McSweyn, who started off scratch, mowed down the majority of the field, but couldn’t catch Clifford (110m), with Clifford having to go sub-four minutes (3:59.60) to finish ahead of McSweyn (4:00.18).

“I used the crowd to get me home, and I saw that Stewey was coming, so I just had to dig down and get straight through,’’ said McSweyn, who has tasted success at the national level.

“I’ve just out-kicked one of Australia’s best and to have him coming down the last 80 metres, this is just absolutely amazing.

“I want to be just like him (McSweyn) running amazing races like this, and this is where it all started for him.

“This is massive. I’ve run at a national level for quite a long time, and having guys like this come over to Tassie is such a help in terms of confidence and where I stand on that stage.”

McSweyn, who was fourth in the 1600m at Latrobe will now turn his attention to the Burnie Mile.

"I love coming back here,’’ the “Mayor of King Island” said.

“I always run well in Tassie, it sets me up for a good season, I've done it for the past couple of years and I've always produced good results so I'm always happy to come back.

"I was hoping for a sub four-minute mile tonight but will have to wait until Burnie on Tuesday.”