Glenorchy overcomes injuries to sink Lauderdale in gritty display
It was a war of attrition for the Magpies as they weathered a Bomber blitz and players injuries to post their first win for the 2021 season.
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GLENORCHY has opened its account for the 2021 TSL season with the return of two club stalwarts driving the Pies to victory over Lauderdale at KGV.
In a tight contest in which the Pies were reduced to just one rotation on the bench for much of the second half, a gritty and hardworking display pushed the home side to a 10.7 (67) to 5.11 (41) victory.
Callen Daly was at his electrifying best, slotting four goals, while skipper Brayden Webb and former RACT Player of the Year Daniel Joseph both made successful returns from long injury lay-offs.
Lauderdale took the early momentum in a tight first quarter, but the Pies did enough to limit the scoreboard damage and wrestle the match back in their favour thanks to a classy finish from star Ben Kamaric, fresh off a five-goal display last week.
The second quarter was a seesawing affair, with each side kick three majors before Magpie Darrean Wyatt landed heavily in a marking contest and was stretchered off.
The Pies were able to extend their one-point halftime lead to 13 thanks to a three-goal run late in the third quarter, with Kamaric slotting his second from the tightest of angles after the siren, and two late fourth-quarter goals to Daly put the result beyond doubt.
After last week’s disappointing loss to arch rivals Clarence, Glenorchy coach Paul Kennedy was pleased his side was able to rebound well against a tough opponent, describing the win as a really mature performance from his young side.
“It was an enormous test for our boys after we lost Wyatt in the second quarter, (Cam) Goodsell early in the third quarter and (Zac) Webster in the last as a precaution so we were down to one on the bench.
“The recipe was there for the game to get away from us again, but we spoke about last week, when we had our chances to get in front and we lacked some composure and let an opportunity slip,” Kennedy said.
“That could easily have happened today in the third quarter, but the guys showed great fight and resilience to flip the script. I think we grew a lot of trust in each other today.”
Billy Rolfe and Harry Richmond provided strong targets inside 50 for the Bombers, with both finishing with two goals, while usual suspects Bryce Walsh and Alex Hevey played well in defeat.
Roos sink heavyweights in happy homecoming
CLARENCE has celebrated its return to Blundstone Arena in spectacular fashion by bringing down TSL heavyweight North Launceston on the back of a third-quarter blitzkrieg.
The Roos — who had not played at their home fortress since round 19 in 2019 after being forced to relocate to Richmond last season — handed the visitors their second loss in three starts with a 12.1 (73) to 9.8 (62) result.
Scoreless in the second term and trailing by 23 points immediately after the long break when Bomber Ben Simpson pounced on a turnover and goaled from 20m, Clarence flicked the switch to produce a stunning next 27 minutes.
The Roos rattled on eight unanswered majors, including four in six minutes, to snatch the lead by the nine-minute mark and hold a 25-point buffer at the final change.
The hosts then absorbed a mountain of pressure in the first 15 minutes of the last quarter to hold North at bay, before Oscar Paprotny kicked the sealer against the run of play.
Refusing to lay down, the Bombers quickly added three goals to cut the gap before running out of time just when they sniffed blood.
Roos coach Jeromey Webberley said the turnaround came on the back of basic, hard work.
“To be honest, pre-game and at half time I was a bit worried … I don’t think we were as aggressive as last week,” he said.
“I suppose once we got momentum we thought we could score quickly, but I don’t think they believed we could get the job done.
“It was just good to see the boys fight back because we were facing a bit of adversity at half time.
“It was just basic footy, win the contest, get the ball moving forward and then pressure.
“We started to win around the coal face, we came in thinking that we had to match them at stoppages and I think we ended up plus four or five for the game.”
Young forward Oliver Preshaw continues to improve from week to week, booting three goals in the third term and four for the match, brother Jack was given the tough task of trying to curtail league star and North coach Brad Cox-Goodyer, while Baxter Norton again flashed his class to lead the fightback.
Cox-Goodyer was prominent in the first half with three goals, but was unable to exert his dominance in the second.
Both teams also had injury concerns, with Josh Green (hamstring) missing most of the second half for Clarence and North losing Daniel Withers in the second term after he was stretchered from the ground.
Bombers keep their eyes on the Pie
LAUDERDALE will be keeping a close eye on Glenorchy star Ben Kamaric on Saturday after he nearly dragged the Magpies over the line with a dominant individual performance last week.
Kamaric kicked five goals — including four in the third quarter — to keep the Magpies in the game in a best-afield performance against Clarence, but the Roos ultimately kicked away in the final quarter.
That match was Magpies’ first match of the season after they had the bye in round one, while Lauderdale beat Clarence in round one before losing to the Tigers last week.
Glenorchy and Lauderdale meet at KGV on Saturday.
Willing said he watched 23-year-old Kamaric — who was playing only his fourth game since 2019 — closely last week, and said his third quarter was “pretty special”.
“Kamaric obviously really hurt Clarence forward of centre, kicking those four goals,” Willing said.
“We’re preparing for Glenorchy’s best, and Kamaric’s a big part of that, but we also realise they’ve got some real top-end talent and we’ll need to be on our game, particularly around the ball.”
Glenorchy coach Paul Kennedy said Kamaric plays an important role for the Magpies.
“We missed him a hell of a lot [last year], and you could see that on the weekend what a difference he makes,” Kennedy said.
“He’s such a force out there, he really is a little bit like a Dusty Martin, in that when he does things, it lifts the whole team, and when he gets 30 possessions we don’t lose too many games.”
Lauderdale will be missing its own game-breaker, gun recruit and former AFL star Allen Christensen, who tore his hamstring last week and is expected to be out for six to eight weeks. (See below)
Kennedy still expects the Bombers to pose a threat.
