Northern Rangers Football Club is a soccer club which represents Launceston in the Northern Championship. They previously competed in the second-tier NPL Tasmania, but they decided to drop back to the third tier after the 2018 season.[1] They continued to play in the third-tier Northern Championship, where their B team previously played.
The club also fields teams in all junior divisions, as well as women's teams. Northern Rangers play their home games at the NTCA Ground in Launceston, Tasmania.
The Northern Rangers entered a junior side under the name "Northern Tasmanian Christian Soccer League Rangers" in the 1996 season. The club first entered the Northern Premier League in 1999. The club finally arrived on 15 August 2009 when it won its first Northern Premier League title and repeated as champions in 2010 and 2012.[2] It participated in the inaugural season of the National Premier Leagues Tasmania in 2013, having previously competed in the Northern Premier League
History
Northern Rangers formed in 1996 when a group of players playing amateur six-a-side competitions in Riverside decided to combine their teams to form one 11-a-side team and enter the NTJSA under the banner of the Northern Tasmanian Christian Soccer League Rangers (NTCSL Rangers). The players were all under 16.[3]
Around 18 players formed the first Northern Rangers side. The team went through the 1996 season undefeated to win the under-16 premiership in its debut season against strong opposition.[citation needed]
The following years saw the rapid expansion of the club with two teams entered in 1997. In 1998 NRFC finished one in rankings but lost the McDonalds Cup to Launceston City FC in a dramatic penalty shoot out. 1998 produced one player who would become a household name at the NTCA in the future, Derek Schipper.
In 1999, most of the players were too old to play in the junior competitions, so it was decided to try to gain a position in the Northern Premier League, and the Northern Rangers were officially founded as a senior side.[2][3] Rangers finished with 2 wins and 2 draws in the seniors, 4 wins and 1 draw in the reserves. The under-17s took the premiership under the guidance of coach Mark Ackerly.
In 2000, Mark Ackerly took on the senior coaching role and with some key recruits in Damire Metric and his younger brother Goran both from Bosnia, Adam Whitemore, Tony Ludby and Seb Deak From George Town the side was strengthened and more consistency was achieved. The club also was able to reach the final in the statewide vase competition.
In 2003 Mark Spicer joined the club as the first contracted coach to the Northern Rangers. He helped the club finish in fourth place on the senior table two years running and third for the Reserves for the two years also. For the first time Northern Rangers were a consistent and challenging force in the Northern Premier League.
In 2007 the club's Reserves took the Northern Premier Reserve Grade Champions.
The club won its first Northern Premier League title on 15 August 2009 with a last minute winner against Devonport. The club secured its second consecutive Northern Premier League on August the 7th 2010 with a 3-nil victory over Somerset at Cardigan Street with a week to spare.
The club secured its third title in four seasons on 18 August 2012, with a 4–1 home victory against Somerset. In the same year the club was accepted into the inaugural Statewide Victory League.
