HUGE WRAP FOR ROOS

TSL PACESETTERS

CLARENCE is the team to beat for the TSL flag, says Devonport coach Mitch Thorp, himself a premiership coach in the State League.

After his young Magpies were handed an 89-point thumping by the Roos at Blundstone Arena on Saturday, Thorp believes Clarence has taken over premiership favouritism from North Launceston.

With the win, the Roos unseated North at the top of the ladder with eight rounds remaining until the finals.

Devonport copped a 96point hiding from North Launceston in Round 5, but Thorp, who captain-coached South Launceston to the flag in 2013, was more impressed by Clarence.

“After the first quarter and a half we got taught a lesson in structure and ball movement and cleanness under pressure,” Thorp said.

“Their older blokes were particularly good — Jackson O’Brien, Brady Jones and Sam Siggins all got on top.

“We’ve been up for the past month but we got sat on our arse by Clarence.

“I believe they’re the best team in the competition.”

The Roos’ all-round game gave them the edge over the Northern Bombers.

“Clarence has got a lot of depth and they play a style that is hard to score against,” Thorp said. “They’re impressive, coached well, and they’ve got depth. We enjoyed the contest but we didn’t have the polish or the quality they did.” AFL Tasmania will decide today whether to fine Tigers for playing former AFL player Daniel Archer in their loss to Glenorchy at Twin Ovals, despite the forward not being selected in their squad last week. The club signed Archer from Eastern Football League club Rowville in Melbourne on Friday and flew the former St Kilda and Clarence player in the morning of the game. GLENORCHY’S attempt to have former Brisbane Lions premiership star Simon Black play for the Magpies later in the season fell over because the paperwork was not lodged in time to secure the clearance.