Replacing stars is never easy, but seven-straight grand finals bear proof that North Launceston does it better than most.
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This year the challenge is as tough as ever with two of the club's most important players - Taylor Whitford and Josh Ponting - exiting UTAS Stadium.
Two-time premiership coach Whitford has accepted an assistant role with VFL outfit Casey Demons, while Ponting had already left for Rocherlea before a COVID ruling allowed him to briefly return to the club where he had won two-straight Alastair Lynch Medals.
The remaining member of North's superstar midfield trio - former captain and new coach Brad Cox-Goodyer - has stepped up to the task of extending the Bombers' reign at the top.
The 27-year-old conceded Whitford and Ponting would be hard to replace, but pointed to a thriving batch of 18 to 21-year-olds as proof the club isn't about to run out of fresh talent any time soon.
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"You take those two players out of any side and you're probably going to be worse off aren't you?" Cox-Goodyer said.
"But that's what we've been working on for the last couple of years - you take two of the best players out of the state and what do you replace them with?
"You replace them with your own.
"We haven't gone out and recruited anyone because that's what we want to be - we want to develop our own.
"There's going to be opportunities there for other guys to step up and play a bigger role and hopefully that pays off by watching some young guys develop and be really good State League footballers."
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Hamish Geale
Hamish Geale is a senior reporter at The Examiner. Got good news? Email: hgeale@examiner.com.au
Hamish Geale is a senior reporter at The Examiner. Got good news? Email: hgeale@examiner.com.au
