NTFA Premier Division: Hillwood and Bracknell in key clash in round eight

The second-placed side are behind Rocherlea on percentage but the Tigers have the bye this round while the Sharks have motored up the table with four consecutive wins.

The task to get to top spot is a tough challenge with the Sharks travelling to Bracknell to face the reigning premiers who accounted for Rocherlea in the last round.

"I think it's just a good chance to put together some quality games and put our best foot forward and give ourselves a shot against what we consider to be the best sides in the competition," Hillwood coach Jake Pearce said.

"Especially for a young group it's hard for them to understand to have confidence in themselves and the belief in the system we're trying to put forward ... hopefully they know that by doing the team things this week, who knows what could happen."

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The Sharks will be bolstered by the return of Denzel McLean after he suffered concussion against Deloraine.

The youthful Sharks side have been one of the best defensive sides in the competition with only 310 points against at an average of 51 per game.

"Our biggest thing for us is defence, we need to make sure that we can nullify their talls and their speed especially on their home deck," Pearce said.

"They're going to be tough to beat so if we can kind of slow them down moving forward that will give us every chance of limiting their talls and forwards."

The Redlegs shape as being one of the best balanced teams on both sides of the ball with the second-best attack and third-best defence in the competition on points per game.

"They've got a very young side and I think that a few of our bigger bodies and physical pressure might help us out a bit," Bracknell coach Corry Goodluck said.

"If we bring our intensity to the game like we did last week it will go along way to getting the four points."

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Lachlan Palfreyman will debut for Bracknell as the Redlegs play at home for the first time since round four.

"He's been in our junior development and worked his way up through the reserves this year, playing some good footy and it'll be good to see him get the opportunity in front of a home crowd on his home deck," Goodluck said.

George Town are aiming for their fifth win in a row when they travel to Deloraine who are searching for their first win of the season.

Deloraine claimed the points when these two sides met in round 16 last season winning 3.9 (27) to 6.4 (40).

Longford will be aiming to return to the winners' list after dropping the past two games when they play Scottsdale, who put Deloraine to the sword last week.

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Longford were the comfortable winners when these sides met in round 16 last season with the final score reading 11.10 (76) to 4.3 (27).

South Launceston will be searching for a result which keeps them in touch with the chasing pack for finals when they welcome Bridgenorth to Youngtown Memorial Oval.

The Parrots have been without a win since the opening round but will fancy their chances against a youthful South Launceston which have been up-and-down across the opening rounds.

"It's been a bit of a story of the season through our games and quarter by quarter so we're trying to build some consistency," South Launceston coach Anthony Taylor said.

The Bulldogs squad will be bolstered by the return of co-captain Jordan Tepper from suspension.

"He's well respected within our footy club and across the competition, he's a Hec Smith medallist and he's a geniune star of this competition," Taylor said.

"You can't cover blokes [like] a player of his calibre, you can try and we're blessed to have him back this weekend."

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