In a clash that was sometimes heated, tempers flared in the third quarter with several skirmishes and melees which will come under scrutiny from the match review panel. Burnie had the better of the first quarter after North kicked the first two goals of the game but failed to take their opportunities in front of goal kicking 4.8 for the term to lead by 13 points at quarter time.

North closed the gap to four points at the main break and dominated the premiership quarter kicking seven goals to three to take control with Burnie coach Clinton Proctor giving his side a huge spray in the three-quarter time huddle for their indiscipline – the Bombers finishing off with three goals to one in the final term to record a 16.11 (107) to 10.11 (71) victory.

Brad Cox-Goodyer kicked four goals for North with two each to Jay Lockhart, Taylor Whitford, Zach Burt and Tom Bennett who made his return after missing 294 days in rehabilitation from a snapped achilles tendon.

Whitford was outstanding with youngster Arion Richter-Salter good in his duel with Rudy Barrett, Corey Nankervis likewise in his battle to shut down Nick McKenna with Mark Walsh and Lockhart other good performers.

“I thought after quarter time our effort and willingness to compete in the contests was really pleasing and when we can compete inside it allows us to play the style of football we want with the ball in hand,” North coach Zane Littlejohn said. “But early in the game Burnie rattled us and got on top of us and we tried to play bruise-free footy but to our players credit they really fought hard and got it back on our terms after quarter time.”

Harry Walters kicked four for Burnie to be their best player with Clint Riley, Jobi Harper and Kallum Kubicki playing well. Proctor kept his players behind closed doors for some time after the game. “It was a fast, physical game and a good contest and the third quarter was disappointing because North are good at antagonising teams and getting under their skin and gained some momentum from their physical element of the game,” he said. “I thought we had a strategy in place to deal with that but I was disappointed the players didn’t sustain what they did in the first half.”