Tantari scored two contrasting goals in the 5-2 win at Northern neighbours Riverside last week - outjumping an international centre-back to loop in a header before drilling one past the keeper from the edge of the box.

With explosive teenager Jaden Fidra also bagging a brace, Sciulli said Tantari has become "a vital cog" in his side, particularly with regular midfield engine Gedi Krusa missing with a calf strain.

"Stef's very important to us," Sciulli said.

"He can probably go as far as he wants to but I don't know that he wants that. I think he's happy playing football in Tasmania and loves being around his family.

"Obviously, he's got to work a little bit harder in defence, but he's a good player and will come under the microscope of a lot of teams if he keeps going like this. Whether he wants to or not is entirely up to him."

With two such dangerous ball-players behind the experience of Dan Smith and Albert Amankwaa, Sciulli knows his side possesses plenty of goal threat, but wants to see more from Tantari.

"He doesn't run at teams enough. All his work at the moment is in close and I just want him to get the ball out from under his feet and just run like Jaden does.

"Having two guys like that running at you is very hard to mark and with Albert up there with his strength, it's a pretty lethal combination providing they all click on the one day."

Switching focus from the bottom team to the top, City are preparing to host a Devonport side that won 4-0 in their last meeting at Valley Road.

Sciulli said there were lessons to learn from the Olympic match.

"The worst thing for me was once we lost that last pass how quickly Riverside turned it around and came at us. That was disappointing.

"We had a lot of opportunities going forward where the last pass let us down a little bit.

"But I thought we played well and on the whole deserved to win."

Strikers head down the Bass Highway full of confidence having won nine of their 10 fixtures to date, conceding just four goals, and already banked the Lakoseljac Cup with a 3-0 defeat of South Hobart in the final.