AARON Viney and Roydon Peters have been chosen to lead the Northern Tasmanian Football Association out of the representative doldrums.
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It has been four years since the state’s largest amateur football body was part of the intrastate roster along with the Southern and North West football leagues.
The NTFA put the concept into recess in support of the Tasmanian Football Council’s under-23 representative side, which has now ceased.
“After consultation with member clubs and players the NTFA board made this decision and are making plans to not only field a senior side but also under-18s,” NTFA director Damian Jones said.
“There has always been a fierce rivalry between the three premier community football leagues with the NWFL claiming bragging rights in recent years.
“Aaron Viney will coach the NTFA senior side and Roydon Peters will coach the under-18s.
“By making the appointments early it will allow the coaches to start working on the recruitment of support staff and players in readiness for the clash with the SFL in Hobart in June next season.”
Viney, a four-time South Launceston and Rocherlea premiership player, and Peters, Longford’s incumbent boss, both hope to revive the pride and desire among the association’s best players to want to represent the NTFA.
Viney said a key component was getting all clubs to support the revival and making their players available mid-season.
“I’ve been a part of a couple of rep games with the NTFL… and the two years I was at Rocherlea in 2012 and 2013 I played for the NTFA in the last one we had, we went down by a couple of points to the SFL,” Viney said.
“I will go and watch as many senior games as I can and talk regularly with all the division 1 and division 2 coaches because it’s not just about getting the names, it’s about getting the guys that are playing well from the start of the year to when we play.
“Training with the best players in the competition is a fantastic experience and a great way to get to know them on a personal level.
“We want to have the best list available and I’ve got no doubt that we can easily put a side together that can beat any other league in the state.”
Both coaches said they were honoured to be selected to lead the region with Peters excited to work with the Northern Tasmania’s best under-18s footballers.
“It’s good to have rep footy back again and if we can get them at under-18 level striving not only to play well for their club and win premierships but represent their association, hopefully they are hungry to continue on and do that at senior level,” Peters said.
Corey Martin
Having started at The Examiner as a cadet in 2009, I have held various positions telling the stories of Northern Tasmanians in sport and news. I was appointed deputy editor in 2019 and became editor in September 2021.
Having started at The Examiner as a cadet in 2009, I have held various positions telling the stories of Northern Tasmanians in sport and news. I was appointed deputy editor in 2019 and became editor in September 2021.
