Payback time as Jake Hinds runs hot for Launceston after suspension
Launceston’s Jake Hinds has found the best way to apologise to his teammates for his two-week suspension: by racking up another best-on-ground performance.
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A THIRD best-on-ground performance from three outings by Launceston’s Jake Hinds was payback to his teammates for missing two weeks with suspension.
Clarence copped the interest payments on that payback with Hinds racking up 25 possessions and three goals as the Blues dominated on Saturday at Blundstone Arena.
Hinds (9 votes) now sits two votes clear of teammate Jay Blackberry on the TSL player of the year leaderboard, with a clutch of five players in third with five votes.
Hinds was rubbed out for two matches for striking against the Tigers in round 3 but the lay-off did not affect his hot start to the campaign.
“I was disappointed to get the two weeks. I felt like I owed the group and wanted to come back and play the footy that I know I can,” Hinds said.
He said the reigning premiers had the hunger to chase consecutive flags.
“Last year we got a bit of a taste of success. Coming into pre-season there were a few players who missed out on that (and) the pre-season standards and level of expectation has really risen,” he said.
“We’re the team being chased now.”
Launceston’s attention now turns to Lauderdale, which makes the trip north this weekend.
“We know that there’s been a bit of history there between the two clubs over the past four or five years,” Hinds said.
“They put us out of finals a few years in a row.
“They absolutely smashed us last year down in Hobart so we know what they bring.
“We respect that, we respect them, but we need to do what we need to do.”
TSL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Round 6 votes
North Hobart v Glenorchy: 3 Daniel Joseph (G), 2 Nathan Blowfield (G), 1 Darrean Wyatt (G)
Clarence v Launceston: 3 Jake Hinds (Lton), 2 Joe Groenewegen (Lton), 1 Alec Wright (Lton)
North Launceston v Tigers: 3 Brad Cox-Goodyer (NL), 2 Michael Stingel (NL), 1 Tyler Carter (T)
Leaderboard: 9 Jake Hinds (Lton); 7 Jay Blackberry (Lton); 5 Dylan Riley (Lton), Baxter Norton (C), Oliver Davis (C), Lachlan Clifford (T), Elijah Reardon (T); 4 Jay Foon (NL), Brad Cox-Goodyer (NL)
Silver lining for Roos in Blues thumping
THE most brutal of reality checks came with a silver lining for Clarence coach Jeromey Webberley — there is plenty of time to fix the problems.
And the work will start immediately for a Roos side that got a first-hand look at the level required to be at the top of the State League tree.
A 72-point mauling from Launceston on its home turf leaves no doubt of the gap the Blues have put on the remainder of the competition, but with two-thirds of the season still to unfold Webberley is confident it is far from an insurmountable mountain.
“We got smashed to be honest. They beat us in every area, ultimately they were more superior than us,” a frank Webberley said.
“They’re clearly the best team in the comp, they understand their system, they have been playing it for two years, and I think they’re bigger and stronger than every other team as well.
“Look, we’ve got some work to do but you know there is an old saying, ‘it’s never as good as what it seems and never as bad as what it seems’.
“We found out where we’re at and it’s not great news, but the reality is we’ve got time to fix it.
“The reality is that we’ve played the best today, we were found wanting in a number of areas and we’ve got to rectify those over the course of the year.”
Despite the weapons at the Blues’ disposals — and with several stars still to return — Webberley does not believe the gulf in talent is as wide as the final margin suggests.
“Right now, they are all in the right age group, they’re all buying into the one system and they’re all extremely fit, so it’s making them look even better than what they potentially are. “Do I think they’ve got more talent than us? Probably not.
“But I do think they are a lot fitter than us at the moment and they’re playing their system a better way.”
Party Pies do it for ‘DJ’ while Blues cull Roos
GLENORCHY got its season back on track by derailing North Hobart with a powerful 77-point win at North Hobart Oval – but the victory had a high price.
Magpies key defender Tom Cleary missed more than half of the 16.12 (108) to 3.13 (31) win after he jarred his knee on landing in a marking contest mid-way through the second term.
Only 10 minutes after “TC” went down, gun runner Nick Reibelt hit the ground hard, copping a head-knock and jarring his knee.
Coach Paul Kenney was unsure if the pair would be available for Glenorchy’s big test against North Launceston at KGV next Saturday.
