THE Tasmanian State League’s (TSL) Round 12 top of the table clash did not disappoint, with Clarence edging ladder leaders North Launceston by just two points to close the gap to just four points between the sides. Meanwhile, the AFL again held talks with representatives from each TSL club as well as ambassadors for Tasmanian football regarding the future of competition in the Apple Isle.

TSL Round 12 Wrap:

Clarence 10.8 (68) defeated North Launceston 9.12 (66)

A surging fourth quarter effort has seen Clarence topple ladder leaders North Launceston by two points in a thriller. Trailing by 19 points at the final break, the Roos kicked four goals while keeping the visitors goalless to snatch an unlikely victory and launch themselves into serious premiership contention. With 12 rounds played, the Bombers remain a game clear of Clarence with a decent percentage buffer, but there’s no doubt that the Roos will now have a mental edge coming into the back half of the season.

One of the keys to victory for the home side was keeping a lid on the potent North Launceston forward trio of Zach Burt, Thomas Bennett and Bradley Cox-Goodyer, and the latter two were well contained to just a goal apiece. Ryan Bailey claimed his second best-on honours in three games for Clarence, joining Ashton Dickenson and Chris Nield as multiple goal kickers for the Roos. For North, Taylor Whitford bagged his third consecutive bag of two goals, while Burt remains second in the goalkicking charts with his two-goal effort. Sherrin Egger was named their best for the second time in three games.

Looking forward, Clarence face Glenorchy in a dangerous top-four clash at KGV, while North Launceston have the bye.

Tigers 9.9.63 defeated by Lauderdale 13.9.87

Lauderdale has kept pace with the top four sides with a comfortable enough win over sixth place Tigers. It was somewhat of an arm-wrestle in the first term as the two sides remained locked at 2.2.14 apiece going into the first break. Lauderdale kicked away in the second term in what proved to be the difference maker, with three goals to nil setting up a handy buffer at the main break. It was fairly even from then, on, with the visitors only outscoring their opponents by seven points in the second half to run out four-goal winners.

Lauderdale’s Alex Hill claimed a bag of five goals to double his season tally, but was beaten to best afield honours by Phillip Bellchambers, who managed the feat for the second game running. The visitors had a good spread of goalkickers, one of which was Timothy Mosquito, who created some buzz to land in the best. For Tigers, Luke Graham continued his consistent form to be considered in their best players, continuing his impact on the scoreboard with another bag of two goals. Meanwhile, Will Campbell was rated Tigers’ best player on the day.

In the coming fixtures, Lauderdale will be looking to press into the top four with a result in their clash with North Hobart, while Tigers take on a Launceston side coming fresh off the bye.

North Hobart 7.7.49 defeated by Glenorchy 18.15.123

Fourth placed Glenorchy again heaped the misery on cellar dwellers North Hobart with an emphatic 74-point win, putting them in good stead for an important clash against Clarence next week. The visitors led all day on the back of a six goal to one first half, before unleashing another twelve majors as North Hobart managed six of their own.

Jaye Bowden was the star of the day with a haul of eight goals, bringing his two-game tally to eleven. Mitch Walker and Harry Parker were the other multiple goalkickers with two each, with the former also landing in the best. Daniel Joseph also snuck into the best players for the third game running to continue his good form. For North Hobart, Callum Kilpatrick was their only multiple goalkicker, while Brad Tilbury was adjudged their best.

Next round, North Hobart face Lauderdale, while Glenorchy will have their hands full with a red-hot Clarence side at home.

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TSL set for a shake up

A change of name was one of many proposals put forward in the AFL’s final meeting dedicated to the future of Tasmanian football. In an article by The Age’s Peter Ryan, the Tasmanian Premier League was the name floated, while there were many strong negotiations led by representatives of the seven remaining TSL clubs, who pushed for funding of up to 100,000 dollars. The possibility of Tasmania entering a squad into the TAC Cup was also spoken of on the back of the Mariners’ recent success, and there may be additional opportunities for mature-aged TSL players to feature in VFL sides as the 23rd man.

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Launceston hosts AFL once again

Round 14 of the AFL sees Hawthorn head back to their second home as they take on the Gold Coast Suns at UTAS. The fixture pits ninth against fifteenth, with the Hawks looking to make it three straight wins, while the Suns will be looking for their first set of four points since round five – with some punishing losses in between. Despite looking like a mismatch on paper, the Suns will be somewhat confident considering their decent display in the first three quarters last round, as well as having done the double over the Hawks in their two clashes in 2017.

The first bounce is set to go down at 1:45 on Saturday, June 23 and will be broadcast on Fox Footy.

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Allies go down in unlucky defeat

The Allies took it right up to one of the National Under 18 Championships title contenders in Vic Metro last weekend, narrowly going down by two points. Despite leading at the final change by a goal, a late Ben King major to Vic Metro saw them snatch the lead in the dying minutes, the only goal of the final quarter. The Allies were held goalless in two quarters, booting 0.12 up one end and 6.2 up the other, but it was the second term which yielded nine scoring shots, all of which were behinds that will have the home side disappointed not to walk away with the win.

The Allies would be disappointed with the loss, but also buoyed by their ability to match it with one of the title contenders for four quarters, and indeed, might have won with greater accuracy in the second term. Key position defender Jacob Koschitzke was sensational on potential number on pick King, holding him goalless up until the final few minutes. Midfielder Fraser Turner was named the home side’s best, racking up a team-high 25 disposals, nine marks, three inside 50s and four rebounds. Bailey Scott and bottom-ager Mitch O’Neill shared 19 disposals each, and combined for 11 marks and eight clearances. Top talent Tarryn Thomas had 18 disposals, five marks, six tackles, five inside 50s and four rebounds in an improved performance from the first week, while other potential top 10 pick Nick Blakey was better for the run with seven disposals, three marks, four inside 50s and a goal roaming up the ground at times.

Keidean Coleman provided run and carry out of defence, racking up 14 disposals, four marks, three tackles and six rebounds for the losers, while Nick Baker had 11 disposals, three marks and two rebounds. Murray Bushrangers’ mid/forward Mathew Walker was named in the best in his first game in the series for the Allies, booting a goal and notching up 10 disposals, six marks and laying six tackles. Potential top 30 pick Chayce Jones was again solid, racking up 17 disposals, three marks, eight tackles and three inside 50s, while key defender Dirk Koenen played his best game for the Allies, with 17 disposals, five marks and four rebounds.

The Allies will lick their wounds and have a week off before the big week in Melbourne for their final two clashes against South Australia and Western Australia. 

VIC METRO     3.4       5.5       6.5       7.10 (52)
ALLIES             3.1       3.10     6.11     6.14 (50)

GOALS:
Vic Metro: Williams 4, Butters, Taylor, King
Allies: T.Green 2, McFadyen, Blakey, Walker, O’Neill

BEST:
Vic Metro: Smith, West, Butters, Answerth, Khamis, Williams
Allies: Turner, Koschitzke, Scott, Coleman, Walker, Baker