Lauderdale always knew what North Launceston was going to bring to a big final.
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And vice versa for the two-time reigning premiers.
So after being on the end of 70-point average losses over their last three meetings that included the 2017 and 2018 TSL grand finals, the Southern Bombers proved to be their own worst enemy in a 13.17 (85) to 8.10 (58) defeat.
All an exasperated coach Darren Winter could do from the sidelines was to sit idly by and watch Taylor Whitford's juggernaut roll on Sunday.
"We probably let them off the chain a little bit and we didn't batten down the hatches in the first," Winter said.
"There was only a couple of lapses that got them on top in the first quarter - like free kicks we're trying not to give away.
"That was probably the biggest thing. We did a lot of things right, but a lack of concentration hurt us."
Lauderdale for much of the first half could not force North Launceston to defend.
Kicks into the forward line struggled to penetrate deep enough, setting up the rivals to rebound into attack.
That suited onballers Josh Ponting, Brad Cox-Goodyer, Jay Foon, Rhyan Mansell and Whitford to keep running the lines and forward of the ball.
"The fact is the game continued to flow late - even they kicked a couple of goals late," Whitford said.
"When you are playing Lauderdale, you know what they will bring on the inside of the contest.
"They're got some really good inside mids like Bellchambers, Walsh, Franklin.
"We knew they weren't going to stop and credit to us, I don't think we stopped either."
Only when Alex Lee went down did Lauderdale put North on the back foot. But Bart McCulloch and 17-year-old Jackson Callow reshaped the balance in the ruck.
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Goals were first exchanged when ex-South Launceston star Jordan Tepper goaled for North before Nick Raglione hit back for Lauderdale.
McCulloch got on the end of a rushed kick from Dakota Bannister for a narrow lead.
But the elite pace from the Northern Bombers proved telling, coming in waves that had overawed Lauderdale.
They started to get returns on their 14 forward entries to two when Billy Edmunds goaled from a strong mark.
It was the first of three in a row. The second had Whitford setting the ball into the forward line before following up a handball get and swinging the shot inside the posts.
Dakota Bannister had toe-poked the next goal early in the second after Lee did all the hard work, grabbing a boundary throw-in and lodging it over the forward pack.
Lauderdale's clear overuse of the ball in its back half continued to be its downfall, but the Windsor Park hosts did waste goal opportunities from 15 of the first 18 scores.
That was enough impetus to spark a revival after Alex Saunders and Jacob Gilbee goals brought the worrying deficit back to 17 points closing on the half-time break.
It lasted less than a minute when Cox-Goodyer got on the end of a sharp handball in the pocket to slice it through for North's sixth goal.
The sides started the third quarter exchanging goals.
Rhyan Mansell's was the pick of the next four, keeping his feet close to the boundary before turning back and goaling with a checkside shot.
Raglione, then Callow and Franklin all ensured the margin fluctuated either side of five goals in a state of flux.
Just when Lauderdale had looked content heading into the last term with the wind at their backs, Cox-Goodyer stretched the three-quarter time lead out to six goals after evading defenders off a turnover and his left foot struck a trademark long goal.
Alex Saunders snapped to Lauderdale to life with a set shot near to the boundary inside the first 50 seconds. But that was as good as it got.
Foon swooped onto a spilled mark and ran into an open goal square in the first of his two last-term goals.
Cox-Goodyer had all but sealed the win from another long-booming set shot for his third. But it was the TSL player-of-the-year recipient's last that showed the finish between the teams, dobbing a goal from a tight pocket.
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