The Nomads were victorious in Wednesday night’s match against the Tamworth Swans. The match, postponed from the 14 July due to waterlogging of the Oval, ended with the Swans on 7.12(54) to the Nomads 20.14 (134).

This was the first night match the Nomads have played since 2007 and there was quite a lot of excitement in the ranks at the prospect of playing under lights. The match began at 7.00 pm in what were, for the Armidale boys, balmy sub-tropical conditions. First time Captain, Johnathon Frost, lead the boys onto the ground. Relishing the ‘warm’ evening breezes the Nomads were dominant early with many inside 50’s but were unable to convert their opportunities, scoring 5 points before the first major was posted. The D-Mod [David Richards], was particularly active in the forward line, while Weston Whitby was carving up in the middle and Zac Economou and Leigh Holmes were holding the back line together. However, the momentum shifted midway through the quarter and the Swans quickly replied with two goals, to be ahead briefly before the Nomads forged ahead again. At the end of the first quarter the Nomads were ahead by 17 points.

The second quarter saw an increase in the intensity of the game. The Nomads teamwork was starting to come into play with some great switches and inspired running by Ash Cruickshank, Riley Connor, Benji Julien and Adam Parish along the wings. By half time the Nomads were 39 points ahead.

There was the feeling in the Nomads camp at half-time that the Swans would come firing in the third quarter since they really needed a win to make the finals. The Swans didn’t disappoint and the first ten minutes saw some hard and, at times, torrid football. The Nomads kept the ball moving quickly with deft short passes and were able to see off the challenge. (One memorable moment in the third was Shawn Cusack’s snap over his head to score six points after taking the ball out of the ruck). By the final change, the Nomads were 65 points up and the game was basically over.

The final quarter saw some wonderful passages of play, with the Nomads taking the opportunity to enjoy the final stages of the evening. It was a real team effort with the talk being the standout feature. The discipline in the back line was impressive as was the movement by the wingers and half forwards. Weston Whitby once again was the rock on which the victory was built, winning hard ball in the centre, often surrounded by three or four opponents. Zac Economou and Frosty provided drive out of the back line. Hughie Cook, realising that the other Nowendocian (Rowdy Ballagh) was on ‘rec leave’ in Thalland, decided he had better take on the work of two men and played like a man possessed. For his efforts he won the Players’ Player award. Also worthy of note, was Locky McLeod’s tagging work in the middle. He was able to shut down his opponent as well as win many kicks himself.

Overall, it was a very pleasing effort on the part of the Nomads. We look forward to the rematch with the Saints at the Bellevue in little over a week.

Round 13 2012

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 26th, 2012 at 4:33 pm 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.