‘Pretty special’ performances from young stars lifts Clarence to big bounce-back victory in Eastern Shore derby
Jeromey Webberley has overseen some rollercoaster displays this State League season but liked what he saw from the future of the club as they spoiled Lauderdale’s Robbie McManus’s 200th game celebrations.
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CLARENCE’S next gen has shown it is as exciting as there is in the TSL when switched on after the club’s future stars put Lauderdale to the torch at Richmond Oval.
Some rollercoaster form leaves coach Jeromey Webberley a frustrated figure at times but he was all smiles on Saturday after his side ran rings around the Bombers en route to an 11.14 (80) to 9.6 (60) victory.
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North Hobart v North Launceston
The Roos have now dismantled the Bombers and Glenorchy on their 2020 home turf and beaten Launceston on the road, but also crashed to the Tigers and against the Pies last week.
However led by the next crop of talented youngsters in Darcy Gardner, Sam Banks, Oli Davis, and brothers James and Noah Holmes, the home side bounced back to blitz a Lauderdale outfit celebrating Robbie McManus’s 200th match.
Older heads Ryan Bailey and Josh Green played their parts, with Bailey dominating Haydn Smith in the ruck and Green booting three goals in a perfect small-forward role performance.
But it was the younger brigade with speed and skill to burn which sliced through the Bombers.
“We have done it a couple of times now, we are a bit up and down but we know our best is good,” Webberley said.
“It is up to us to bring the best every week. We are going to get that with young guys, we understand that, but we don’t want to accept performances like last week.
“Some of our young players, Banks, Darcy Gardner, Oli Davis … I thought their games were pretty special for young kids.
“But it is about repeating the dose every week.
“We talked about North Launceston a bit last week and this week, how for so long they have been able to repeat the dose. That’s the challenge for us moving forward.”
The Roos dominated the opening quarter — aided by a strong breeze — but failed to capitalise with just three goals from nine scoring shots, however they matched Lauderdale’s return in the second term to maintain an 18-point buffer at the long break.
They then flicked the switch again early in the third stanza, booting the first three majors to skip to a decisive 37-point break.
Adrian Kalcovski kicked a goal in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter to cut the gap to 28 points to give the visitors a sniff, but Green drove the final nail in when he crumbed a contest and snapped his second from the top of the square.
The former Brisbane and Essendon goal sneak capped his best performance for the season with a third major deep into time on.
“He has been close without getting there, last week he missed two or three shots he would normally nail,” Webberley said of Green.
“Today he got to the right spots, he worked hard and capitalised.
“He is only going to get better and that performance today might give him confidence to kickstart his season.”
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