COACH
Alex Gaetani
CAPTAIN
Taylor Neilson
RECORD
P14, W2, D3, L9; GF17, GA32, GD-15, Pts 9
HIGHLIGHTS
Ending the campaign with a 3-0 win over Kingborough and draw at South Hobart; getting within 10 minutes of the under-20 cup final; a Nil Sanz highlights reel
LOWLIGHTS
Devastating run of injuries; handing neighbours Launceston City their only league win; the long wait for a home victory
TOP SCORER
Nil Sanz (6): The cultured Catalan seems to compile almost as many corkers as cautions
BEST PLAYER
Jarrod Hill: Last year's league rising star is now up there with Nathan Pitchford for its best gloveman
BEST PROSPECT
Fletcher Fulton: Youthful but mature and diminutive but great in the air, bagged five goals in his maiden NPL season
BEST GOAL
The Sanz volley that finally confirmed a home win
IT WAS almost impossible to report on Riverside this season without mentioning youthfulness.
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In a competition full of young players, Olympic set the benchmark.
A faith in the junior club's products plus a crippling spate of major injuries to experienced players meant some fledgling sides taking to the park.
In one fixture the Roos hopped out with only one player over 21, in another nine of the starting XI were teenagers. Whenever the league's most experienced player, Aaron Campbell, sits a game out, the team's average age falls down quicker than Neymar.
In such circumstances, Olympic had no choice but to sink or swim, so maybe it helped that Campbell is an instructor at the aquatic centre.
While the season-ending injuries to senior players Ethan Olner, Jon O'Neill, Luca Vigilante and Sam Davis rocked the club, the next generation stood tall.
Fletcher Fulton's maiden NPL campaign was outstanding.
A member of Football Tasmania's elite development program for four years who represented the state in under-13, under-14 and NTC national championships, the 17-year-old Launceston United product is a genuine chance to win the league Rising Star award claimed by goalkeeper Jarrod Hill last year.
The likes of Max Reissig and Aaron Kidmas also looked at home at this level and it should not be forgotten that the backbone of the side - Hill, Jasper King, Will Humphrey, Liam Gilmore and Matt Spanos - are all still around 19 having played in the same junior rep sides together.
Despite the injuries, no fewer than seven players featured in all 14 league fixtures with another three missing just one and several more in double figures.
The club's trio of well-travelled Spanish-speaking imports provided valuable experience with the silky Nil Sanz (six) also leading Fulton (five) in the goal-scoring stakes.
Vigilante's campaign was ended by a sickening injury in the round-three fixture at City which also witnessed the arrival of Jhostan Padron whose involvement has been largely limited to the bench.
While performances stayed steady, results proved elusive.
Including a pre-season friendly, three times Olympic lost just 1-0 to all-conquering back-to-back-to-back champions Devonport.
The derby win at Launceston City and victory over Kingborough in the final home match proved the side's only triumphs as just five players made the scoresheet - Spanos and Tom Prince claiming a couple each and Kidmas the winner at Prospect.
Averaging two yellow cards per game, spread over 13 players, with more for the coaching staff also suggests an underlying disciplinary issue which needs addressing.
With some of the young stars believed to be looking at possible mainland moves and the imports inevitably casting an eye towards home, the challenge will be to keep the team intact.
As should be expected from a school teacher, Olympic captain Taylor Neilson delivered a sound lesson when assessing the state of the team a month ago. He said if the core could stay together, they could be challenging for a title in three to five years.
He's right, but it's a big if.