IT HAD been a long time coming but North Launceston finally broke a 16-year senior premiership drought in emphatic fashion yesterday with a 59-point victory over cross-town rival Western Storm in the State League grand final at Aurora Stadium.
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The Bombers players, coaching staff and supporters packed the clubrooms after the 18.13 (121) to 10.2 (62) victory, singing the club song with gusto and beginning premiership celebrations with the cup that had eluded them for so long.
Northern Bomber Daniel Roozendaal will lead those celebrations after a dream grand final day which saw him claim three medals.
He won the Alastair Lynch Medal count for the TSL’s best-and-fairest player pre-game, the Darrel Baldock Medal for best-on-ground during the grand final and claimed the all-important premiership medal.
The Bombers made the good start that coach Zane Littlejohn wanted, controlling the game in the first 15 minutes, winning the stoppages and dominating the inside 50 entries.
A four-goal to one first quarter saw North lead by 19 points at quarter-time with Zac Burt showing his value on return from suspension with two goals while livewire forward Zane Brown booted the Storm’s solitary goal.
North kicked five goals to three in the second quarter, Allan O’Sign kicking his second and Mitch Van Den Berg, Chris Tarrant, Brad Cox-Goodyer and Ethan Petterwood all getting on the scoreboard.
The signs were not looking good for the Storm with the Bombers’ pressure outstanding in winning the one-on-one contests and controlling play between the 50-metre arcs as they extended their lead to 34 points at half-time.
In the second half, North’s superior fitness, its run and spread and better ball skills were obvious compared to a tired-looking Storm whose long season and finals campaign finally appeared to be taking its toll.
Storm rallied briefly in the third quarter with Brown, their best player for the day, booting two more of his four goals for the game – but it was never able to bridge the five-goal buffer that North had built.
When Van Den Berg kicked a captain’s steadying goal late in the third term, the Bombers lead by 37 points.
They went on with the job in the final quarter booting six goals to three to blow out the final margin to 59 points and ensured the club returned to the top of State League football with a long, sought-after premiership.
Tarrant finished with four goals in a good performance for the Bombers and pulled down a screamer in the third term that delighted the crowd as one of the match highlights.
O’Sign finished with three as did Van Den Berg and Cox-Goodyer.
North had plenty of contributors with everyone playing their role and no passengers in line with the Littlejohn battle plan.
Andrew Cox-Goodyer continued his outstanding inaugural TSL season with a rock-solid performance across half-back.
Ethan Petterwood and Taylor Whitford worked hard through the midfield and Van Den Berg presented well up forward alongside Tarrant and O’Sign.
Brown was the Western Storm’s best player but they found goals hard to find during the game against a miserly and under-rated Bombers defence that held twin talls Mitch Hills and Bart McCulloch goalless.
Thane Bardenhagen, Matt Hanson, Clinton Drake and Will Hanson were other good contributors.
