North Launceston lost key soldiers but won the war for second spot with a 34-point victory over Clarence in the wet.
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The Bombers started with no points and four rotations and finished with four points and no rotations as Alex Lee (ankle), Declen Chugg and Mark Walsh (both concussions) all sat out large chunks of the game.
Coach Brad Cox-Goodyer twinged his hamstring in the second term but played out much of the game, however, it is unclear if any of the four will be available for next weekend's clash with Lauderdale.
"We took a big hit today unfortunately," Cox-Goodyer said of the 11.13 (79) to 6.9 (45) victory.
"Alex went out in the first quarter - he rolled his ankle so we'll have to get a scan for him.
"Declen Chugg - he's braver than what's good for him at times, he got knocked out and Mark Walsh is the same.
"So a couple of bad injuries which wasn't great, but to the boys' credit they fought it out like absolute soldiers, it was a real character-building win."
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North's casualties came after injuries led to late withdrawals from defensive pair Billy Edmunds and Matthew Cossins, allowing Darcy Layh and Alistair Bourne to make their first and second senior appearances respectively.
Lee's day was officially called off early in the second term, but by that stage second-gamer Andy Potter (three goals) had already hit the scoreboard twice to give North a 30-point lead.
The four-time flag ruckman's injury forced Mr Fix-it Tom Donnelly to be moved into the middle, and while the Bombers lost the hit-outs, they dominated the clearances.
"Tommy Donnelly was super today - it was one of the best games I've ever seen him play," Cox-Goodyer said.
"He's battling against [Ole] Angerstein who's 209cm and they've got other established ruckmen ... Tom's ability to compete and beat them around the ground was superb."
Considered among the premiership contenders this season, Clarence hit back with the opening three goals of the last term to reduce the margin to 27 points.
It took Tom Bennett's first to close the door on Clarence's hopes of ending a seven-year losing streak at UTAS Stadium, with Potter's third icing the game.
One game clear of the Roos at 7-2, the Bombers must make their second trip to Lauderdale before falling into the welcoming arms of a bye week.
"We're going to scrape into the bye - we've just got to go down there, try and get the result and hopefully freshen up after the bye," Cox-Goodyer said.
"We've beaten every team in the comp now so hopefully that gives the guys the belief that we can actually do this.
"I don't think we've had our best side on the park all year [yet] through injury and whatnot - we've played nine games which is our halfway point and we've debuted 15 guys.
"To be able to do that and be sitting where we are puts us in really good stead moving forward."
Captain Jay Foon enjoyed another great game for the hosts, Fletcher Bennett impressed on return while a teen defender continued his meteoric rise.
"Michael Stingel is just getting better and better each week - he's becoming a star of the competition to be honest," Cox-Goodyer said.
"He's only 18 and each week clubs are trying to put a bit of time into him because he's just so dominant off half-back at the moment.
"He's only played nine senior games and this is what I said at the start of the year - you give these guys time to play a bit of senior footy and you'll see the best of them.
"We're starting to see it with Michael and Ryan Whitney as well."
FINAL SCOREBOARD
North Launceston 4.2, 7.6, 9.10, 11.13 (79)
Clarence 0.2, 2.3, 2.4, 6.9 (45)
- GOALS, North Launceston: A. Potter 3, T. Donnelly 1, N. Pearce 1, T. Bennett 1, B. Leary 1, H. Griffiths 1, B. Cox-Goodyer 1, D. Chugg 1, J. Foon 1
- Clarence: J. Green 2, O. Angerstein 1, B. Norton 1, K. Howlett 1, Z. Buechner 1
- BEST, North Launceston: J. Foon, M. Stingel, T. Donnelly, F. Bennett, J. Avent, T. Bennett
- Clarence: J. Harper, Z. Buechner, K. Wylie, J. Webberley, O. Paprotny, J. Green