Leary shows class as Bombers hand Roos reality check

Silky young Bomber Brandon Leary had a day out as North Launceston issued Clarence a TSL reality check at UTAS Stadium on Saturday.

North Launceston's Brandon Leary snaps a goal against Clarence on Saturday. Picture: Jon Tuxworth

HE kicked six classy goals in North Launceston’s statement thrashing of Clarence, but Brandon Leary’s improvements defensively should help AFL teams take notice.

That’s the opinion of Bombers coach Brad Cox-Goodyer after the 19-year-old was simply superb in Saturday’s 14.15 (99) to 4.13 (37) beatdown of the highly-fancied Roos at UTAS Stadium.

Leary was invited to train with Hawthorn over summer, and he showed why with a standout display.

After Clarence kicked the first two goals of the second half to reduce the Bombers’ 42-point halftime lead to 30, Leary kicked two set shot long range goals to effectively snuff out any hope of a comeback, and secure the Bombers’ first win of the year.

His ability to burn opponents in a number of ways, whether it’s crumbing at the contest or leading and being able to finish, makes him one of the hardest match-ups in the league.

Leary now has 11 goals in three games this season and Cox-Goodyer has no doubt he is capable of being drafted after just missing out last year.

“Let’s hope so,” Cox-Goodyer said.

“What got him into the game today was his defensive effort. He did it for four quarters, which is something he’s probably not known for, but when he does that his offense comes to him.

“He’s a special talent and he’s buying into the system. He’s got his confidence up so I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do.”

Leary is still working on putting more kilos onto his lightweight frame, which would enhance his chances of getting noticed by AFL scouts.

North Launceston's Will Manshanden assesses his options. Picture: Jon Tuxworth

“There’s not much of him but he kicks it a long way, he kicks it so pure,” Cox-Goodyer said.

“When he was having a shot from outside 50 the Clarence boys were saying ‘you’re kidding yourself.’, but he put it through goal post height.”

Cox-Goodyer was always confident they could surprise the previously unbeaten Roos.

“We know when we play our best footy that’s what we can do,” he said.

“Probably everyone outside our four walls thought we were going to lose and that’s fine, but we know our footy is good enough.

“We worked on a lot of things the last two weeks and the bye probably helped us. It gave us a chance to finetune things and we rectified that today.”

Clarence’s Bayley Aziz suffered a nasty compound fracture near his elbow after copping a legal knock in the second quarter, and was set to have surgery on Saturday night.

After losses to Launceston, where the Bombers gave up a six goal lead, and Kingborough to start the season, Cox-Goodyer had focused strongly on being able to arrest momentum and control the tempo of games when required.

The Bombers did just that, nailing their first eight shots of the day to take a 42-point halftime lead against a wasteful Clarence, who managed just 2.8 by the main break.

North Launceston’s forward pressure, another flaw in their previous games, was also vastly improved as Clarence failed to generate much attack from down back.

Jack Aherne was strong when assigned to key Roo Keegan Wylie and negated his rebounding, while Nathan Pearce’s speed gave the Bombers a different look through the midfield.

Skipper Alex Lee dominated in the ruck while youngster Dominic Pitt was a standout in just his third senior game.

NORTH LAUNCESTON 6.0 10.2 13.6 14.15 (99) def CLARENCE 2.3 2.8 4.11 4.13 (37)

GOALS

North Launceston: Brandon Leary 6, Harvey Griffiths 3, Brad Cox-Goodyer 2, Connor Young, Jack Aherne, Oscar Mansell

Clarence: Bryce Alomes 2, Ollie Preshaw, Keegan Wylie