Big Roo pleads Tassie case

ONE of the State League’s leading bigmen Ryan Bailey says the AFL must not scrap the TSL.

The Clarence ruckman, back at Rooland this season from a stint at Brighton in the SFL, said Tasmania needed an elite competition to showcase its best players.

Best afield in Clarence’s 14-point win over previously undefeated Glenorchy at KGV on Saturday, 26-year-old Bailey’s recent experience as a playing-coach at Brighton gave him a keen perspective.

“The State League has the best players in Tasmania playing in it, so it needs to stay,” Bailey said.

“I played at the lower level last year and it’s a good competition.

“But once you go back, you’ll have guys like Jeromey Webberley (Clarence coach) and Jaye Bowden (Glenorchy’s three-time Alastair Lynch Medallist) running around, so it’s going to be too lopsided.

“It would be better if it stayed and I think that’s the best thing for Tasmanian football.”

Bailey was instrumental in Clarence’s upset win, rucking solo for almost the entire game after his back-up Wade Wall rolled his ankle in the first 10 minutes.

Wall was scheduled to leave the Roos in three weeks for a trip to Europe.

“Wade went down early, so the coaches told me battle it out as much as you can,” Bailey said.

“I played more that kickbehind-the-play role and it worked well.

“We got on top in the third quarter and that went a long way towards winning the game.

“It’s definitely the best game I’ve played this year. It was good to get back into a bit of form and get back on the winners’ list after loses the previous two weeks.”

It was the brand of football Clarence’s rivals can expect over the next 16 weeks.

“We showed that if we stick to our structures and play the way we want to play, get it on our terms, we are going to match it with North Launceston and Launceston and all the other sides in the competition,” Bailey said.

The Roos face the Tigers at the Twin Ovals on Saturday, while Launceston meets Glenorchy at Windsor Park, and North Launceston takes on Lauderdale in the grand final rematch at UTas Stadium.

Clarence player Tim Castle and Glenorchy’s Josh Grant were reprimanded for instigating a halftime melee at KGV, while Hamish Leedham (Launceston) accepted a onematch ban for “making contact with the head” of Tiger Heath Thompson. And Thompson has until 9am today to accept a ban for the same charge against Leedham or go to the tribunal.