NORTH L’TON 15.7 (97)
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LAUNCESTON 8.5 (53)
A SEVEN-goal to one final quarter allowed North Launceston to shrug off a determined Launceston side that pushed the reigning premier for first three quarters of a good contest at Aurora Stadium on Friday night.
Scores were tied at quarter-time after both teams kicked three goals apiece in the opening quarter.
Launceston managed four goals to North’s three in the second, matching the Northern Bombers’ intensity and pressure and taking the game on, with Will Edmunds playing well up forward and kicking three goals for the first half to help them to a six-point lead at half-time.
North kicked the only two goals of the third term through Brad Cox-Goodyer and Zach Burt, while Launceston managed one behind, with the Bombers up by eight at three-quarter time and the game up for grabs.
North’s fitness and dominance of the centre clearances saw them play their best football of the match in the final quarter, banging on seven goals, with Cox-Goodyer booting another two, Ethan Petterwood kicking two and Burt, Jake Sushames and Allan O’Sign all getting on the scoreboard as the Bombers ran out comfortable winners in the end, 15.7 (97) to 8.5 (53).
Cox-Goodyer and Burt both finished with three goals each for North to be two of their better players, with two to Petterwood – who was also good – Roozendaal and O’Sign.
‘‘It proves to the boys that’s why we rotate, because we were pretty fresh in the last quarter and we had a few legs to go and started to play the brand and style of footy we want to be known for, so it was good,’’ North coach Zane Littlejohn said.
‘‘They put a lot numbers back behind the footy, so we had to be smarter about how we went forward.
‘‘... we made a few adjustments at half-time and spoke to the group about how we wanted to move the footy and it just took a bit of time for them to find that adjustment but eventually they did and we were able to get through them in the end and get some goals.’’
Edmunds finished with three goals to be Launceston’s best goalkicker, with Jake Hinds showing his talent with two – the young pair both playing well for the Blues, along with Michael Musicka, Brennan Savage, Scott Stephens and Tom Claridge.
‘‘We implemented some different things tonight and they really worked and frustrated the opposition and gave ourselves some scoring opportunities, but unfortunately in the second half they started to dominate the outside of the stoppages and their spread got on top of us,’’ Stephens said.
‘‘We kept ourselves in the game till three-quarter-time, which was pleasing even though they had a lot of the footy, and in the last quarter when they got a couple up I did call it to release the shackles and start attacking a bit more and that’s probably why the scoreboard blew out.
‘‘We can take some positives out of tonight that we took some steps forward, but in order to be a top side, they showed what you need to do and the level you need to be at and sometimes it takes until the last 10 minutes to grind out a win and, to their credit, they continued to challenge us and got away with it.’’