Reborn Demons look to positives

THE result didn’t fall North Hobart’s way on the day the club celebrated its rebirth following several years as Hobart City, but new coach Richard Robinson insists there was enough to like from his young list.

After being right in the contest at halftime when trailing by 18 points, the Demons failed to boot a major in the second half en route to a 53-point defeat.

While disappointed with the result, Robinson has urged supporters to be patient with a side that contained a host of debutants following a summer upheaval.

“There are some positive signs, we had 14, 15 teenagers out there with their first taste of senior footy, they have only played under-16 footy previously,” Robinson said. “It is a big jump. “We probably thought at halftime we were right in the game and unfortunately our conditioning just showed in the end, a lot of guys cramped up. The group is disappointed but there are still lots of positives to take away.”

Robinson was left ruing a sluggish start, where the Tigers piled on three goals in six minutes and the first four of the contest, before fighting back. But another pair of lapses in the second half which yielded two bursts of three goals to the visitors proved too difficult to overcome.

“We just need to make sure when they do get a run we can hold the fort a bit more,” Robinson said.

“I thought our backline stood up quite well for some of the forward-line entries they had.”