in Jenni Jones, Nathan Calman, Cameron Moore and Dravid Rao have also been appointed as part of a front office overhaul.

Former state premier Gutwein has only been in the NTFA’s top job for a few weeks since taking over from Damien Rhind.

The restructure has received strong pushback from traditional TSL heavyweights North Launceston and Launceston in particular, but Gutwein is confident the clubs are now working together to ensure it’s successful.

“I made the point when I became president I don’t intend to upend the current structure,” he said.

“We’re getting on with it. While I expect we’ll see some one-sided outcomes over the course of this first year, our main aim is to ensure those clubs are sustainable and build their base, and within five years we have a very strong competition.

“We’ve had to include five rep games in total, and the breaks (for those not playing representative football) will stand teams and footballers in good stead. Everybody by the end of the year carries an injury.”

NTFAW Grand Final. Premiership winners, Meander Valley. Picture: Scott Gelston/Solstice Digital

Gutwein said putting women’s games in a better position for exposure was a focus, and said playing at same grounds as men would improve the holistic club culture.

It will also be the case in division one and division two fixtures where possible.

‘The interest in women’s football has been fantastic, we have to make sure we pick up on that and help people support it,” he said.

“A Friday night grand final is a great opportunity to showcase women’s football in the north.

“Clubs over a long period have been built with 18s, reserves and seniors (at the same venue). Women have been the outlier and we want to make it one club, one day where we can.”

Gutwein has been impressed by the collaborative approach taken by the Premier League clubs to ensure the league is as strong as possible long term.

The roster has been designed to ensure teams of equal ability play each other four times in the regular season, including North Launceston-Launceston and weaker teams like Scottsdale and Deloraine.

“I’ve been very impressed with the Premier League presidents. Each and every one of them is focused on getting the best for their own team but they’ve been collaborative in their discussions,” he said.

“They all understand the challenge of keeping football in northern Tasmania at a high level.

“It would not surprise me to see North and Launceston deliver some very big wins this year, but that’s part of the learning process.

“It will be up to the coaches and the senior people at the other clubs to make sure they keep attitudes in the right place and keep moving forward, and learn from those early games.

MEN’S PREMIER LEAGUE ROUND ONE SCHEDULE (HOME TEAM LISTED FIRST)

April 12: North Launceston v Longford, South Launceston v Launceston, Scottsdale v Deloraine