After a ripping grand final contest last year, North Launceston have again been hit by plenty of personnel changes.
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In the first of a series of TSL previews, coach Brad Cox-Goodyer speaks on his team's prospects for 2022.
LAST SEASON: Runners-up - 14 wins and four losses.
COACH: Brad Cox-Goodyer
LEADERS: Alex Lee and Ben Simpson (co-captains), Tom Bennett (vice-captain)
INS: Lachie Cowan (Devonport), Seth Campbell (Burnie), Dom Hay (Ulverstone), Jack Aherne (Devonport), Heath Ollington (Burnie), Will Harper (Old Scotch), Harrison Hobbs (Victoria), Brad and Josh Rickard (Victoria)
OUTS: Jay Foon (Southport), Mark Walsh (Queensland), Zac Burt (George Town), Will and Judah Edmunds, Ryan Whitney (NSW), Oliver Sanders (Carlton VFL), Ryley Sanders (Sandringham NAB League), Tom Donnelly (Norwood SANFL), Braden van Buuren (Devonport), Jack Rushton (Rocherlea).
FIRST GAME: Versus Glenorchy, UTAS Stadium, Saturday, March 25, at 1pm.
THE CHANGES
Losing 11 members of last year's grand final side would usually be a death sentence for many clubs, but North Launceston have taken the opportunity to recruit young talent from the North-West Coast.
All bar one of their North-West recruits are in the Devils program, while Will Harper also cut his teeth there in his junior years.
"Obviously these guys are quite talented, which is exciting for us, and it adds more youth that we've got plenty of.
"It's a really exciting place to be, there's a lot of talent, a lot of youth and enthusiasm, which is a breath of fresh air."
Many of the players leaving are progressing to a higher level, taking on the challenge of mainland State Leagues, which Cox-Goodyer said "is great for our football club".
However, he admitted it could see the end of their top-of-the-table showings, which would end their run of eight consecutive grand finals.
"It just shows that we are a really good breeding ground at the moment for guys to go on to higher levels.
"It's obviously disappointing to lose them but our football club has had a great amount of success over recent times and that life cycle of always winning can't go on forever.
"Eventually, there's going to come an end to that time and that may be now, it may not, but we've got a lot of young guys coming through that are going to be the next wave of players for the next 10 years."
THEIR LEADERSHIP
The last-minute loss of skipper Jay Foon has seen the Bombers go somewhere they haven't for a while.
After losing Foon in January, North Launceston have selected co-captains in Alex Lee and Ben Simpson, a decision that Cox-Goodyer said wasn't made lightly.
"It was something that I tossed and turned with but I think just having these two being able to bounce off each other, Alex has obviously played a lot of TSL football and he continues to grow as a leader, and this year he's gone to another level," he said.
"Ben's always had a high leadership quality to him, it's just about that experience with him as he's only 20 at the moment so he'll be one of the youngest captains in the league but the way he drives our values is second to none and he fully deserves it.
"Obviously, they are anchored quite well by Tom Bennett as their vice-captain who has played a lot of TSL football and is like another coach pretty much, he's always vocal and always willing to teach."
THE OPPOSITION
In the 34-point grand final loss, North Launceston saw just how strong their Northern counterparts, Launceston, could be.
Now that they've added former Geelong and Sydney AFL player Jackson Thurlow to their list, Cox-Goodyer sees them getting stronger.
"When you can add a guy that's spent the last eight years, or however long Jackson Thurlow spent in the AFL, to their list and not lose too many is pretty daunting," he said.
"They are all pretty much senior footballers, they are all pretty much aged in their mid-to-late 20s so they are going to be tough to beat."
He also predicts that most of the Southern sides will be at the pointy end challenging for Launceston's crown.
"Kingborough obviously went and added some experienced guys from around the leagues down there to fit the mould of your mid-20s.
"[That's] something that doesn't happen too often in this league which is quite a young league, so to be able to add guys like that is good and they are obviously adding Kieran Lovell, who is quite handy.
"Lauderdale have obviously recruited quite well as well and so have North Hobart, so I expect most teams to improve which is good and great for the competition.
"We've got some guys who have got a lot of AFL experience coming back to the competition which is very exciting and hopefully we should see some high-quality football."
HOW WILL THEY GO?
Much like the start of last season, development and improvement are the keys for Cox-Goodyer and his boys in 2022.
Coming in with "zero expectations", he's looking to get them ready for State League football.
"I've spent a lot of time with them in the gym over the summer because a lot of them have great talent but they're probably not ready to be senior footballers to go against the Launcestons of the world, who aren't going to have many kids playing," he said.
"Kingborough for example aren't going to have many kids playing, so [our kids] have got the talent, it's just about getting them ready for senior football.
"There will probably be some roadblocks along the way, but we just have to take it as it comes every week and continue to help them develop and learn."