Demons left black and blue as Launceston deals out harsh
North Hobart was poised to spring an upset against Launceston, but the game quickly turned into a nightmare for the Demons. Meanwhile, the Tigers are on their way to proving they are the real deal in 2021.
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THE old adage of don’t poke the bear could be changed to don’t poke the Blue as North Hobart found out the hard way.
The young Demons led TSL premier Launceston by 16 points in the second term and were down by just eight points at the main change.
But what happened next was simply astonishing.
The angry Blues booted 19 second half goals to just one to record a 125-point smashing of their hapless victims, 25.18 (168) to 7.1 (43).
After being held to just one goal to half time, Blues spearhead Dylan Riley kicked an incredible six goals in the third term and finished with 10 majors – his first double-figure haul in the TSL.
The Blues slammed on 13.5 to a solitary rushed behind in the third term as the Demons put up the white flag.
Blues coach Mitch Thorp said he did not have to say much at half time as his leaders took control.
“The boys were really pissed off at half time,” Thorp said.
“Player to player they were really motivated to fix some of the stuff that we didn’t get right in the second quarter. I didn’t have to say too much.
“Riley, (Michael) Musicka and (Jay) Blackberry in particular were quite vocal about, ‘OK, they’ve got on top of us, now let’s fix it’, and sure enough they were the ones that drove the second-half onslaught.”
So dominant was Blackberry that he vied with Riley for best afield while Musicka seamlessly slipped into a Blues midfield missing stars Jake Hinds, Jobi Harper and Fletcher Seymour.
For the Demons, it was a disastrous day.
They fought so well up until half time, only to completely fall away in the second half.
Demons coach Clinton French said there was no hiding behind his side’s youth and experience, they had to be better than that.
“Especially when we spoke about that (second-half fade out),” French said.
“We are only playing first or second halves, it is disappointing.
“It is maturity. We don’t shy away from the age group we’ve got, we are not going to get five 25-year-olds walk in our door overnight so we’ve just got to own that as a club and help educate the players to be mature in stages of the game.”
Tigers feast on Pies in Anzac Day masterclass
THE TSL Tigers are on their way to proving they are the real deal in 2021 and they have the Fred House Trophy to prove it.
For the first time the Tigers won the marquee match they created, their traditional Anzac Day clash with Glenorchy, at the Twin Ovals in front of an excited home crowd.
The Tigers won by 24 points – 10.12 (72) to 6.12 (48) – but they controlled much the game as the Pies were only luke-warm when it counted.
Glenorchy restructured at three-quarter time and concocted a successful formula.
Tall Harrison Gunther found a new home after giving the Pies a target inside forward 50, booting three goals in the fourth as well as a few hair-tearing misses.
But the boys in black and yellow were the story of the day, proudly accepting the Anzac trophy.
“Traditionally we have been slow starters to the season but we put a big emphasis on our first month of footy,” said Tigers coach Trent Baumeler.
“To come out of it being ahead of the ledger 3-1 is really pleasing.
“It shows these young guys are growing and becoming a really tight, cohesive group.”
Tigers Marcus Gardner and skipper Lachie Clifford were outstanding but the Anzac Day medal for the most courageous player went to dynamic defender Elijah Reardon.
“It is just so pleasing to see him step up in big games,” Baumeler said.
“He won the medal in the Riewoldt-Gadomski game and now in the next game we play for a trophy he’s also won the medal.
“That’s a real feather in his cap – in big games and big moments he’s performing well.”
Glenorchy was left to rue its missed chances in attack.
“It was a really even game in the first half and our last quarter was really good – we moved the ball well and we presented well,” said coach Paul Kennedy.
“In the third quarter we went missing.
“It’s just a week at a time stuff for us. There are 15 weeks to go and plenty of time to get our game together, get some players back and work on the areas where we want to get better.”
Lauderdale wilts under Bombers’ onslaught
DEFLATED Lauderdale coach Daniel Willing has promised to make sweeping changes to a side that dished up an “unacceptable” TSL performance against North Launceston.
The southern Bombers crashed to a 1-3 record and have plenty of soul searching after being massacred by 94 points by their northern counterparts at SkyBus Oval.
In incredible scenes, the visitors — who were without coach Brad Cox-Goodyer who is in Cairns for a wedding — piled on 13 goals while keeping the hosts goalless in a first-half onslaught.
It left Willing breathing fire at the main break and after North booted the first two majors against the breeze in the third stanza, Lauderdale finally hit the scoreboard at the 12-minute mark when Ed Stanley kicked one of two consecutive goals.
The hosts ending up winning the third term but order was restored in the last as North Launceston ran out 19.13 (127) to 4.9 (33) victors, leaving first-year coach Willing scratching his head post match.
“We are pretty embarrassed with that. We thought the effort in the first half was way below State League standard, which we really don’t understand it to be honest,” he said.
“You look at the quality of the players we’ve got around the footy and to put in a lack of effort like that was really disappointing and it’s a long way off the level we need to play to be able to compete with these top sides.
“It [the halftime message] was pretty forceful, they were let known in no uncertain terms that was unacceptable.
“The pressure is on now, so we have to embrace that and no doubt the players are on notice, there will be change, we can’t accept that as a performance over the whole full quarters.
“We won’t hide away from it, we will be pretty blunt but you’ve got to pick up the pieces and move forward pretty quickly.”
With so much talk around who North Launceston has lost from its golden era — the likes of Taylor Whitford and Josh Ponting have gone and no Cox-Goodyer — it was the current Bombers leaders who stepped to the plate and the next generation followed.
