Southern Football League welcomes three former TSLW clubs; revamped, three division competition grows 60 per cent
Adjusting to life post the TSLW was tough for Clarence when the state’s premier competition folded, but the Roos are now ready to hop into their new league from this weekend
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WATCHING the top tier of women’s football fall over and being left briefly without a competition was “un-motivating” for Clarence’s players as they adapted to a new norm.
But the Roos have dusted themselves off and are ready to kick off their next era in a revamped SFLW in 2021.
The scrapping of the TSLW after North Launceston pulled its team out last year left Clarence, Glenorchy and the Tigers _ as well as Launceston in the north _ needing to find new homes.
The three southern clubs have joined the SFLW division one league, alongside Claremont, South East Suns and North Hobart.
In total 18 teams will be split into three divisions in the SFLW this winter.
“It hasn’t been ideal really for anyone, but we’re still going to focus on our game and we want to try and bring the best performance that we can each week, that’s all we can do,” Roos skipper Grace Mitchell said of stepping back a level.
“It’s very new so I’m going into it with a completely open mind and so is the team.
“It was really hard to get girls to training, it was pretty un-motivating for quite a while there … but we are starting next week and it’s all up from here.”
In order to provide as even playing field as possible, Clarence and Glenorchy will have a player points cap limitation they will need to adhere to for all matches other than when they face each other.
Mitchell said it led to the loss of a few former teammates, but she understood the reasons.
“I really feel for the SFL, they were put in a really tough position to take on us and I’m happy that they’ve taken us on.
“We could have just been left out in the dark so they’ve taken us on and they’ve done what they can to make it fair, which I’m really happy with.”
After going through 2020 undefeated, defending SFLW premiers Claremont would normally be the team to catch.
But the shake-up of the competition has altered the balance of power, but it hasn’t deterred the Pies.
“I’m really proud of the girls, they’ve taken up the opportunity and the challenge,” captain Katie Stanford said.
“The girls are playing for different reasons _ fitness, fun, and really some of them now have got the opportunity to be against some of the best players.
“You’ve got to beat the best to be the best so I think that’s opportunity for us to see how we can match up against them.”
SFL vice president of women’s football Luci-Ann Ottaway said after a challenging off season finalising the restructure, excitement was building for action to begin.
“It’s been really challenging, I’ll be honest. It’s been quite a learning curve for everyone and not just the league but also the individual teams and clubs.
“Some clubs have had to make a decision as to whether or not they want to play in the top division, or whether they want to be a community based club and be more of a social team.
“We have grown 60 per cent on last year, we’ve got 18 teams this year so it’s huge for women’s football and women’s participation in the south.”
A promotion and relegation system between divisions has not been implemented for this year, with Ottaway saying feedback will be sought from clubs before potentially introducing in 2022.
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