“They have both done knees but we don’t know if they have done ligaments or if it’s a knock or twist, and we don’t know the degree of their injuries,” Kennedy said.
“When they have scans that’s when we will know more.”
Kennedy masterminded a dazzling response to a belting one week earlier from reigning premier Launceston at Windsor Park, dishing out a similar hiding to a team bubbling with confidence after it smacked Lauderdale on its home deck.
Glenorchy started like a bullet, kicking the first seven goals of the game, and eight of nine goals kicked in the opening term.
At the first break the Pies led by 45 points, and by half time the margin was out to 58.
North Hobart’s young soldiers were brave in the second half but the damage had been done as the Magpies put themselves back in contention for the top four.
“The big things we talked about during the week was trust within the group,” Kennedy said.
“It’s a pretty new group, and we have been playing like a new team.
“So we could say we’re a new team and it’s going to take time, or we can do the things that unite you really quickly and build trust.
“That was our theme today – we wanted everyone to come off the ground and have all of their teammates say, yep, we trust him.”
Kennedy said it would all be for nothing if they do not repeat the performance against North Launceston.
“If we can’t reproduce that same level of work and trust next week, then what was the point of this week?” he said.
“We haven’t beaten North Launceston since 2018.
“We need to make a statement and do it next week.”
Cleary and Reibelt were among Glenorchy’s best before they were injured.
Key defender Daniel Joseph was outstanding in his 150th game, as was fellow-defender Zac Webster, and Nathan Blowfield played with the courage expected of a player wearing black and white.
Ruckman James Deegan won the hit-outs and was pivotal in general play and VFL import Darren Wyatt showed flashes of brilliance.
Blues cull Roos to send ominous warning
REIGNING State League premier Launceston has laid down the law to the rest of the competition after systematically dismantling the next best outfit.
It took just one half of football in the top-of-the-table clash against Clarence at Blundstone Arena to highlight the work the remaining six clubs have to catch the high-flying Blues.
The visitors kicked the first nine goals of the contest, kept the Roos scoreless in the opening stanza and by halftime had blown the game apart to lead by 62 points.
A brief revival from the hosts saw them match the northern juggernaut in the third term, but by the final siren Launceston had cantered to a 17.8 (110) to 5.8 (38) victory.
Dylan Riley and Michael Musicka bagged four goals each, Jake Hinds kicked three to go with 25 disposals on his return from suspension, while ruckman Joe Groenewegen acted as another midfielder after gathering 30 touches.
The Blues shut down Baxter Norton (11 possessions) and a defensive unit led by the likes of Jack Tuthill and Casey Brown were near impenetrable all day.
The glaring difference between the two sides was Launceston’s superior fitness, an area coach Mitch Thorp declared has been crucial to his troops setting a new benchmark for the TSL.
“I’ve been on record and it’s no secret, our boys have trained from the first week in November, even though we had a shortened break,” he said.
“They are addicted to the process, if that makes sense. They’re a bit unlucky they’ve got a captain like Jobi Harper, who aerobically just loves training.
“So the standards are super high and everyone has got to run a 2k time trial minimum before they’re allowed to play seniors.
“I think that’s what you saw in the first half, you saw a really fit side.
“It’s important that we’re playing at a semi professional standard and a competition-leading standard.”
The scary prospect for the opposing clubs is the Blues still have several key pillars to return to the side.
Harper, Fletcher Seymour and 2020 TSL team of the year defender Jacob Boyd will all return in the second half of the season, while Thorp himself is yet to play a game.
“The expectation is we don’t drop away at all, and we make sure that we keep the competition authentic, that you have to train to be a good side,” Thorp said.
“You have to put your head down and bum up and that’s what we’re trying to do, we’re trying to make this competition a really high standard.”
Glenorchy aims to win for 150th party Pie
GLENORCHY will shoot for only its second win of the TSL season against the Demons at North Hobart Oval on Saturday with the dual purpose of marking defender Daniel Joseph’s 150th game with a victory.
After a thumping by unbeaten Launceston on the road last week, Glenorchy regained a handful of experienced campaigners to take on the inform Dees on their home deck.
Full-back Tom Cleary and rebound ace Zac Webster return to help “DJ” down back.
Onballer Sam Rundle returns after he was unavailable in round five, midfielder Matty Dilger comes in for his first game of the year, and midfielder-cum-goal kicker Matthew Joseph is also likely to play.
“We needed to get some of our experienced players back,” Kennedy said.