Experienced duo Tom Bennett (four goals) and Zac Burt (three) had six goals between them by the main break, while debutant Brandon Leary kicked a goal in each quarter and Harry Bayles added three.
Back to basics for rebounding northern Bombers
RETURNING to the basics will be key for a North Launceston side on the rebound and on its second State League trip south in two weeks.
The northern Bombers clash with their southern namesakes Lauderdale at SkyBus Oval on Saturday, smarting from a defeat to Clarence last Saturday in a performance coach Brad Cox-Goodyer said was a mixture of his team’s best and worst.
North Launceston dominated the first half and booted the first goal of the third quarter to open up a 23-point lead, only to see the Roos rattle on eight unanswered majors in a breathtaking display.
While disappointed at being on the receiving end of such an onslaught, Cox-Goodyer is remaining upbeat that his side — for three quarters — was on top of a Clarence group he expects big things from in 2021.
“We probably went from playing our best half of footy to our worst quarter, we won three quarters of football and lost one and we lost the game,” Cox-Goodyer said.
“All the statistical things were in our favour, so just a learning curve for the young guys being able to identify momentum in a game and put a stop to things when it’s against us.
“They kicked straight as an arrow. It is pretty deflating as a young group but obviously it is a learning curve to not get comfortable when you get on top.
“It shows how quickly things can swing.
“But it shows we are around the mark, I think Clarence are going to be pretty strong this year. “We lost by 11 points so to be that close to what I consider to be one of the top two teams is a positive.”
Lauderdale and North Launceston have built a fierce rivalry in recent seasons, having squared off in three consecutive grand finals from 2017-19.
While there has been a big change in personnel in both camps, Cox-Goodyer expects his troops to lift for the challenge of tackling Lauderdale on its home turf.
“There is always going to be feeling between the two clubs, especially with recent history, obviously it has simmered down the last couple of years but it is quite healthy at the moment and we look forward to playing each other.
“For us it is just going back to the basics, winning contested footy, especially against Lauderdale they pride themselves on contested footy and have some big strong bodies around the football.
“Hopefully we can match them in that area and get the ball on the outside.”
Grounded Bomber back running as TSL return imminent
PRIZED Lauderdale signing Allen Christensen is back running following the first soft tissue injury of his career but remains unsure when he will make his TSL return.
The former Geelong premiership star tore his hamstring in the round two defeat to Tigers, just a week after kicking three goals in his State League debut against Clarence.
Initial scans have indicated the elusive midfielder-forward could be sidelined for up to two months, with the 29-year-old pushing himself as much as he can to get back on the park.
“It’s coming along, I guess with the severity of it, I’ll push it as much as I can but, you sort of sit in between not doing enough and doing too much,” Christensen said.
“I’ve started running and doing some strength exercises and all that sort of stuff, so we’ll just say how it progresses over the next three or four weeks and see what happens.
“First soft tissue injury I’ve ever done, so it’s been pretty interesting to sort of deal with that but I’m pretty lucky that at the club our physio slash assistant coach has been my physio at the Brisbane Lions for the last six years in Luke Licht.
“I’m very fortunate to have someone who actually knows my body and has been around myself for a long time.”
After holding on against a fast finishing Roos in the season opener, the Bombers have suffered back to back defeats and face a North Launceston outfit on Saturday coming off their own defeat to Clarence.
Despite the disappointing past fortnight Christensen believes the side is ready to bounce back on its home turf.
“We trained really well Tuesday night, I’m sort of getting the feeling that if we train pretty well it leads into our games.
“The boys are disappointed losing two in a row and probably last week especially, probably really let ourselves down in the way we played.
“We are sitting at 1-2 but it’s a long season and a bit of time to rectify that. The boys are buzzing and we’re doing a lot of things right this week that hopefully leads into a really good game at home.”
Anzac Day has new meaning for TSL Demons
THE privilege playing football on Anzac Day is a “massive honour” for North Hobart captain Jack Sandric and now the Demons have made it even more special.
The club has created the Anzac Remembrance Trophy to go to the winner of the North Hobart-Launceston game at North Hobart Oval on Sunday and the Anzac Remembrance Medal for best afield.
North Hobart went within two points of beating last year’s premier at the same ground in 2020.
Sandric says the special occasion would give the Dees even more incentive.
“It’s a massive honour to play on Anzac Day,” Sandric said.
“Launceston are travelling really well, and it’s going to be a great challenge for us.
“Although we are only playing a game, we can take a lot out of the values of mateship and courage the Anzacs have displayed over many years.”
North Hobart supporter Joshua Weir, an Iraq war veteran, is a big supporter of footy on Anzac Day and the new trophy.
“It’s tip top, and hopefully it becomes a really longstanding tradition,” Weir said.
“It’s a good Tassie thing, playing footy. Getting everyone together to watch the footy on Anzac Day and remember the fallen from all our generations, is a good event.
Weir, 42, was a medic with the Australian Second Cavalry Regiment.
“Our role in the First Al Muthanna Task Group was the construction of schools, bridges, as well as providing security for the other Allied Forces,” he said.
North Hobart women’s player Emily Mifsud, who is also a senior men’s trainer, can hardly wait for the women’s SFL season to kick off.
“Our season starts in two weeks. We’ve got a good bunch of girls so we’re excited to be in division one and see how we go this year,” she said.
“My great, great grandfather on my mum’s side fought in WWI in France and Belgium, and my great grandfather was in WWII.
“For me, Anzac Day means a lot.”
Lauderdale and North Launceston kick off the Anzac round with a game at Lauderdale Oval on Saturday (2pm), and on Anzac Day, North Hobart plays Launceston at North Hobart (3pm) and the Tigers meet Glenorchy at the Twin Ovals (2.30).
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