Young tall Brewer the Blues' 20th debutant as 'baby steps' continue

Young tall Caleb Brewer will make his senior debut as the Blues take on Glenorchy at KGV, becoming the team's 20^th debutant for the season.

The 16-year-old's addition means the Blues eclipse North Launceston's 2021 season, where they fielded 19 first-timers en route to the TSL grand final.

Coach Mitch Thorp spoke glowingly of Brewer, who also made his first-grade debut for Riverside Cricket Club this season.

"He's a quality kid, he had a season off footy and actually spent last season boundary umpiring in the TSL," he said.

"He's a really tall kid, 194 centimetres and marks the ball at the highest point. He trains particularly hard and is really motivated, so it's all of the things you're looking for as a coach to invest time and effort into.

"He'll probably play ruck or key forward and he's got some talls like Jake Kilby to assist him with that. We just think it's the right time for him to start cutting his teeth at senior level."

Joining Brewer as inclusions to Launceston's line-up are Josiah Burling and Rocky Barron as the Blues aim to build their momentum after back-to-back wins.

However, Thorp is not looking too far ahead despite the potential of finishing the first block of matches with an even ledger despite a heavy defeat in round one.

"It's all baby-step stuff, we're just trying to balance out the side and cement roles and all of the boring stuff," he said.

"But the simple thing is that we are just trying to back up each week and whether it's at home, at Lauderdale, at Glenorchy or wherever, we just want to make sure our brand is strong and solid."

The fixture against Glenorchy at KGV caused Launceston some issues - with the Blues scraping across the line by three points.

Given both teams' lists have changed dramatically over the off-season, Thorp hasn't touched on last year's encounter but credited the Magpies' development.

"They've certainly done a good job of getting some key guys back that have been great players of their club in the past - premiership players as well," he said.

"Their performances have been much more competitive, they've won a game and been right in others, so we understand that this game will be challenging and we certainly need to weather the storm early."

Ben Hyatt, Lucas Wootton, Finn Gutwein, Rocky Barron, Jake Kilby, Jess Bula, Bailey Kelp, Isaac Smedley, Paddy Dwyer, Nicholas Masiya, Liam Franklin, Finn Price, Oliver Atkins, Max Scully, Eion Molloy, Rudi Schoenmaker, Noah Hedger, Boyd Savage, Hunter McGee, Caleb Brewer