“I think both ourselves and Lauderdale now have some real similarities in the way we want to move the footy, so we’ve got to make sure we’re on defensively, doing our work early,” he said.
“If we allow them to open up the game they’ve shown that they can move the ball very quickly from end to end and do some damage.”
Kennedy said the Magpies couldn’t afford to get distracted by worrying about chalking up their first win of the season.
“If you’ve got one eye on the ladder or the win column while you’re preparing for games, you’re taking your eye off the ball,” he said.
Bombers out to spoil Ross homecoming party
NORTH Launceston coach Brad Cox-Goodyer expects Clarence to come out firing in its first match at Blundstone Arena in over a year on Saturday, and is urging his players to ratchet up the pressure.
Both teams have won one of their opening two matches of the TSL season, with Clarence losing to Lauderdale then beating Glenorchy, and the Bombers losing to Launceston then thumping North Hobart.
Cox-Goodyer expects a tough contest.
“They’re pretty skilful, obviously a lot’s been spoken about who they’ve recruited but they’ve also got some great established players in their group, so with three ex-AFL players and some very talented young players, they’re going to be hard to stop,” Cox-Goodyer said.
“So our pressure needs to be through the roof [to] put them under as much pressure and give them as little time as possible with the ball in hand.”
It will be Clarence’s first match at their traditional home ground since 2019.
“I’m sure they’re going to be up and about to get back on their home deck,” Cox-Goodyer said.
“They’re always a tough task there, especially considering it’s their first game in a while – the first quarter’s going to be pretty hot, we’re expecting.”
Clarence coach Jeromey Webberley said the young Bombers are still a force in the competition.
“Maybe they probably don’t have the common names right through their 22 that we all know, but I still think they’ve got enough top-end talent and some young players coming through to be really strong again,” Webberley said.
The TSL’s only two undefeated teams, Tigers and Launceston, meet in a top-of-the-table clash at Windsor Park on Saturday.
Tigers coach Trent Baumeler is embracing the challenge of taking on the reigning premiers.
“We can go up there with plenty of confidence, take the game on as well, but [we’re] under no illusions as to how good Launceston are,” Baumeler said.
“They’re a class, even unit, they’ve got that experience and I think they’ve got hunger – I don’t think there’s any complacency.
“They see us coming the highway in some decent form, so they’ll be switched on and want to send a message as well, so we have to match that this weekend.”
Roos pumped up for long-awaited homecoming
CLARENCE plays its first game at home ground at Blundstone Arena since 2019 this weekend, and the Roos hope to turn their traditional home back into a fortress.
Clarence was forced to play its home games at Richmond last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the state’s borders being closed. The border closure meant the interstate firm that dismantles the electronic cricket scoreboards and their heavy rail mountings was unable to remove them to allow the goalposts to be reinstalled.
Clarence forward Ollie Preshaw, 18, said he couldn’t wait to return to Blundstone on Saturday, with the Roos set to take on North Launceston.
“You can’t beat it,” Preshaw said.
“At Richmond [there was] not as much space to lead into, but here you’ve got pockets on pockets to just lead and run and it’s so much nicer to play on.”
Roos coach Jeromey Webberley said his team made Richmond a difficult place for opposition teams to visit last year, and hopes to do the same back at Clarence’s traditional home.
“Richmond was great last year, and I reckon we really made Richmond a fortress and we played some really good games there, and we’re keen to bring that back to Blundstone and make Blundstone a destination where teams fear to go,” Webberley said.
Webberley said the small dimensions of Richmond caught some opposition teams out last year, but the size did have drawbacks.
“We really struggled on the bigger grounds last year, and I think that may have had something to do with Richmond,” he said.
Webberley knows it won’t be easy to develop a home-ground advantage at Blundstone.
“I often say that Blundstone’s the most neutral ground in the state, just because it’s not really affected by weather, it’s a great surface, it’s a fantastic size, and everyone wants to play Blundstone, right, because of the facility and the ground,” he said.
“We’ve got to make sure that we make it a fortress for us, but it’s good to be back, the players are pumped.”
Bombers blow with former Cat scratched
LAUDERDALE expects to be without gun recruit Allen Christensen for six to eight weeks after the former Geelong premiership star tore his hamstring last week.
Christensen kicked three goals in his round one debut, but Lauderdale coach Daniel Willing said he was injured in last week’s loss to the Tigers.
“It’s obviously disappointing to lose a player of that quality, he was pretty good in the first round and he was starting to get into the game last week when he tore his hamstring,” Willing said.
“We need to use this as an opportunity to give another kid a go, and obviously you’re not going to replace Allen Christensen in terms of talent, but now we’ve got some talented young guys that will get an opportunity and they need to step up and play their role really well.
“It’s obviously not ideal, it’s a pretty decent hamstring, he’ll be six to eight weeks we imagine, so we won’t have him for a little bit of time.
“I guess a positive, if we could take a positive out of it, [is] he really gets to step up into his coaching role now, and he’ll do a lot of work through training, and to have him next to me on game day is going to be really beneficial for me.”
Lauderdale’s opponent this Saturday, Glenorchy, is confident co-captain Brayden Webb will make his long-awaited return this week after he was a late withdrawal last week.
“Last week I was hopeful [Webb would play], this week I’m confident,” Magpies coach Paul Kennedy said. However, Webb has only been named as an emergency.
Daniel Joseph and James Deegan are also in the mix to return for Glenorchy.
Keegan Wylie will miss Clarence’s clash with North Launceston through injury, while Colin Garland is also highly unlikely to play, Roos coach Jeromey Webberley said.
North Launceston will be without Tom Donnelly, who has been selected in North Melbourne’s VFL round one side.
The undefeated Tigers and reigning premiers Launceston have both named unchanged line-ups for their clash at Windsor Park.
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