PlayStation 4 NPL Tasmania resumes after a week off for the Lakoseljac Cup quarter finals with Round 8 action set to take place.
Despite featuring a massive South Hobart v Hobart Zebras game, the main story line this week revolves around Olympia.
George Mamacas sure has a way of making waves and the Warriors decision to part ways with Ian Shaw and replace him with Kenny Weston ranks as one of the more extraordinary local footballing stories in recent times.
Top of the table and into the semi finals of the Cup, on the surface it seems an incredibly harsh move. What was happening behind the scenes and in the locker room, I don’t know. You can assume there is more than meets the eye but it’s pointless to speculate about.
What I can talk about is what the Warriors have got in Kenny Weston. You don’t make a move like this unless you are confident that the man you are bringing in is going to be an upgrade.
It’s harsh, it’s cut throat, it’s not fair on Ian Shaw, but that is not the Warriors concern. They saw a chance to grab to a figure they feel can make them better and they went out and got him. And they have good reason to think Weston can help push them to new heights.
He is a great motivator, a coach in the Antonio Conte mould, who players just want to play for. Ask any of his former charges from the NDC program, those young kids would run through walls for him. He is confident, determined and his passion for both the game and developing players is utterly infectious. His record of nurturing young talent speaks for itself, which, with a 3 year contract and scope to work in a development role as well as the Club’s senior coach should set the Warriors up for years to come.
So as harsh as the decision was to axe Shaw, who has every right to feel aggrieved. I can totally understand and respect the decision, as they have acquired a massive asset in Weston.
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