Lauderdale ‘not far from a flag’

LAUDERDALE believes it has the squad to take it to its first TSL premiership despite the heartache of another grand-final defeat.

The Bombers have fallen twice at the final hurdle but have closed the gap on TSL power North Launceston.

After being belted by 87 points in its grand-final debut in 2017, Lauderdale was defeated by 30 points on Saturday but was right in the game for three quarters.

Darren Winter, the league’s most experienced coach, said he had the team to lift the cup without significant inclusions.

“We are pretty confident who we’ve got at the club,” Winter said. “You always change a few players over due to individual circumstances.

“You are not going to keep your whole squad together but the nucleus of the squad is very strong and they are still young.

“This is the group that takes us forward.”

No player has yet said they won’t be back for 2019.

Winter was confident one of, if not both, indigenous im- ports Tim Mosquito (26 goals) and Henry Kerinaiua (25 goals) would return next year.

The two players from the Northern Territory competition have become fan favourites with their clever forward play, skill level and lightning pace.

“Henry will definitely be back,” he said. “They are both a bit homesick but Henry will be back mid-March and we’ll talk to Timmy as well. They have both been fantastic for our footy club and we’d love to see them come back.”

The Northern Bombers are the undisputed kings of the TSL but Winter believes the gap is closing.

“I don’t think North are that far in front,” he said. “They have got some structures in place that are hard to crack and we threw a fair bit at them to try and crack it, but we are probably not seasoned enough to hold our structures long enough.

“But we were in it for a fair chunk through the game.

“The competition as a whole is getting better. We are having guys play 150 and 200 games now and we haven’t seen that happen before.”