North Launceston just out in front of last year's premiers Glenorchy heading into the second half was enough to convince the Bombers brains trust the TSLW newcomers are on the right track.
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The Magpies only pulled away on the back of a three goal-to-nil last term to win 7.5 (47) to 3.3 (21) at UTAS Stadium on Saturday.
"For us to come up against a team like Glenorchy of that calibre and hold them off for three quarters is really, super impressive," assistant coach Claudia Matteo said. "We can only get stronger from here."
Glenorchy kicked the last five goals of the match after North Launceston started with two of the first three.
The very best came from Bomber Maggie Cuthbertson's 50m arc smother, gather and shot near the boundary.
Matteo felt North did not take a backward step, but just simply "ran out of gas".
She said there were plenty of lessons to gather from the loss in what is a certain finals campaign ahead.
"Our own goal was to stick with them man-to-man for pretty much the whole game.
"But the experience and knowledge that Glenorchy have playing as a team the last few years really showed."
Andrew Mathieson
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
