FOOTY STAR STATS

EVERY KICK EVERY PLAYER EVERY GAME

LAUNCESTON has responded from relinquishing top spot on the TSL ladder in emphatic fashion by dismantling the Tigers for the second time in 2020.

Four days after going down to North Launceston, the Blues jumped back ahead of their cross town rivals on percentage — albeit having played an extra match — following a 17.12 (114) to 2.6 (18) hammering of the Tigers.

An eight-goal bag to Dylan Riley and three each from playing coach Mitch Thorp and best afield Jay Blackberry sunk the visitors, who for the second time this season needed a goal late in the last quarter to avoid their lowest ever State League score.

“A really professional performance is how I would describe it,” Thorp said.

“Albeit losing on Wednesday I thought the effort was there, just a couple of things we needed to tidy up. Between then and today their professionalism has been as good as I’ve seen it at this level.”

In round three the Blues dished out an 82-point hiding after keeping the toothless Tigers goalless through three quarters and in windy conditions at Windsor Park they produced a similar effort.

With the aid of a four to five-goal breeze, the hosts piled on 5.4 to nothing in the first quarter to set the tone, then held their opponents goalless while adding another themselves in the second to cement the advantage.

The floodgates opened in the third stanza as Riley ran amok with five majors as Launceston put down the hammer with eight unanswered goals before Tyler Carter finally got his side on the board deep into time-on.

Riley booted his eighth goal early in the last term to equal the best individual haul in the past few seasons, before attention turned to the Tigers and their attempt to surpass their lowest score of 2.2 — also against Launceston — in 2014.

Carter’s second goal with only three minutes left avoided a slice of unwanted history, before Thorp rubberstamped the performance with an immediate reply.

The loss leaves the Tigers’ finals hopes hanging by a thread with the side now two games behind fourth spot.