Baby Bombers of 2021 soaring towards TSL's final flag

Losing the likes of Taylor Whitford, Josh Ponting and Bart McCulloch in the pre-season, the odds looked stacked against the Bombers but they built a brand of football around their youth to still be the second best team in the competition.

Although they dropped out of finals the following year, they reached the 2023 grand final and have not been beaten since - with their core group coming from those 19 debutants in 2021.

Michael Stingel, Brandon Leary and Blade Sulzberger all played in the 2021 grand final side, who were defeated by Launceston in the second of three-straight premierships for the Blues.

All three represented Tasmania against Queensland last month, joined by fellow 2021 debutants Harry Bayles, Harvey Griffiths and Oscar Van Dam.

Declen Chugg, Lockie and Bailey Mitchell, Theo Ives and Jacob Kerr are all still at the club and seen as experienced leaders within the group.

Coaching for the first year in 2021, Brad Cox-Goodyer had no expectations on his side - something that proved to be crucial to their eighth-consecutive grand final appearance.

"I'm sure the external expectations will be that we'll probably go backwards which is fine with me - we're really looking forward to our young guys having a crack and filling the void," he told The Examiner ahead of the 2021 season.

"If we can produce senior footballers from our junior program we're doing something right - if that equates to wins and success that's a bonus.

"One week they'll be up, one week they'll be down, we've just got to ride that rollercoaster and hopefully get it right at the right time of the year."

Developing the youth in 2021 has created stars all over the ground just three seasons later.

Ives, the Mitchell brothers, Bayles and Kerr all play different roles within the defence - Ives more of a key-position player while the likes of Lockie Mitchell and Bayles stream off half-back.

In the midfield, Stingel, Van Dam and Sulzberger make up a dominant trio that have taken the competition by storm.

Stingel and Van Dam both have 10 votes in the TSL player of the year competition - sitting equal third alongside Kieran Lovell and behind Noah Holmes and Bombers teammate Fletcher Bennett.

And the forward line have well and truly been kicking goals.

Griffiths leads the competition with 40 goals, Leary sits fourth with 26 - after kicking 36 last year - while Chugg is known for his brilliant pressure when the ball hits the ground.

Should the Bombers taste the ultimate success in 2024, they may well have the debutant class of 2021 to thank.