It was a happy homecoming for Jackson Thurlow and Robbie Fox, but not so much for Ben Brown and Tarryn Thomas as Blundstone Arena hosted its first AFL fixture of the season on Saturday night.
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Thurlow and Fox, along with their Sydney teammates, continued the Swans' 100 per cent record in Hobart in the thrilling win over the Roos, with the duo putting in a solid showing as Sydney won its second game in a row.
Thurlow, of Launceston, collected 12 touches (10 uncontested and four intercepts), three marks and had two score involvements, with Fox adding a hard edge across half-forward, with his tackling a highlight.
He finished with five tackles, 10 possessions, one mark and one score involvement.
After the personal highs of recent weeks in front of goal, Devonport's Ben Brown was shut down by Dane Rampe, restricted to 1.0, although he did have two goal assists and five score involvements.
Brown had just five touches (a season low) and one mark (his second worst numbers after failing to take a grab against Fremantle in round one).
Brown's quiet night has seen him drop to equal third on the Coleman Medal table with 22.11.
North Launceston's Tarryn Thomas showed flashes of brilliance and had 12 touches, three clearances, 0.2 and three score involvements.
It was Thurlow, Fox and Thomas' first matches on home soil, and in another twist, Brown, Fox and Thurlow were all teammates in the Tassie Mariners in 2011.
All three though have entered the AFL in different fashions, with Thurlow an early pick (16) in the 2012 draft, Brown a national draft selection via the VFL and Fox picked up in the rookie draft via the VFL.
Brown and Fox also would have come across each other on the basketball courts of the North-West Coast during their junior days.
Saturday was just Brown's third loss in 15 outings at Blundstone Arena.
Also on Saturday night, Launceston's Thomas Bellchambers made his presence felt as Essendon collected a much needed win against Fremantle.
Bellchambers finished his night with 13 possessions, two marks, four clearances, one tackle, 0.1, five score involvements and 28 hit-outs (nine to advantage), while Fremantle's main ruckman Rory Lobb won 33 hit-outs (10 to advantage).
In the Dockers' defence, Ulverstone's Alex Pearce spent time on both Aaron Francis and Joe Daniher (with the duo kicking 1.4 between them) and had a strong night, despite a couple of late errors leading to Essendon scoring opportunties.
He finished with 13 possessions (six contested and seven intercepts), six marks (three intercepts), three tackles and four score involvements.
Earlier on Saturday, Lauderdale's Mitch Robinson again played a leading role for Brisbane as the Lions finished on the winning side of the thriller at the Gabba.
Playing through the pain of a rolled ankle in the first quarter, Robinson again had a strong impact in the middle and up front, with 23 possessions (16 uncontested) at 74 per cent disposal efficiency, six marks, four clearances, three tackles, 1.0, one goal assist and seven score involvements.
For the Crows, Launceton's Chayce Jones returned to the Adelaide side for the fifth and best outing of his short AFL career.
Jones collected personal best numbers of 15 possessions (11 contested) at 60 per cent disposal efficiency and four tackles, with one mark, three clearances, 0.1, one goal assist and five score involvements.
Lauderdale's Hugh Greenwood had a quiet afternoon for Adelaide with nine touches, three marks, five tackles and one score involvement.
At roughly the same time at the MCG, Brody Mihocek again proved his worth to Collingwood's forward-line with strong showing as the Pies finished strongly against St Kilda.
Mihocek, who had Josh Battle for company, kicked 4.1 (the fourth four goal haul in his 25 game career), from 14 touches, eight marks, two goal assists and 10 score involvements.
Mihocek now has 15.8 for the season.
Teammate Jeremy Howe, from Dodges Ferry, had 12 touches at 92 per cent disposal efficiency, three marks, one tackle and one score involvement from defence.
Launceston's Jake Kolodjashnij collected nine possessions (four intercepts), took three marks (one intercept) and laid one tackle in defence for Geelong in the win over Western Bulldogs.
In Adelaide on Sunday, Burnie's Lachie Weller spent more time in the midfield as Gold Coast fell to Port Adelaide, and had a strong outing in the wet at Adelaide Oval, with 24 possessions (13 uncontested), four marks, two clearances, one tackle and two score involvements.
The round started on Friday with North Launceston's Jay Lockhart part of the Melbourne team that fell to West Coast.
Lockhart, again playing a role in the forward line, collected 11 possessions, three marks, one clearance, one tackle, one goal assist and four score involvements.
The state will have back-to-back AFL visits with Hawthorn set to host Port Adelaide at Launceston's UTAS Stadium from 1.45pm on Saturday.
The eighth-placed Power have a 5-4 record in Launceston (including two wins over the 11th-placed Hawks) and fell by just three points last season.
The Hawks have won 47 of its 61 games in the city, including 25 of their past 28.
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