Ultimately the team “hailing from the city of Hobart – south side” held on for the bell and a deserved 3-2 win but when coach Ken Morton is instructing his champions elect to take the ball into the corners to run down the clock it’s a back-handed compliment to Rangers’ young charges.

They may have been seven points clear with a game in hand coming into the game and dominated for long periods, but South couldn’t finish off a resilient Rangers whose maturity belied their youthfulness.

​Some determined, if occasionally desperate, defending kept the home side in touch throughout and their heads never dropped, as demonstrated by both their goals following hot on the heels of South strikes.

Stocky striker Alex Leszcynski side-footed the visitors ahead on the half-hour only to limp off moments later and it wasn’t long before an equally composed near-post finish from Mitch Jones leveled the scores.

Kobe Kemp’s deflected shot went in off the post five minutes after the restart and when Leszcynski’s lively replacement Ben Hamlett kept his cool with 15 minutes left it looked like it was not to be for Rangers.

But captain Nick Lanau-Atkinson, who had set up their first, scored the goal of the game three minutes later to ensure a nervous wait for the three points for Morton’s men.

With nobody over 23 in his side and Will Humphrey and Jonny Burk the youngest of several teenagers, coach Lino Sciulli was justifiably proud of his fledgling Rangers.

“We’ve had a tough week with five or six guys ill with the flu so are delighted with how we fought the game out to the end,” he said.

“South got away from us a couple of times but we kept going and going. That’s our character and that’s what we want to build here. We showed a lot of heart out there.

“Lot of positives and things to build on with a couple more very hard games coming up against teams in the top three.”

Meanwhile down South, three first-half goals were enough to see Launceston City to a 3-1 win over Kingborough at Lightwood Park

Noah Mies struck in the second minute then set up Andrew Compagne for the second before another incisive counter-attack was finished off by Nathan Bartlett. 

Joel Schuth claimed a 64th-minute consolation from the penalty spot.