A real end-of-the-holidays performance by the Nomads this week with poor team work, fitness and commitment resulting in a one-sided match and another disappointment. A season that started off with a lot of promise seems to have gone into freefall.

The Roos finished worthy 19.22 (136) to 8.5 (53) winners; imposing themselves physically, running hard and taking advantage of the resulting space and opportunities.

When the Nomads were able to get a goal kicking opportunity they were effective – kicking 5.0 in the first half. This efficiency coupled with the Roos profligacy meant that the Nomads were still in with a shout at half-time, especially given a generally improved showing in the second quarter.

The flipside of the efficiency of the Nomads goal-kicking is that the man responsible for much of it, Mark Handley, was playing his last regular season game for the club as he has accepted a job with Tennis Australia in Melbourne. This is a great opportunity for Mark and we wish him all the best with it, and thanks for playing.

In spite of the poor team showing, there were some good individual performances for the Nomads. Jamie Vesey, Glen Northway (winner of the President’s award), Dave MacLellan (Captain’s award), James Downie (Coach’s award), Reece Whitby, Johnathon Frost, Matt Maxwell (Player’s Player) and Mark Handley being the pick of the bunch.

Early in the game Munro Hardie stood out in the Nomads’ defence. Unfortunately, he received a late, high hit at some speed and was left senseless. He bravely tried to return to the field later in the match, but had to admit defeat and take an early shower.

Matt Dennis was also in the wars, landing heavily on his wrists on the hard cricket square following a ruck contest. Matt left the ground before the end of the game to get checked out at the hospital.

Goalscorers for the Nomads were Handley (3), Dylan McGrath (2), Jamie Vesey, Mark Curran and Caleb Dobos.

A new term starts at the university this week, which should see the Nomads back at training in large numbers. A fresh start with a lot of work to be done to get this team firing again.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 23rd, 2007 at 9:05 am and is filed under Match report. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.