The RSEA Magpies seniors were outplayed by a classy North Launceston outfit at KGV last Saturday, while the development league downed the Bombers to move into equal third place. 

The senior Bombers made a fast start in the main game, largely thanks to Glenorchy errors that allowed their slick transition game to get going. 

In what was the tale of the day, North Launceston's experienced premiership group and talented emerging stars displayed a remarkable level of foot skill as they repeatedly picked the Pies apart and scored from their back half.

That negated what was a hugely-improved performance from the Magpies' young midfield, who had been thoroughly outplayed by their northern counterparts in their previous encounter in Round 7.

Midfield battle
Ben Kamaric led the way on the ball-winning front, amassing a remarkable 40 possessions to go with 8 clearances, 8 inside 50s and 7 tackles.

He also teamed with John Geard (21 possessions, 12 pressure acts) to negate the influence of TSL Player of the Year leader Jay Foon, who managed just 13 disposals after picking up 35 in the previous encounter.

Emerging midfield bull Riley Oakley (15 pressure acts) also provided plenty of defensive grunt, helping to limit Bombers superstar Brad Cox-Goodyer to just 5 clearances after he picked up 41 possessions and 10 clearances last time around.

Young win duo Luke Nicholson and Nick Reibelt combined for 38 disposals in another promising display, Nicholson also with 8 pressure acts and 4 intercepts, while Callum Thompson was relentless around the contest with 13 pressure acts and 6 clearances of his own.

All up, the Bombers star-studded midfield was held to 126 disposals - compared to the Pies' mids 149 - after they had racked up 199 in the teams' first meeting. 

The improved work of the midfield group limited North Launceston to just 44 forward 50 entries, their third-lowest tally of the season after their two losses to Launceston and Clarence.

But the Magpies know they need to shut down the elite kick and mark game much better next time around to stop the perennial grand finalists from converting that into 21 goals and running out easy winners.