Nearly two years since he made his club debut, Billy Edmunds looks to have found his place at North Launceston.
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A 2019 premiership player, the 23-year-old had played predominantly as a forward in his first 15 senior games before experimenting as a defender late in pre-season.
Four games into his new role, the apprentice builder played his best game yet on Saturday, polling in the TSL player of the year award as North bolted to a 93-point win over Lauderdale.
"The last six years I've played footy I've only ever played forward, but moving into the backline has been a lot better for me," the former Launceston Christian School student said.
"I've found I read the flight of the ball a lot better - I'm known as the guy with the hearing aid so being a forward it's a bit harder to know what's going on behind you ... as a backman I find everything in front of me and I can watch it a lot better.
"I just like being able to stick to my strengths which is jumping and marking - I've still got to work on my punching, that's the one side I'm not used to, but it's been really good."
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The Bombers enter the bye in second spot at 2-2 after competitive losses to Launceston and Clarence and big wins over North Hobart and Lauderdale.
Brad Cox-Goodyer has already blooded 10 debutants, including several who have played all four games, as the club transitions into a new era.
If the Clarence loss characterised the inconsistency that Cox-Goodyer forecasted would occur as North's young players adapt to senior footy, the Lauderdale win gave an exciting glimpse into what the future could hold.
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"It's been a challenging start, but I feel like as a club we're growing," Edmunds said.
"We've got a very young side and to have that youth come through is really important, but I feel like we're slowing just taking the roughs and bumps out of our game of footy.
"[Saturday's win] was a great feeling - I think it was really important for a lot of the younger boys to get that win just as much as it was for us older boys.
"We had to really knuckle down - especially without Brad there over the weekend - and a lot of the younger boys played well which I was really impressed with."
Brandon Leary was one of the young guns to star in victory, snagging four goals in an eye-catching debut.
"He came out of the blocks and put on a show - he played like he's played a few senior games.
"He hasn't got the biggest body compared to a lot of the other senior footy players, but man, he uses his body well in his positioning and marking and he was kicking straight."
Edmunds hopes his younger brother Judah, who is recovering from an ankle injury, could soon add to North's list of 2021 debutants.
"I'm looking forward to playing my first senior game with him one day.
"Him and Fletcher Bennett are the two injured boys that should be stepping up and playing on the field again which would be really good."
PLAYER OF THE YEAR ROUND FOUR
LAUDERDALE v NORTH LAUNCESTON
- 3. Jay Foon (NL)
- 2. Brandon Leary (NL)
- 1. Will Edmunds (NL)
KINGBOROUGH V GLENORCHY
- 3. Elijah Reardon (King)
- 2. Lachlan Clifford (King)
- 1. Marcus Gardner (King)
NORTH HOBART v LAUNCESTON
- 3. Dylan Riley (Laun)
- 2. Jay Blackberry (Laun)
- 1. Michael Musicka (Laun)
LEADERBOARD
- 6: Jake Hinds (Laun)
- 5: Baxter Norton (Clar), Lachlan Clifford (King), Elijah Reardon (King)
- 4: Jay Blackberry (Laun), Jay Foon (NL)