“PK” says Launceston is the real deal.
“They’ve got good talent, they’ve got a good system, but their ability to maintain a really high level of intensity across four quarters is really good – it’s the best I’ve seen in the TSL since I started watching in 2015,” Kennedy said.
“It’s a credit to them and the work they’ve done.
“Their physical conditioning is outstanding – it is right up there among VFL clubs.”
North Hobart is bubbling with confidence after beating Lauderdale at Lauderdale Oval.
“The boys were excited to get that result but we moved on straight away,” said North assistant-coach Brad Tilbury.
“It’s a young group so we have got to start creating winning habits.
“We’ve been building that belief with little things.
“Our first half against Launceston was really pleasing and to put in a longer period of effort and intent against Lauderdale was really good.
“We’ll go again this week and try to put in a four-quarter performance and hopefully create even more belief going forward for the rest of the year.”
Blues wary of Roos side ‘building something special’
LAUNCESTON has been nothing short of ruthless in recent weeks, but coach Mitch Thorp continues to play down the dominance of his all-conquering side ahead of the round six top-of-the-table TSL clash.
The Blues boast an average winning margin of 114 points in their past three games and head to Blundstone Arena on Saturday to tackle second-placed Clarence boosted by the return of Jake Hinds, who was arguably the form player of the competition before copping a two-week suspension.
Yet despite the red hot start from the reigning premiers, Thorp is on high alert of a Roos outfit he believes is returning to the “old school Clarence” that dominated the early years of the TSL.
“The challenge this week I think will be our greatest so far this year,” Thorp said.
“‘Jez’ [Clarence coach Jeromey Webberley] has got a pretty jovial exterior but underneath that is a pretty motivated bloke that a few years ago was copping a whack about where Clarence’s list was at.
“You look at their 18s and their development league in particular and they are absolutely hammering teams.
“Their development league have a full forward [Jake] Steele, centre half forward Noah Holmes, they have Wade Wall in the ruck.
“They are really building a Clarence side that is almost like that old school Clarence, dominant club again.
“Our boys are acutely aware Clarence is building something quite special. We will have to start particularly well, we can’t just roll in and pick up where we left off last week.”
While flattered with his opposing number pumping up his side, Webberley was not getting distracted with the task at hand for his troops.
And despite the Blues’ blistering start, Webberley believes there are chinks in the armour the Roos can exploit.
“He probably does rate our list highly, I don’t know you would have to ask him but for me, it is a comment from outside our four walls,” he said.
“There is no doubt this week is a major challenge, clearly the best team in the competition, percentage of 300 or something ridiculous, but I think it is exciting for our group.
“We have to make sure we play our way … if we can do that then hopefully we can exploit some of those weaknesses I think they may have – obviously I don’t want to discuss them here.”
Pie reinforcements on the way in Round 6 clash
A PREMIERSHIP Pie who “stood out” to coach Paul Kennedy when he first arrived to take the reins will make his first appearance of the 2021 TSL season this weekend.
Glenorchy regains some much needed reinforcements for its clash with North Hobart after being the latest side to feel the wrath of Launceston.
Smacked by 148 points, Glenorchy will welcome back Matthew Dilger for his first match of the year, with the rugged midfielder one of several changes.
Tom Clearly (concussion), Zac Webster (hamstring tightness), Sam Rundle (personal) will all suit up against the Demons, while Kennedy said Matthew Joseph (groin) is also a possibility.
“When I took over this job I was watching film from 2017, there were two guys who stood out for me just in terms of the way they played with heart, they were Sam Hall and Matt Dilger,” Kennedy said.
“The way they went about it, you could tell they were guys you would love to have as a teammate.
“Unfortunately I haven’t got the chance to coach Matty much over the three years … he has had trouble with his body.
“We have 20 players on our list who have played a full season of state league footy and we only had nine of them last week.
“It just restores our balance a little bit in terms of experience and enthusiasm with kids, and also gives us a bit more size.”
The Demons lose young gun Jye Menzie — who was best afield in the team’s breakthrough victory last Saturday — to North Melbourne’s VFL program, while big man Nick Jackson (hamstring) and Jonathon Pullen (knee) miss with injury.
Goal sneak Josh Green returns from a hamstring for Clarence’s top of the table clash Launceston, who regain Jake Hinds from suspension alongside Grant Holt.
