Launceston's menacing attack in yet another derby battle upped the urgency to wave the white flags more.
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North Launceston looked full of resolve at Windsor Park but conceded 10.20 (80) to nil that on Sunday barely resembled a crosstown clash.
But the reality was the TSLW contest between the two clubs that traditionally are fierce rivals was anything but a meek surrender.
For a side still fighting on wounded, Bombers coach Dean Smith was feeling proud of his scarred troops.
"The intensity is what we asked for today because last week against Kingborough, in an away game, we lost a bit of that intensity when they got in front," Smith said.
"Whereas today we were behind right from the eight-ball, but they never game up.
"The pressure was there all the time and that is all we can ask for considering."
Considering is the injuries the tiresome Bombers have been carrying for nearly a month in their debut season.
Smith was pretty upbeat that the personnel will lift for their do-or-die semi-final against Clarence next week.
"The big thing is maintaining the positivity," he said.
"I asked them how they're feeling and they were still up and about. You listen to them coming off the ground and they are still fairly happy.
"They know we're eight players out and we had pull a girl from Ulverstone to play.
"They know that they gave everything that they could possibly give. To go into next week, we take all that."
Launceston had 30 shots on goal in the 80-point win.
So not for the first time, inaccuracy is troubling them.
The unbeaten Blues, all this month, have kicked 52 goals but 77 behinds.
ELSEWHERE IN SPORT
Smith said, for the Bombers, it could have been far worse had their defence not held out as well as they did.
"Some of it was on Launnie, but some of it was pressure from our girls," he said.
"Our defenders were great - they were fantastic."
The Blues skill, then fitness stood out over the ground.
They pierced a way through the Bombers zone defence with clean execution.
It forced Smith into one-on-one matchups to no avail.
That would not come so much as a surprise after 93 and 48-point beltings earlier in the year to the Blues.
But Launceston assistant coach Ross Clark would hear nothing off it, praising a top performance from North's warriors under adversity.
"It was another indication that the scoreboard probably doesn't show the effort that both sides put in," he said.
"The sheer physicality of the game was always there.
"The scoreboard pressure wasn't there from North.
"We respect our opposition and everything we wanted to do we did. Kicking straighter would've been better."
Brie Rattray booted four goals to win the TSLW goalkicking with 38, three ahead of teammate Daria Bannister who added two goals.
Launceston is now the first TSLW side to go through the home and away season undefeated after 15 victories.
For that reason, Clark said it was unfair to downplay a derby still in its infancy.
"We've just got to respect North in their first year of a competition to finish fourth on the ladder whereas we've been in the competition for a very long while," he said.
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