Bombers book Couch to fly in big one

NORTH Launceston coach Taylor Whitford has declared Tom Couch will be in the selection mix for the TSL Grand Final in two weeks despite his late withdrawal from last Saturday’s win over Glenorchy.

Couch, who has not played TSL football since June due to work commitments with Tennis Australia, will fly in to Tasmania this week to complete a training block in a bid to return to the side he coached to last year’s TSL premiership.

“He pulled up sore from a run in Melbourne on Friday, so we gave him the week off, but he will definitely be in se- lection for the grand final,” Whitford said.

“Tom will train this week with the group and he will be down in Tassie training from this point on.

“He’s a quality player and whenever you can bring someone in like that they are going to make a difference.”

Whitford described the first quarter of their 57-point win over Glenorchy as “unbelievable” but says there are still areas of the game his side can work on.

“It was great to see [that first quarter] but our secondhalf was a bit stale in the way we moved the ball forward so there is still definitely areas of improvement for us,” he said.

“I don’t think we took the foot off the pedal, but Glenorchy changed some things after halftime and slowed us down.”

The Bombers will be aiming for their fourth flag in five years with Whitford adamant the group will not be happy unless they are successful on grand final day.