In a highly entertaining game at the Devonport Oval, the two teams traded goals in the second half with the Magpies holding the upper hand at the final siren to win by two points.

It was just the finish Devonport coach Mitch Thorp was hoping for with his team now booking a place against Lauderdale in the elimination final.

"We don't know at this stage whether the game will be at Bellerive or North Hobart but we're anticipating it will be played next Sunday," he said.

Thorp, who watched from the sidelines, said he was proud of his players for firstly the way they played in the first half to set the game up for possible victory and then secondly for the way they fought back when North Launceston wrested the lead midway through the final quarter.

"We showed a bit of grunt when it was required and it was a terrific effort to fight off a good team like North," he said.

North Launceston was looking to arrest a two-year losing run at the Devonport Oval and after trailing by 20 points at half-time the Bombers worked their way back into the game through their dynamic "in and under" players Taylor Whitford and Ethan Petterwood but Thorp had a couple of aces up his sleeve himself in key forwards Nick Pearce and Aaron McNab. Pearce proved a "dead eye dick", kicking five goals from about as many opportunities and McNab proved his versatility kicking three goals as well as spending valuable time on the backline.

"We were able to roll Aaron around a little bit and he did the job for us," Thorp said.

Thorp took time out to praise his wingman Luc Keep and small man Kade Pitchford who was busy around the ground while other contributors included Billy Sharman, Ward Rataj and Brodie Deverell.

Although beaten, North Launceston can take some heart from the afternoon's effort - it could easily have won the game with some better conversion in front of goal.

To come from 20 points down at half-time with a six-goal burst in the third quarter shows what the team is capable of. With brothers Andrew and Bradley Cox-Goodyear, Allan O'Sign, Zac Burt and Jack Pearce getting their hands on the ball, they will pose some headaches for Burnie when they meet in next weekend's qualifying final.