Teams in Tasmania's top soccer league will have to wait until the final weeks of the season to know how it will look next year.
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The NPL Tasmania is a third of the way into its 27 rounds with the existing nine-team make-up producing a weekly bye.
Last season saw the promotion of the Northern and Southern Championship winners Riverside and Glenorchy but Football Tasmania competition manager Glenn McNeill said it is yet to be determined whether the same scenario will follow this year.
An ongoing independent review will help determine the future make-up of all competitions in the state.
"They will undertake research and have discussions with stakeholders on how we can improve competitions and obviously the NPL is a major part of that," McNeill said. "We don't want to pre-empt anything that comes out of that but are hoping to have it completed by mid-July and then we'll have more clarity."
The state's top flight was destined to increase from eight to 10 teams at the end of last season but dropped back down to nine following the decision of Northern Rangers to withdraw.
McNeill said the options are to increase the league to at least 10 teams, drop back to eight or maintain the existing number along with the bye.
"There is a lot of conjecture about what is the right number.
"A bye is not ideal but we're not going to prevent teams from competing at the highest level if that's where they feel they belong.
"You can alleviate that a little by having midweek games and adding an extra round and we actually had more games this year than we've ever had, which is great for clubs in terms of revenue raising and supporters getting to see more games."
There is a lot of conjecture about what is the right number
- Glenn McNeill
McNeill also said there had been interest from other clubs in joining the NPL.
"We've had discussions with Championship clubs across the state and a number that are interested in playing at the highest level and part of our role is to support them in getting up to that next level because the NPL criteria is quite involved."
Launceston United's Birch Avenue headquarters were among the venues that impressed the former Launceston City youth player.
"Their facilities are brilliant. They certainly tick all the boxes facilities-wise. Other clubs like Somerset also have a rich history of success and with the election coming up there are a number of announcements being made and we're in the process of developing infrastructure."
In a thorough assessment of how the NPL Tasmania is shaping up, McNeill said he was content with the radical decision to postpone the opening round due to extreme heat, unsurprised by the rift between the top four and bottom five and reserved special praise for the league's two Launceston clubs.
"Riverside are a very well run club. If there was a ladder for administration, they would be in the top three. We've been really impressed how they go about things on and off the field and we see them as a long-term proposition.
"They are doing everything right. It's a big jump up to the NPL and a steep learning curve but I'm confident they will start progressing up the ladder.
"Launceston City was my very first club and have a long tradition. They may have dropped off from last year but Lino (Sciulli) is a very good coach and with Peter Savill in the wings I'm sure they will be looking to progress up into the top four or five.
"Noah Mies is a very good striker with a good pedigree. (His dad) Roger is an old teammate of mine from our youth days and Noah seems to be improving each year and has got the attention of mainland clubs."
McNeil, who was born in Melbourne but went to school in Launceston, said Savill was his first senior coach before Ken Morton enticed him to Olympia.
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