When Rob Gerrard's spectacular double saw off the league champions back in early July, a bumper season seemed on the cards at Prospect Park.

As the second-round draw threw up a lower-league opponent, coach Roger Hardwicke admitted his focus was on the following weekend's NPL opener against South Hobart.

But six losses and a draw from the first half of the season have shifted focus back to the state's major cup competition and a trip to the Brighton-based Southern Championship outfit.

"Realistically, this is the one thing we've got a chance of winning so is the main thing we are looking at," Hardwicke said.

"We are all excited to have a distraction from the league but are not taking it lightly.

"We need to go down there with an NPL mentality, not be complacent and do the job.

"They are one of the best sides in the Southern Championship so obviously have got a lot of talent. We cannot just rock up and expect it to happen, that's how cup upsets are made. We've got to be professional about it and grind out a win."

First-choice keeper Lachy Clark has finally returned from injury and Charlie Dyer and Noah Mies benefitted from spells in the Northern Championship but midfield engine Gedi Krusa remains unavailable.

"It's been a long, frustrating wait for Lachy but good to have him back and he pulled up OK so should be fine," Hardwicke said.

"Gedi is still out with this niggling injury in his foot and we're not sure when he will be pain-free."

Without an NPL goal to his name this season, Mies has been back on the scoresheet in the Northern Championship while also dealing with exams for his work.

"The positive was he scored a couple of goals which is what we want him to do in the NPL," Hardwicke added. "All goal-scorers thrive on confidence, the same as a batsman trying to make runs, and he will be in the squad for the cup game."

City, Olympia, South Hobart and Glenorchy will start the quarter-finals as hot favourites with the semis and final to follow after the NPL Tasmania season.

With four of their next six league fixtures at home, and the other two at Riverside and Devonport, this could be City's last Hobart trip until the final game of the season at Clarence.

In a hectic weekend of statewide cup action, Riverside are hosting the only Northern tie when Devonport visit Windsor Park in the under-20 competition.

NPL regulars Jarrod Hill, Jasper King, Liam Gilmore and Will Humphrey are all cup tied having played in the first team's Lakoseljac Cup loss to University, but the club has plenty of other young talent waiting in the wings.

Matt Spanos, Fletcher Fulton and Aaron Kidmas all played in the under-20s' last-round defeat of Clarence and have since graduated to NPL Tasmania scoresheets.

Max Reissig has also been getting a taste of top-flight action while Adam Walker was among the scorers at Clarence and is highly-rated at the club.

First-team coach Alex Gaetani has big hopes for his side and the future of the competition.

"We have a strong line-up, want to go all the way and think we can," he said.

"That competition needs to have consideration to be more permanent because there are a lot of boys who are not quite at NPL level but need more of a challenge than under-18s."

Olympic and Northern Rangers both earned Hobart away games as reward for hefty wins in the last round of the women's statewide cup.

A week after squaring up in the league, the Northern neighbours will be in simultaneous action either side of the Derwent estuary.

The first of two four-goal hauls from Meg Connolly saw Jo Haezebrouck's Olympic to a 5-3 home win against Metro in the last round while Ian Loft's Rangers were beating City 4-0.