New England suffered their first defeat of the Country Energy TAFL season going down 14.8 (92) to 10.15 (75) in Inverell. The Nomads started brilliantly in the first quarter; tackling, running and scoring freely. They were unable to maintain this level and the Saints pulled back at the end of the quarter.

One end of Varley Oval was favoured by the breeze. This was largely reflected in the pattern of scoring. However, in the the third quarter the Nomads failed to turn their territorial and posessional advantage into goals, kicking five behinds in a row. This left the Nomads with a huge task to get the result in the final quarter. While this proved to be beyond them on the day, the effort was good and the Saints were under pressure for a long period.

A disappointing result for the club but there is a long way to go in this season. Consistency of performance across a match and having the confidence to carry out the coach’s game plan will come as the players become more familiar with one another.

The Nomads’ goalscorers were Weston Whitby (4), Matt Maxwell (2), Ben Page, Warren Redhead, Adrian Walsh and Adam Wright.

Winners of the match-day awards were Clint Ballagh (Players’ Player), Paul Harris (Coach’s award), Sam Trotman (President’s award) and Nick Schultz (Captain’s award).

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