IT might seem silly to say it, but there isn't that much difference between the side on top of the VFL ladder and the one on the bottom.
Richly endowed with determination if near bankrupt for talls, the Devils went down by 17 points to Werribee yesterday in the rain and gloom at North Hobart Oval.
They fought back from a 33-point deficit midway through the third quarter to get within 10 points of the Western Bulldogs-aligned Tigers before losing 13.10 (88) to 10.11 (71).
Devils coach Mathew Armstrong could only rue missed opportunities around goals which may well have given his battling side an extraordinary upset win and what would have been their first against the Tigers since joining the league.
"We missed seven set shots on goal and kicked two out on the full," Armstrong said.
"We just couldn't afford to do that, especially with our best forward [Justin Plapp] still out injured."
Plapp this week will go to Melbourne to see a specialist about his recent calf and hamstring injuries.
Armstrong bemoaned a first half in which big James Podsiadly got right on top of Mathew Jovanovic, who were the VFL side's full-forward and full-back respectively in the recent state game against South Australia.
"Podsiadly took `Russian' [Jovanovic] to the cleaners and those three goals he kicked in the first half really hurt us," Armstrong said.
"We switched Tim Geappen on to him and I thought Tim did a pretty good job."
Again lack of height played a major part in the Devils' downfall as Werribee's big men took charge.
The pick of them were defender Teghan Henderson, Podsiadly with four goals and 200cm Daniel Bandy with 26 possessions and 13 marks.
Otherwise, the Devils performed admirably, their work ethic underlined by 92 tackles and 61 hard-ball gets.
Travis Ronaldson was a standout in the ruck and despite two taggers captain Ben Beams still managed to slip away and kick three goals. Ian Callinan also was lively with 19 possessions and two goals.
Long-kicking Ken Hall did well out of the midfield, Brett Robinson was also busy and while Brett Geappen won plenty of ball he too often didn't hit his targets.
Werribee coach Simon Atkins praised his old state for keeping the Tigers so honest.
"We had to fight really hard for our win today and I think the game showed that Tassie are a much better side than their last on the ladder might suggest," he said.
Atkins did his homework by ensuring the Devils' most damaging smalls were kept in check by playing Jaison Lamb on Callinan, Ryan Closter and Salim Hassan on captain Ben Beams and Dominic Gleeson on Ben Atkin.
"People say that talls are no good in the wet, but guys like Henderson, Bandy and Podsiadly showed they are," Atkins said.
After copping the top four sides over the past month, the Devils next Saturday have a better chance to win their second game of the season when they play away to unaligned Frankston.
By: DAVID STOCKDALE
Final Scores
WERRIBEE 4.1 8.3 10.5 13.10 (88)
TASMANIA 2.5 3.6 6.9 10.11 (71)
Goals: Werribee: Podsiadly 4 Hahn 3 Nayna O'Sullivan Castello McCormack Closter Robertson.
Tasmania: Beams 3 Hall 2 Callinan 2 Robinson Geappen Heazlewood.
Best: Werribee: Henderson Hahn Sleeman Gleeson Lamb Bandy.
Tasmania: Ronaldson Hall Robinson Callinan Brown Savage.
Reports: Nil. At North Hobart.
Last Modified on 14/06/2005 16:40