A valiant New England Nomads lost by 11 points to the Gunnedah Bulldogs on the 24th of August, the final scores being 13.12.90 to 11.13.79. It was an unfortunate repeat of the result in 2017 where the Nomads were narrowly defeated. In this case it was the Nomads poor first quarter that did them in. Luke ‘Rambo’ Raymond, with his hard ball-gets was best for the Nomads and unusually for a grand final he was nominated as the player of the Grand Final, despite being on the losing side. One can’t help but feel that if this unit had had a few more weeks playing together, they could have triumphed, but all congratulations to the Bulldogs who were the best team all year.

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The New England Nomads have made their way to the 2019 Grand final after an enthralling preliminary final victory over the Inverell Saints at Inverell on Saturday, in what would be regarded by many within the League as an upset. This is, however, a team only beginning to realise its potential after a number of false starts. It was a real group effort but there were a number of standouts. In the mid-field Jesse Petrascu led the way with his fearsome attack on the ball and lack of any hesitancy. Equally inspiring were 16 year old Dylan “Turbo” Moore and Luke “Rambo” Raymond both of whom never took a backward step. In the backline Brady MacDonald showed his class with his intercept marking and poise when delivering the ball forward. The 6-foot-6 club also had a large part to play in this victory with Conor Nest, Andy Gray and Tommy ‘Sticks’ Hunt dominating in the ruck battles. Another highlight was the ferocious tackling from the likes of Tommy Moscou, Wulu Hall and Steve Ogilvie (who surprised everyone with his left foot prowess). And in the final dying moments of the game, the every-reliable West Australian contingent in the form of Moddy Richards (who as usual wore a heavy tag) and The Frostman combined to force the ball forward, allowing Morgan Dunn to kick a goal and put the game beyond doubt. Final scores were Nomads 11.10.76 to the Saints 9.11.65.

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The team to play the Inverell Saints at Wolesley Oval, Inverell on August 17 at 2.30 pm is:

Interchange: Bergmeier, O’Loughlin, Ogilvie, D’Gluyas

Be at the Bellevue by 10.30pm

In the most appalling weather imaginable (outside of Rovaniemi, Finland), the New England Nomads finally started to gell to beat a spirited Tamworth Swans team and, in so doing, avenged the loss from three weeks earlier. The talls Conor Nest, Andy Gray and Tom Hunt dominated in the air while Brady Macdonald, Luke Raymond, Clarrie Barker and Wulu Hall were unstoppable around the packs and in general play. Given the blustery wind and the hail and the snow, goals were hard to come by, however Conor Nest, David ‘Modra’ Richards’ (who kicked his first left foot goal ever) and young tyro Dylan “Turbo” Moore managed two apiece. Highlights included Choco’s academy award winning roll backwards after being pushed in the back; Steve Ogilvie, successfully claiming a mark after it had been through two prior hands (it’s not like a catch in the slips Steve!) and, last but not least, Kayla Hall’s pulled pork, hot chocolates and pumpkin soup.

Final scores were New England Nomads 9.11.65 to the Swans 2.7.19.

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The team to play the Tamworth Swans at the Bellevue on August 10 at 2.00 pm is:

Interchange: Bergmeier, Treweeke, Swann, D’Gluyas

Be at the Bellevue by 12.30pm