A fiery 22-point home win over Lauderdale was "by far" Launceston's best of the season, says coach Mitch Thorp.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 9.8 (62) to 5.10 (40) result, which means the Blues have knocked off every other 2019 finalist in the opening four rounds, was far from easy going as the visitors brought the tenacity that has led them to three straight grand finals.
After establishing a three-goal buffer in a free-flowing first term, the Blues were largely well-held for the remainder of the match.
An altercation involving Lauderdale captain Bryce Walsh and Jake Hinds saw more than a minute of the third quarter elapse without a single possession as the latter was marched to the 50m arc and again to the goal line.
MORE FOOTBALL: Roos cull to affect Tassie footy future
An opportunistic snap from the industrious Alec Wright marked the term's only other major and extended the lead to a game-high 28 points at the final break.
The Southern Bombers pulled the margin back to 16 points on two occasions in the final term, but like a trivia night quizmaster with Google access and strong mobile reception, Launceston had the answer for everything.
"It was the right type of win," Thorp said.
"We talk about the North Launceston win being important but this one, for the type of game it was, it was a little bit less strategy and a little bit more combat.
"We knew exactly what type of game Lauderdale would bring - they antagonised and I thought our maturity to not get sucked in and to lay 81 tackles in a shortened game - 81 tackles is our best this year.
"We respect Lauderdale - we think they're warriors, they have a crack so we know what type of game it's going to be and when they kicked the first two goals of the last quarter they had some momentum and we showed some real maturity."
ELSEWHERE IN SPORT
After dominating in the first three rounds, Launceston captain Jobi Harper was well-held by Walsh but his teammates picked up the slack.
Jay Blackberry played his most midfield minutes since returning from an ACL last season and won plenty of ball, while Jake Smith held up superbly against power forward Toutai Havea.
Ryan Tyrrell and Wright enjoyed their best games of the year but full-forward Dylan Riley was the pick of the bunch with four smart goals and a soaring pack mark.
"Because we've got quite a dangerous forward line, what we've found in the first four weeks is someone's been able to get off the chain and today it was Dylan," Thorp said.
"I thought Alec Wright was as good as Dylan in a completely different role - he typifies where we've been and where we've gotten to maturity-wise.
"He really worked hard today with a lot of unrewarding running, he was in our top five for disposals so he had a great game.
"I just saw some growth today in a game that was a different style of game to last week where we flung the ball around with ease and it was bruise-free.
"This week was pretty combative and when the game was there to be won, we had some young boys that wanted to go to battle."
Experienced pair Walsh and Haydn Smith were relentless around the contest for the visitors, while Adrian Kalcovski slotted two nice running goals.
Josh McGuinness (20 touches) and Phil Bellchambers were both composed across half-back.
Launceston forward Michael Musicka, who spent half of the game in a tracksuit after receiving a corkie early on, was the only injury concern for either side.
SCOREBOARD
Launceston 4.1, 5.3, 7.7, 9.8 (62)
Lauderdale 1.1, 2.7, 2.9, 5.10 (40)
- GOALS, Launceston: D. Riley 4, J. Harper 1, A. Wright 1, J. Hinds 1, J. Donnellan 1, J. Dakin 1
- Lauderdale: A. Kalcovski 2, R. Sutton 1, N. Franklin 1, T. Havea 1
- BEST, Launceston :J. Blackberry, J. Smith, D. Riley, B. Palfreyman, A. Wright, J. Donnellan
- Lauderdale :B. Walsh, H. Smith, P. Bellchambers, L. Nelson, J. McGuinness, W. Poland