Tigers will give Luke Graham (dislocated finger) another week, while opponent North Launceston is bolstered by the return of playing coach Brad Cox-Goodyer.
See the selected sides for this TSL round’s match-ups:
NORTH HOBART v. GLENORCHY
Round 6 - 08/05/2021 02:00 North Hobart Oval
North Hobart
B: K. Ryan, B. Young, H. Williams
HB: G. Mcleod, T. McGinniss, H. Williams
C: C. Smith, C. Kilpatrick, D. White
HF: J. Bingham, M. Campbell, T. Liefhebber
F: I. Mathewson, J. McCulloch, A. Norton
R: L. Elphinstone, S. Caswell, J. Sandric
Int: S. Banks-Smith, R. Higgins, T. Millhouse, F. Poke
Emg: K. Cobern, A. Keeling, L. Rowlands, R. Wood
In: S. Banks-Smith, L. Elphinstone, J. Bingham,
Out: J. Pullen, N. Jackson, J. Menzie
Glenorchy
B: N. Blowfield , T. Cleary, C. Meredith
HB: D. Joseph, D. Wyatt, Z. Webster
C: L. Nicholson, J. Geard, N. Reibelt
HF: M. Dilger, J. Meredith, A. Roberts
F: C. Daly, B. Webb, R. Oakley
R: J. Deegan, S. Rundle, B. Kamaric
Int: R. Best, B. Bester, D. Brown, B. Simpson
Emg: M. Joseph, I. Manson, B. Patterson, J. Whitford
In: Z. Webster, S. Rundle, T. Cleary, M. Dilger
Out: C. Thompson, I. Manson, J. Whitford, B. Patterson
CLARENCE v. LAUNCESTON
Round 6 - 08/05/2021 02:00 Blundstone Arena Bellerive
Clarence
B: J. Bailey, Z. Buechner, J. Bealey
HB: J. Holmes, C. Garland, K. Wylie
C: J. Harper, E. Jackson, O. Paprotny
HF: K. Howlett, T. McCallum, C. Whitelaw
F: J. Barwick, O. Preshaw, J. Green
R: O. Angerstein, B. Norton, J. Preshaw
Int: R. Cowie, D. Gardner, S. Green, B. Smith
Emg: L. Borsboom, H. Burgess, L. Swinton , W. Wall
In: O. Angerstein, K. Wylie, C. Whitelaw, J. Green, S. Green, R. Cowie
Out: J. Steele, O. Davis, J. Young, T. Hanslow, L. Borsboom, L. Swinton
Launceston
B: J. Dowling, J. House, J. Tuthill
HB: M. Hodge, A. Wright, J. Woolley
C: C. Brown, J. Hinds, J. Smith
HF: M. Musicka, J. Groenewegen, B. Taylor
F: B. Pitcher, C. Thorp, D. Riley
R: H. Leedham, J. Blackberry, B. Palfreyman
Int: J. Donnellan, G. Holt, T. Miller, Z. Morris
Emg: S. Foley, C. McKercher, B. Pearce, M. Thorp
In: J. Hinds, G. Holt
Out: C. McKercher, B. Pearce
NORTH LAUNCESTON v. TIGERS
Round 6 - 08/05/2021 02:00 UTAS Stadium
North Launceston
B: B. Van Buuren, C. Nankervis, R. Whitney
HB: J. Foon, W. Edmunds, M. Stingel
C: B. Leary, B. Cox-Goodyer, R. Sanders
HF: H. Bayles, T. Bennett, N. Pearce
F: T. Donnelly, Z. Burt, J. Rushton
R: A. Lee, J. Avent, B. Simpson
Int: D. Chugg, M. Cossins, T. Ives, L. Mitchell
Emg: H. Griffiths, A. Jefferies, B. Sulzberger, O. Van dam
In: B. Cox-Goodyer
Out: M. Walsh
Tigers
B: L. Gadomski, M. Reynolds, B. Rees
HB: B. Donnelly, B. McCulloch, E. Reardon
C: Z. Adams, L. Clifford, L. Griggs
HF: S. Duigan, R. Ashlin, T. Wright
F: C. Sawdy, T. Carter, M. Collidge
R: M. Gardner, W. Campbell, E. Cole
Int: A. Bessell, W. Clifford, G. O’Neill, P. Reihana
Emg: S. Dickson, J. Doran, T. Dwyer, S. Rice
In: Nil
Out: Nil
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