VIC COUNTRY has staged a stirring second-half comeback to claim a 14-point victory over Tasmania in the 2009 NAB AFL Under-18 Championships at Bellerive Oval on Sunday.

Tasmania led at every change but were overrun in the last term, going down 12.13 (85) to 10.11 (71).

Vic Country found themselves staring at a 33-point deficit at the 20-minute mark of the third quarter but lifted in sensational fashion, kicking the final three goals of the term before slamming on five straight in the fourth quarter to surge to the lead.

The turnaround was largely thanks to Country's better players getting their hands on the footy as well as some canny coaching moves.

Andrew Hooper was moved into the midfield after being beaten in defence and teamed with Dustin Martin to engineer the turnaround.

David Astbury's move up forward also paid dividends with two goals in the final term, while Koby Stevens was good all game.

For Tasmania, Ryan Harwood was outstanding with six clearances, while Luke Russell was the dominant goalkicker on the ground, bagging three.

Tasmania      3.3  6.4  9.9  10.11 (71)
Vic Country  1.3  4.6  7.7 12.13 (85)

GOALS
Tasmania: Luke Russell 3, Rhys Mott, Joshua Green, Jeremy Howe, Joseph Groenewegen, Chris Taylor, Daniel Archer, Clay Hardy
Vic Country: David Astbury, Gary Rohan, John Butcher 2, Farran Priest, Jasper McMillan-Pittard, Russell Lehman, Brad Mangan, Dustin Martin, Nathan Vardy

BEST
Tasmania: Luke Russell, Ryan Harwood, Cameron Milne, Joshua Green, Sam Rundle, Clay Hardy, Marcus Davies
Vic Country: Koby Stevens, Andrew Hooper, John Butcher, Ryan Bastinac, Dustin Martin, David Astbury