We didn’t raise the white flag, say Blues

LAUNCESTON coach Sam Lonergan has denied his Blues put up the white flag against Lauderdale in the semi-final smashing that ended their season.

The Blues trailed by 30 points at the last change but conceded seven goals to nil in the last term to lose by 72 points and go out of the finals race in straight sets.

This from what many consider the most talented and deep list in the TSL.

But Lonergan said the final score was irrelevant in the wider picture.

“We were either going to be in the game to win it, or lose the game by 60 points, and I could have thrown a spare man back and saved the scoreboard, saved a bit of outside noise coming for me, no doubt,” Lonergan said.

“But the reality is we needed to throw the kitchen sink at it to overcome a 30point deficit in the last quarter and we chose to go down swinging and sometimes that doesn’t pay off.”

The Blues had recruited strongly during the off-season, including former Devonport playing coach Mitch Thorp — who lived up to his billing with this year’s Hudson Medal — and northern Magpie teammate Dylan Riley, the Blues’ best on Saturday night, and talented teenagers Tom Munday and Blair Rubock (who spent most of the back half in the Mercury Cup) from Burnie.

They seem certain to lose Chayce Jones to this year’s AFL draft but, overall, Lonergan gave 2018 a positive report despite the straight-sets exit that saw Launceston drop from third in 2017 to fourth this year.

“We are likely to have one, maybe two players drafted, the club is in a very stable financial position … so there are a lot of layers to that question but, overall, I think it is certainly a tick,” the former Essendon and Richmond player said. “But just after the game, the players are certainly grieving after the loss, so it’s hard to say it’s a tick.”