CASTING an eye over the initial 42-man Tasmanian squad to play Western Australia when it was released last week, the first thing to jump out was the fact that North Launceston had only four representatives included.
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Compare that with Glenorchy and Burnie which had nine each and Lauderdale six.
It would seem that the dual reigning TSL premiership club has been snubbed by state selectors.
North have proved themselves over the past two seasons to be the best team in the state.
They were second on the TSL ladder this season when the squad was announced but were deemed worthy of only having four players picked.
North captain Taylor Whitford, Jay Lockhart and defenders Corey Nankervis and Jay Foon are worthy inclusions among the top 42 players in the state – but what about their teammates?
The second noticeable thing were the omissions.
Glenorchy's Jaye Bowden was a noteable absentee but apparently made himself unavailable due to work commitments.
The other glaring omission was North Launceston premiership ruckman and 2014 Alastair Lynch Medallist Daniel Roozendaal.
Many TSL followers consider ‘Rooza’ to be the best ruckman in the competition.
If he was available for selection, how could he not get a gig among the top 42 players in the state?
Rooza has rarely been beaten in TSL footy over the past few seasons and selectors cannot use the fitness card with the big man as an excuse for not picking him.
Having played much of his career on York Park or Aurora Stadium - a ground bigger in size to the MCG - Rooza has proven his ability to ruck and run all day and always gives his all.
He deserves a spot in any state team.
He has been overlooked in the past and for whatever reason appears to have been snubbed again this year.
Two other North players who should have been in the top 42 players on form and ability are Brad Cox-Goodyer and Zach Burt.
Cox-Goodyer is a proven goalkicker and match winner.
He is in form, and with an opposition like WA you would think such an explosive and dangerous goalkicker would have been picked with his foot speed and ability to run and carry the ball.
Burt has proven his consistency as a marking forward that works incredibly hard to keep the ball In the forward line and kicks goals on a regular basis in the TSL for the Northern Bombers.
Both deserved to be in the top 42.
Since the beginning of 2014 North Launceston players have proven to be the fittest in the TSL.
On fitness and form, there is a strong argument for the Bombers having at least seven players in the squad.
State League clubs are having difficulties retaining players and warding off approaches from regional competition clubs who offer more money to poach players.
If players worthy of representing their state are overlooked then what incentive is there for them to continue to play at the top level?
What's to stop a Rooza snubbing his nose at the State League and going back to a Scottsdale, or a Cox-Goodyer to Rocherlea or Burt to George Town?
Coach Zane Littlejohn has said before that there are many people in the Tasmanian football community who do not rate his club and are not prepared to give them the respect they deserve.
The Bombers have thrived on proving those people wrong with an us-against-them mentality.
It would seem that winning two premierships in a row has not changed the opinion of some and North Launceston players are still not rated as highly as they deserve to be.
Then there is the issue of the state team coaching job.
No one doubts Brett Geappen's football pedigree.
The former Tassie Devils captain is one of the best players the state has produced. He coached Clarence to dual TSL premierships in the first two years of the competition.
But Geappen has not been directly involved in coaching in state league football for the past four or five years and has had two turns in charge of the state team in 2014-15 for a win and a loss against the NEAFL.
Football is not static and coaching methods and strategies change constantly.
Northern Bombers coach Zane Littlejohn, Glenorchy's Aaron Cornelius and Burnie's Clinton Proctor are three TSL coaches across current thinking and practices.
Why wasn't one of them given responsibility for the state team this year instead of being named assistants to Geappen?
Littlejohn is the reigning dual TSL premiership coach and widely regarded as one of the best in the state, if not the best.
Having won two premierships in a row he has earned the right to coach a Tasmanian state team and should have been first choice - another snub for the club.
